"It doesn't seem like a place where you'd just go for the weekend," was a comment I heard before embarking on my recent journey to.... "It doesn't seem like a place where you'd just go for the weekend," was a comment I heard before embarking on my recent journey to Philadelphia. Anyone who says that either doesn't like cities or hasn't been to Philadelphia since the trash piled up in the 1980s.

Each visit to Philadelphia brings more rewards. This trip I noticed a lot of condo buildings going up near the art museum, a great new market on Chestnut Street (although I can't recall the name right now) and most exciting, the PCC cars are finally running on the Girard line.

Taking the Broad Street line from Center City towards Temple University, at Girard Street I ascended to wait for a PCC car. Having lived in San Francisco where the bulk of the PCC's that once tied Philadelphia's neighborhoods together run, I was anxious to see the cars return in Philadelphia.

Unlike the cars in San Francisco, the cars currently running in Philadelphia have been completely overhauled and equipped with air conditioning (hey, it gets hotter on the East Coast). Where in San Francisco an operator manually puts a wooden platform at the door to create a bridge allowing handicapped passengers to enter, here there is a hydraulic lift. The windows on the Philadelphia cars don't open and the interiors have been relined with molded plastic and modern seats. Which is better? I am not sure. The cars in San Francisco might appeal more to tourists, but there are maintenance issues. The Philadelphia cars, I suspect are much easier to clean and maintain.

I'll have a photo for you after developing, but for now here's a web link Phillytrolley.org