Philadelphia Suburban Transportation 75
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www.nycsubway.org |
Built in:1926 by J.G. Brill Company (ord#22212)
Out-of-service/Retired:1990
Type of car:interurban (center entrance)
Current Owner:Branford Electric Railway Association(East Haven, Connecticut)
Car History by Frank Hicks
Philadelphia Suburban Transportation 75
This center-door suburban interurban car exemplifies the operations of the PST ("Red Arrow") broad-gauge division from the 1920's to the 1940's. The Philadelphia & West Chester bought 32 similar center-door cars between 1919 and 1926, with car 75 being the second-to-last car in the series. They were built for multiple-unit interurban service but geared for lower speeds befitting the suburban nature of the P&WC line. Though center-door cars provided the bulk of the service on the system for the twenty years after they were built, by the 1940's there were 34 lightweight cars of newer design on the property. With the abandonment of the West Chester branch in 1958 and the Ardmore line in 1966, the center-door cars were either scrapped or - like car 75 - relegated to reserve and charter duties. Car 75 was one of two center-door cars retained on SEPTA's Red Arrow Division through the 1970's and was used for charters into the 1980's. In 1990 it was acquired by BVTA and moved to its barn on a Philadelphia pier, where its Penn's Landing operation was located. In 1996, BVTA was evicted from this location and car 75 was temporarily moved to a nearby lot where it was seriously damaged in an arson fire late in the year; afterwards the car was moved to a storage location at SEPTA's Germantown yard. In 2000 an arrangement was made to trade the car to BERA in exchange for parts for another car in the collection of ECTM, which had inherited the BVTA equipment; car 75 was moved to BERA in October 2003 and over the next several months was cosmetically restored.
Ownership History:Philadelphia & West Chester #75 1926-1936 / Philadelphia Suburban Transportation #75 1936-1970 / Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority #75 1970-1990 / 1st preserved by Buckingham Valley Trolley Association 1990-1999 / later preserved by Electric City Trolley Museum 1999-2003 / Branford Electric Railway Association(East Haven, Connecticut) 2003-present
Facts and Figures
| Status:stored inoperable | Gauge:4'8.5" |
| Construction:steel | Roof type:AR | Ended:DE |
| Length:47'10" | Width:8'7" | Weight:59280# |
| #Seats:62 | #Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-B) | Total HP:140 |
| Trucks:Brill 27MCB2X | Brakes:SME (S-E6) | Compressor:CP-28D |
| Motors:GE 203L (4) | Voltage (if not 600DC): |
Notes
Former 5'2.5" gauge
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