SEPTA's Surface Subway Lines

In General
Getting Here
Map
Pictures
The Tunnel Portals
At the Depots
The CSX Grade Crossing
Signals
Floobydust

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In General
The five (5) Subway-Surface lines cover the west side of Philadelphia and the 30th Street Station, in what can be considered a more urban environment than the 100, 101, and 102 lines.   The #10 line heads off in a slightly north-west direction, while the other lines head mainly south-west after coming out of the tunnel. The #10 line also has it's own exit a couple of stations earlier at 36th and Ludlow. The other four lines emerge two stations (36th and 37th Streets) later at the 40th St Portal, which is a most interesting "station" to photograph the trains. The 40th Street Portal area, BTW, was recently remodeled in 2017 and looks great!

The K-cars (the "K" is for Kawasaki) used on these lines were delivered in the 1981-1982 timeframe, and there are 112 of them. Keep in mind that the term "K-car" is a railfan derived term, for no-one at SEPTA calls them that! They are numbered 9000 to 9111. They are considered LRV's, but remind you more of a trolley or even an updated PCC car when you ride them.

Underground, the cars share the same tunnel as the Market-Frankford Subway Elevated line, with the streetcars using the outside set of tracks in the four track tunnel (yes, I know it's not "elevated" when it is in the tunnel :-).

The #11 line has the unique distinction of having one of only three grade crossings in the United States between a streetcar line and a major rail line. It is in Darby along Main St at 6th St. For a complete write-up of the crossing, please visit this page.

One other interesting note, is that on the Subway-Surface lines and the #15 line, trolley poles are used in contrast to the 101 and 102 lines where pantographs are used.

When the tunnel is closed for maintenance (or any other reason), there is a connector track that runs up 40th Street that is not normally used except under these circumstances. For maybe the past 5 or 6 years, SEPTA has been closing the tunnel for repairs. and everything runs on the surface. This has become known as the "TUNNEL BLITZ".

Welcome to Philadelphia, enjoy your railfanning experience.

More info can be found at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEPTA_Subway%E2%80%93Surface_Trolley_Lines
http://www.septa.org/maps/trolley/city.html
http://www.studio34yoga.com/trolley.php Nice history of the 34 line from a business located on the route
http://www.phillytrolley.org/routes.html
http://www.railwaypreservation.com/vintagetrolley/philadelphia.htm
http://www.snipview.com/q/SEPTA%20Subway%E2%80%93Surface%20Trolley%20Line%20stations
http://www.thebergennetwork.com/na/pa/septa/subsur.php
https://railfanguides.us/StreetcarTrainCrossings/index.htm All three streetcar/train crossings in the U.S.

Acknowledgements:
Ken Achtert

Getting Here
Being that the system coves a wide area geographically, it's hard to say how to get here for the entire system...... Although for ease, the Island Ave line is probably the easiest to reach, being right off of I-95 exit 13. It's also good for a starting point if you want to explore the whole system. The CSX grade crossing is also nearby if you choose to start here. And alternatively, if you are visiting Philadelphia by plane, you can make Island Ave your LAST stop before going back to the airport because of its closeness to the airport, just a few minutes!

If you are driving to Philadelphia, and want to start in the downtown area, you can start by getting off I-76 at exit 345, and looking for a place to park. From there, you can either ride the trains or drive to another location for pictures. While you are downtown, you may also want to consider stopping at 30th Street station and ZOO interlocking.

Maps

Pictures

A trio of PCC pictures from 1975 at the 40th Street Portal. Ah, the good ole days :-)

Photo courtesy Tim Vermande.

Photo courtesy Tim Vermande.

Photo courtesy Tim Vermande.

Looking up Island Avenue

The TUNNEL BLITZ of 2014, when SEPTA was working on the tunnel tracks and signals.

At 40th and Filbert.

More at 40th and Filbert.

Enroute pictures from inside the car.

At Baltimore Ave and 42nd St.

More at Baltimore Ave and 42nd St.

Emergency track repair at Baltimore Ave and 42nd St while the trolleys are running.

A few pictures from the 2017 "Tunnel Blitz".....

In 2018 during the blitz, I missed the day that they had so many streetcars running at one time, that a fuse or circuit breaker blew, and everything just stopped, John said it was sooooo erie! :-) Despite all of the problems and rude people the SEPTA folks encounter, I have always noticed the great majority of them are able to keep their "happy faces" on, and are pleasant to John and I when we ask them stupid questions, some even manage to smile or laugh!

Altho not from the tunnel blitz, and meanwhile back in Media, on Wednesdays during the summer, Media hosts restaurant day, where Main St is shut down to traffic, including the streetcars, and the various restaurants of Media put tables out on the street. The crowds are unbelievable! If you want to end your day on a good note, start your day in Media on either the 101 line, or the Media/Elwyn Line commuter train, and end it coming back here for dinner!

Pictures from a 2005 fan trip.

From a 2014 trip to Philadelphia.

At the Darby Loop.

At the Darby Loop.

Along Island Avenue.

Along Island Avenue.

Eastwick Loop, at the end of the #36 line on Island Avenue.

In the tunnel.

More in the tunnel.

The Tunnel Portals

The Subway Surface Lines have two portals to gain entrance to the underground portion of the lines.
One is at 40th Street and Baltimore/Woodland and has a really nice loop and station, and the other is at 36th and Ludlow Streets.
The 40th Street portal was completely "redone" in 2017, and looks great.
In addition, there is now an eatery next to the portal which isn't too bad a spot to grab a lunch, altho it is one of those trendy places.....

At the 40th Street Portal

2005

2005

2005 -- Coming out of the tunnel

2005

Backside of the tunnel portal, and a couple shots of one of the station platforms - 2014.

The 40th Street Portal, where lines 11, 13, 34, and 36 come out of the tunnel. Notice the interesting track layout.

At the 36th Street Portal

2013

2013

36th St

This is the portal for the #10 line, at South 36th Street and Ludlow.

36th St

Above - earlier shot from Google Streetview - 2012

At the Depots

Elmwood Depot

GPS Coordinates: 39.914634, -75.242926
ZIP: 19142
Approximate address: 2420 South 73rd Street

The Elmwood Depot is one of two serving the Subway-Surface lines and the Route 15 PCC car line, the other one being Callowhill. Woodland, is often incorrectly thought of as a depot, but in fact, it is the Woodland Heavy Maintenance Facility.

SEPTA is fairly easy to get along with when fan trips are run. As long as we weren't in front of an operating car, they are relaxed about what you do on the streets, like making a quick stop for pictures. They also don't seem to have any problem with giving us free reign around the yard, as long as we weren't climbing all over everything :-). The work car and 2728 went to the BSM in Baltimore in 2006, but a few years later, they sold "my" car (2728) to Lancaster for a proposed heritage line (which so far as of 2015, and 2019, has not happened).

2005

2005

Inside the shops and over the pit - 2005

Callowhill Depot

GPS Coordinates: 39.966986, -75.2366988
ZIP: 19139
Approximate address: 5 North 59th St, Philadelphia PA

The Woodland Heavy Maintenance Facility

GPS Coordinates: 39.941071, -75.213921
ZIP: 19143
Approximate address: 1300-1348 South 49th St, Philadelphia PA

the CSX Crossing

GPS Coordinates:
39.917771, -75.255659
ZIP: 19023
Approximate address: 604 Main St, Darby, PA
For a whole page on this crossing, click here

This unique grade crossing is one of only three like this in the whole United States. It is located in Darby PA, at Main Street and 6th Ave. Back in 2006 or 2007, a bunch of us went on a fan trip, and PCC car #2333 was our fan trip car. We were able to get out for a few minutes to take pictures of the trolleys at the crossing. Next time, we have to go up and wait for a train to come :-) Pictures here are from 2005 and 2013.

A unique (for Philadelphia) pedestrian crossing gate.

2013

Signals

Upside, out in the open, the system uses precious few signals. SEPTA relies on the abilities of the operator to space the cars and not run into each other for the most part. However, once in the tunnels where visibility is restricted, they do use 3 color color-light signals.

According to one source: When the trolley subway extension into West Philly was opened (in 1955), there were timed signals set up to slow the cars approaching curves and on the downhills going under the river. This situation continued until the full institution of CBTC (Communication Based Train Control). After the full transition, the timing was removed from the wayside signals with all timing now handled by the CBTC and the wayside signals only representing the presence (or absence) of a vehicle ahead.

Floobydust

Route indicators

These signals tell the operator to take the alternate, or diversion route. When activated, the signals blink the blue light.

I think the one shown below was at 42nd St. & Woodland Ave. for the Rtes. 11 and 36, altho using Google Streetview, I can not confirm this.

Years ago there was a single signal that displayed a solid white light when turned on, however, this was sometimes a problem in bright daylight (especially in the afternoon for these west-facing signals), so the old signals were updated to the rotating/blinking signals shown below.

One of the division points. If you go straight, you head to the 40th Street Portal. Going left takes you to the Filbert & 40th Street junctions which are the focal point of the "Tunnel Blitz" operations and transfers.

Route indicator at Baltimore and 42nd.

A PHL employee bus running up Island Avenue - 2005.

I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.

Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.

If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)

My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.

Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted.  Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!

By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.

Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is here

Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.

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NEW 02/27/2011, 12/23/2013, 04/06/2018, 08/10/2019
Last Updated: 18-Sep-2019