SEPTA Route 10

Route 10, also known as the Lancaster Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that connects the 13th Street station in Center City Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to the 63rd Street–Malvern Avenue station in the Overbrook section of West Philadelphia. It is one out of five lines that is part of the SEPTA's subway–surface trolley system and is 11.6 mi (18.7 km) long. Two route 10 trolleys collided in West Philadelphia injuring 46.[3]

Route 10 Subway–surface trolley line
The Route 10 trolley before it enters the 36th Street portal
Overview
Termini	Overbrook (63rd–Malvern) Center City (13th–Market)
Stations	6 underground
Service
System	Subway–surface trolley lines
Depot(s)	Callowhill Depot
Technical
Line length	11.6 mi (18.7 km)
Track gauge	5 ft 2 ^1⁄4 in (1,581 mm)[1][2]
Electrification	overhead lines
Route map SEPTA Main Line to Glenside MFL to Frankford 13th Street BSL City Hall 15th Street MFL Suburban 19th Street 22nd Street Schuylkill River Northeast Corridor 30th Street Station 30th Street MFL Harrisburg Subdivision NEC/Keystone Corridor 32nd Street Tunnel 33rd Street  11   13   34   36  36th Street Portal 36th & Market MFL to 69th Street 36th & Lancaster Lancaster & Powelton Lancaster & 38th Lancaster & Saunders Lancaster & Spring Garden diversion tracks to 40th and Market Lancaster & 40th Lancaster & Wallace Lancaster & 41st Lancaster & 42nd Lancaster & Parrish Lancaster & Ogden Lancaster & 44th Lancaster & Westminster Lancaster & 45th Lancaster & Wyalusing Lancaster & 47th Lancaster & 48th  15  West Girard Lancaster & Girard  15  West Girard Lancaster & 49th Lancaster & 50th Lancaster & Media Lancaster & 52nd Lancaster & Lansdowne Lansdowne & 54th Lansdowne & 55th Lansdowne & 56th Lansdowne & 57th Lansdowne & 58th Lansdowne & 59th Lansdowne & 60th Lansdowne & 61st Lansdowne & 62nd Lansdowne & 63rd 63rd & Jefferson 63rd & Columbia 63rd & Lebanon 63rd – Malvern Overbrook THO

Route description

Starting from its eastern terminus at 13th Street, Route 10 runs in a subway tunnel under Market Street. It has underground station stops at 15th Street, 19th Street, 22nd Street, 30th Street, and 33rd Street. From 15th to 30th Streets, it runs on the outer tracks of the Market Street subway tunnel used by SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line. Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th Street, 15th Street, and 30th Street and to the Broad Street Line at 15th Street. Connections to the SEPTA Regional Rail can be made at 30th Street. There is an underground passageway that connects the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad's 30th Street Station to the Market–Frankford Line's 30th Street subway station, but this has long been sealed off due to high crime. An underground passageway continues to serve between the 13th and 15th Streets stations and Jefferson Station and Suburban Station, respectively.

Route 10 exits the subway at the 36th Street Portal, where as the other subway–surface routes (11, 13, 34, and 36) surface at the 40th Street Portal. Route 10 then runs north on 36th Street, passing the former University City High School (now demolished) and University City Science Center as it approaches Lancaster Avenue (US 30). At Lancaster Avenue there is a wye cutback, which at one point connected to the former subway–surface trolley Route 38 to Lancaster Avenue when the Route 10 Line continued straight down Lancaster Avenue to Market Street, where it connected to a now-closed subway entrance at 23rd & Market Streets.

Continuing northwest on Lancaster Avenue, the Route 10 line crosses over 40th Street, where there is a southbound track which diverts Route 10 to 40th & Market Streets MFL station when the trolley subway tunnel is closed. At 41st Street there is a northbound track by which Route 10 returns from 40th & Market Streets Station. The tracks on 40th and 41st Streets continue north of Lancaster Avenue (part of the PTC Route 40 trolley line until September 9, 1956[4]) to Girard Avenue and connect to the surface streetcar trolley Route 15.

Continuing northwest along Lancaster Avenue to 48th Street, Route 10 intersects Girard Avenue, where trolley Route 15 trackage joins that of Route 10; as Girard is offset by Lancaster Avenue, the two routes briefly share tracks before Route 15 turns left to continue up Girard Avenue.

At 52nd Street the line reaches Lansdowne Avenue, where another cutback loop exists, installed in 1996 for emergency or schedule adjustments only. Route 10 turns west on Lansdowne Avenue and at 60th Street, where now-abandoned tracks end just short of the line. These tracks once belonged to SEPTA Bus Route 46 when it was a trolley line (abandoned on August 11, 1957[4]), and later served as pull-in/pull-out tracks for Route 10 before it was moved to SEPTA's Elmwood Depot. When Route 10 moved back to Callowhill Depot in the 2000s, trolleys pulled-in/pulled-out to Callowhill Depot via 63rd Street instead, using the outer end of Route 15 along with trackage which once belonged to the Route 41 trolley (abandoned on August 11, 1957,[4] and now served by SEPTA Bus Route 31, another former subway–surface line until 1949). Route 10 turns north from Lansdowne onto 63rd Street, on which the line continues until it finally reaches the Malvern Loop, which has two (formerly three) tracks, sharing the off-street loop with SEPTA Bus Route 46.

History

Route 10 was established sometime before 1887. On December 15, 1906, the line was integrated into the subway–surface trolley system by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company and was extended to 63rd & Malvern Streets.[5] In 1929, it was rerouted so that it went on Landsowne and 61st rather than on Girard, replacing part of Route 44.

Stations and stops

All are located in the City of Philadelphia.

Neighborhood	Images	Station or stop	Connections	Notes
Market East		13th Street	MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 27, 31, 32	Closed between 12:30–5:00am
Penn Center		15th Street	(at Suburban Station) MFL Market–Frankford Line, BSL Broad Street Line (at City Hall station) 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48 124, 125	Late night terminus
		19th Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 17, 31, 38, 44, 48, 62, 78 124
Center City West		22nd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 7, 31, 44, 62 124, 125	Replaced 24th Street station
University City		30th Street Station	Amtrak (at 30th Street Station) NJ Transit: ACL Atlantic City Line (at 30th Street Station) (at 30th Street Station) MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 31, 49, LUCY	No direct passage to 30th Street Station
		33rd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 30, 31, 49, LUCY	Serves Drexel University
		36th Street Portal
		36th & Market	LUCY
		36th & Lancaster
		Powelton & Lancaster (WB)
Powelton Village		38th & Lancaster
		Saunders & Lancaster
		Spring Garden & Lancaster
		40th & Lancaster	30, 40, 43
Belmont		Wallace & Lancaster	43
		41st & Lancaster	31, 40, 43
		42nd & Lancaster	43
		Parrish & Lancaster
		Ogden & Lancaster (WB) 44th & Lancaster (EB)	43
Mill Creek		Westminster & Lancaster (WB) 45th & Lancaster (EB)	64
		Wyalusing & Lancaster
		47th & Lancaster
		48th & Lancaster
		Girard & Lancaster	15
Carroll Park		49th & Lancaster
		50th & Lancaster
		Media & Lancaster (EB)
		52nd & Lancaster (WB) Lancaster & Lansdowne (EB)	52
Overbrook		54th & Lansdowne
		55th & Lansdowne
		56th & Lansdowne
		57th & Lansdowne	G
		58th & Lansdowne
		59th & Lansdowne
		60th & Lansdowne	46
		61st & Lansdowne
		62nd & Lansdowne
		63rd & Lansdowne	31
		Jefferson & 63rd
		Columbia & 63rd (WB) Lebanon & 63rd (EB)	46
		63rd & Malvern	46, 65, G 105	Five blocks to Overbrook Regional Rail station

References

1. "The history of trolley cars and routes in Philadelphia". SEPTA. 1974-06-01. p. 2. Retrieved 2014-06-11. An early city ordinance prescribed that all tracks were to have a gauge of 2' ​2 ¹⁄₄"
2. Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (2000-01-01). The Electric Interurban Railways in America. Stanford University Press. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
3. cite web|url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/notable-septa-train-accidents-20170822.html%7Cpublisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer|accessdate=15 September 2020
4. Borgnis, Mervin E. (1995). An inside story of PRT & PTC. Pleasantville, New Jersey: Mervin E. Borgnis. pp. 168–169.
5. 1974 SEPTA Trolleys Brochure

External links

• Official SEPTA Route 10 schedule and map