et cetera.
A Literary Collage of Philadelphia
December 2012
TOKEN F 104
ARE Market-Frankford Line Broad Street Line
Whether snow, rain, or heat each weekday there is a routine that many Philadelphians go through that allots them a small adventure. After leaving the comfort of their humble homes they set out towards the nearest subway entrance. As they approach the threshold at the top of the stairs, a nauseous stench of bodily fluids from the revelers of the previous weekend mixes with the exhaust of the passing cars and train system below. Looking into the cavernous entrance they continue on their journey down to the gated turnstile. Approaching the platform they hear the sounds of other potential passengers rushing through turnstiles, creating an orchestrated rhythm mimicking the sound of locks closing. They reach into their pocket to pick their fare, and hear the jingle of loose tokens as they pluck one out. At this point in time they are surrounded by other Philadelphians about to embark on the same adventure now anxiously awaiting the squeal of the brakes from the oncoming subway car. It is not until the boxcar stops in front of them and the gear driven doors jittering, slide open. Now the real adventure begins with a look into the past to see what makes this all possible. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a metropolitan transportation authority that operates various forms of public transit—bus, subway and elevated rail, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolley bus—that serve 3.9 million people in and around Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. SEPTA has the 6thlargest U.S. rapid transit system by ridership, and the 5th largest overall transit system, with about 306.9 million annual unlinked trips.
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M A R K E T- F R A N K F O R D
SEPTA was created in 1964 to subsidize most of the suburban (commuter) transit rail lines originally operated by the Pennsylvania and Reading Railroads. Such subsidies had started in the late 1950s under other local transit agencies to help keep the commuter lines of these railroads running in the face of growing operating losses. SEPTA initially made operating contracts, which provided funds in return for concessions on fares and service improvements. The Authority later owned and operated these lines outright. Furthermore, in 1968, SEPTA took over the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), which had operated the city’s network of subways, elevated trains, bus routes, and trolley lines since 1940. The PTC was the largest transit company still in public hands by the time of the SEPTA takeover. It had come into existence as a successor to the city’s first major transit enterprise, the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRTC). PRTC had been organized in 1902 from several Philadelphia-area surface and elevated railway companies. The PRTC built most of Philadelphia’s subway and elevated rail lines, long before going bankrupt in 1939.
D LINE
The original subway tunnel from City Hall to the portal at 22nd Street, as well as the bridge to carry the line across the Schuylkill River, just north of Market Street, were built from April 1903 to August 1905. Construction on the Market Street Elevated west from this point began In April 1904, and the line opened on March 4, 1907, from 69th Street Terminal to a loop around City Hall at 15th Street. The line was elevated west of the river and underground east of the river. The tunnel was also used by streetcar lines, now SEPTA’s SubwaySurface lines, that entered the line just east of the river and turned around at the City Hall loop. Philadelphia was fairly unique in that construction of its initial downtown subway was undertaken using PTC private capital only, with no contribution from public funds. Extensions took the subway east to 2nd Street on August 3, 1908, and via a portal at 2nd street and several elevated curves it reached the Delaware River between Market Street and Chestnut Street on September 7, 1908. The Delaware Avenue Elevated (also called the Ferry Line, because of the multiple ferries across the river) opened on October 4, 1908, as a further extension south along the river to South Street. The only two stations on this extension were Market–Chestnut and South Street. Although the Frankford Elevated had been built several years earlier, disagreement with the City of Philadelphia (who built the line) over the terms of operation meant that it wasn’t opened officially until November 4, 1922. With the adoption of regular service the following day, trains from 69th would alternate between Frankford and the Ferry Line endpoints. Following the opening of the Delaware River Bridge in 1926, traffic on the Ferries line declined sharply. Beginning on January 24, 1937, operations were changed to use the Ferry Line only during the day and not at all on Sundays and holidays,
though Sunday and holiday service was temporarily resumed during the summers of 1937 and 1938. On May 7, 1939 the line to the ferries was closed temporarily, although PRT was forced to return service in 1943. Service was finally ended permanently in 1953, and the structure was demolished. The old interlocking tower and stub remains of the junction with the Ferry Line survived until the realignment into the median of I-95 in 1977. As part of a program of railroad improvements undertaken by the City of Philadelphia and the Pennsylvania Railroad, a new section of tunnel from 22nd Street to 46th Street was started in 1930, which would allow for removal of the elevated structure east of 46th Street and the old Schuylkill River Bridge. Coinciding with this project, a new bridge was also to be built across the river for automobile traffic; this raised the level of the street to permit the roadway to pass over the underground tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad near their new 30th Street Station. This resulted in a reduction of vertical clearance under the old elevated structure from 20’ to only 8’, which was expected to be only a temporary problem until the new subway tunnel was complete. Unfortunately, funding ran out before the subway extension could be finished. Although streetcar tracks were installed in the new Market Street Bridge, there was insufficient clearance to pass any cars under the elevated, and no service would ever be provided over the new tracks. Subway construction resumed in 1947, and the current configuration opened on November 6, 1955. The old elevated structure was removed by June 20, 1956. While the track was redirected into the new subway, a short stub of the old elevated structure remained at 45th Street until the reconstruction of the Market Street Elevated in 2008.
LEFT: Switch box on the northbound track at Spring Garden Station. RIGHT: Septa transit transfer.
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104
BROAD STREE
The AT&T Station contains a lower level platform, built to accommodate additional trains for large crowds at sporting events. Seldom used in recent years, these tracks are most often used to store rolling stock and work trains. Two of the Broad Street Subway system’s stations have been closed: Spring Garden on the Ridge Spur and Franklin Square on the former Bridge Line, now PATCO Lindenwold Line. The Broad Street Line is one of only two rapid transit lines in the United States outside of New York City to use separate local and express tracks for a significant length, the other being Chicago’s Purple Line.
Service on the northern half of the Broad Street Line, between City Hall and Olney Avenue, opened on September 1, 1928. While the original subway tunnel had been finished to just north of the present-day Lombard-South station, service to the Walnut-Locust station did not begin until 1930; the Lombard-South station entered service in 1932. Service from that point south to Snyder Avenue began on September 18, 1938. Service to a new park-andride station built next to the Fern Rock shops began in 1956, and the line was extended further south to Pattison Avenue in 1973 to serve the recently completed Sports Complex. Although the Broad Street Line was originally planned in the 1920s to be a 4-track facility for its entire length (Fern Rock portal to Snyder), the tunnel was built with provision for 4 tracks only from the portal to just north of Lombard-South. At the time of opening, the outer 2 tracks were built along this length, whereas the inner 2 express tracks were built only in two sections, from the Fern Rock portal/ shops to just south of Olney, and from Girard to their terminus just north of Lombard South. To close the gaps, the two inner express tracks were laid from Erie to Girard in 1959, and again from Olney to Erie in 1991. From Lombard-South station south to Snyder, the tunnel was constructed differently – only the eastern half of the line was built. The track currently used for southbound trains is actually the northbound express track. The extension to AT&T Station in 1973 continued this arrangement. Space exists under the western half of Broad Street for the construction of the western half of the tunnel, which would include the remaining 2 tracks and additional island platforms for southbound local and express trains. The resulting infrastructure would match the configuration built in the northern half of the line. Provisions for flying junctions exist in the tunnels at three locations: north of Olney station, north of Erie station, and between Tasker-Morris and Snyder stations. These were to connect to planned but never built extensions to the north, northeast, northwest and southwest. Tracks were laid in the upper levels of the flying junctions north of Olney and Erie; these have been used over the years to store out-ofservice trains and as layover points for express and Ridge Spur trains.
T LINE LEFT: Token machine at Spring Garden Station. RIGHT: Fare tokens thoughout the years.
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HISTORICAL TIM
MFL | BSL Legend
MELINE
Market-Frankford Line Broad Street Line Ferry Line (Demolished) Begin Original Subway Tunnel Construction
1903
Market Street Elevated West opens
1907
Subway Tunnel Extended to 2nd street
1973 Olney to Eerie express track laid
Track extended to AT&T station Market-Frankford Elevated opens for full service
1991
1959
1908
Eerie to Girard express track laid
2008
1922
1908
Curernt Subway configuration completed
71
1955 Curernt Subway configuration completed
Market-Frankford Elevated Reconstruction
1956
Service extended to Fern Rock Park-n-Ride
1930
Service extended from Olney to Lombard-South
1928
Broad Street Line Opened
1953
Line demolished due to lack of use
1977
Service extended from Olney to Lombard-South
LEFT: Septa Transpass reader and turnstyle.
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