Philadelphia Rapid Transit
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|
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Transit type | |
| Headquarters | 200 W. Wyoming Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Operation | |
| Began operation | 1940 |
| Ended operation | 1968 (taken over by SEPTA) |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge |
4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (rapid transit lines) 5 ft 2 1⁄4 in (1,581 mm) (trolley/streetcar lines) |
The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968.
A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since 1902, and was the immediate predecessor of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
PTC was established on January 1, 1940, by the merger of the PRT and several smaller, then-independent transit companies operating in and near the city. It operated a citywide system of bus, trolley, and trackless trolley routes, the Market–Frankford Line (subway-elevated rail), the Broad Street Line (subway), and the Delaware River Bridge Line (subway-elevated rail to City Hall, Camden, New Jersey, and now part of the PATCO Speedline) which became SEPTA's City Transit Division. PTC operated the rapid transit lines in urban Philadelphia – principally the Market–Frankford Line and Broad Street Line – leasing their fixed infrastructure from the City of Philadelphia. Most suburban transit lines were operated by other private companies, such as the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company, rather than by PTC. PTC's network also included the Philadelphia trolleybus (trackless trolley) system, which was much smaller, along with numerous bus lines.
Among PTC's first actions was to begin replacing its aging fleet of vehicles. In 1940, the company placed orders for 130 PCC streetcars, 50 trackless trolleys, and 53 motor buses.
In 1944, during the Second World War, white PTC workers engaged in a wildcat strike aimed at preventing the promotion of African American employees to conductors and other positions. The strike ended when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered troops into the city to run the cars.
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