Due to the fortunate circumstance that Philadelphia built a long streetcar tunnel, the city continues to have traditional trolleys. These are some of the last vehicles in the world still using trolley poles. (Conversion to pantograph is presently considered impractical). This program begins at the Elmwood depot which is not on the 34 route and we’ll therefore traverse a piece of the 36 route and then some non-revenue track to reach route 34 on Baltimore Avenue. We’ll then cover the entire route 34, which is a traditional, busy center of street line until it reaches the tunnel where it becomes a high speed rapid transit line sharing the tunnel with four other lines. A portion of the tunnel is shared with the Market-Frankford line, creating a four track segment. We then loop around city hall and return to the other end of the line, completing a round trip. At times when the tunnel is closed, such as for maintenance, the 5 lines take their passengers to the Market-Frankford line via surface tracks, some remaining from the days when the system had 2,000 cars and was the primary means of all transport in the city. A ride over this diversion route is included as well. We then return to the end of the line, 61st street. Finally there is a shop and depot tour as our car returns for the night.

About 2 hours