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
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, to the
63rd Street–Malvern Avenue station in the
Overbrook section of
West Philadelphia
West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Alhough there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the nort ...
. It is one out of five lines that is part of the SEPTA's
subway–surface trolley system and is long. It is the least used subway-surface trolley line, but unlike Route 11, the most used subway-surface trolley line, it has overnight service.
Route description
Starting from its eastern terminus at
13th Street, Route 10 runs in a subway tunnel under
Market Street Market Street may refer to:
*Market Street, Cambridge, England
*Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia
* Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia
*Market Street, Manchester, England
*Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
...
. 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
The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...
. Passengers may transfer free of charge to the
Market–Frankford Line
The Market–Frankford Line (MFL) (also called the Market–Frankford Subway–Elevated Line (MFSE), the Market–Frankford El (MFE), the El (), or the Blue Line) is one of three rapid transit lines in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; it and the Broad ...
at 13th Street, 15th Street, and 30th Street and to the
Broad Street Line
The Broad Street Line (BSL), also known as the Broad Street subway (BSS), Orange Line, or Broad Line, is a subway line owned by the city of Philadelphia and operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The line r ...
at 15th Street. Connections to the
SEPTA Regional Rail
The SEPTA Regional Rail system is a commuter rail network owned by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority and serving the Philadelphia Metropolitan area. The system has 13 branches and more than 150 active stations in Philadelp ...
can be made at 30th Street. There is an underground passageway that connects the ex-
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
'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 Lancaster may refer to:
Lands and titles
*The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire
*Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies
*Duke of Lancaster
*Earl of Lancaster
* House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty
...
(
US 30
U.S. Route 30 or U.S. Highway 30 (US 30) is an east–west main route in the system of the United States Numbered Highways, with the highway traveling across the northern tier of the country. With a length of , it is the third longest ...
). 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
The following highways are numbered 40:
International
* European route E40
Argentina
* National Route 40
Australia
* NSW State Route 40 (Windsor Road and Victoria Road in Sydney)
* Victorian State Route 40
* Mulligan Highway (Queensland)
Br ...
trolley line until September 9, 1956
) 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
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five coun ...
when it was a trolley line (abandoned on August 11, 1957
), and later served as pull-in/pull-out tracks for Route 10 before it was moved to
SEPTA
The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly 4 million people in five c ...
'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,
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
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 19 ...
and was extended to 63rd & Malvern Streets. In 1929, it was rerouted so that it went on Landsowne and 61st rather than on Girard, replacing part of Route 44. In 2020, two route 10 trolleys collided in West Philadelphia, injuring 46.
[cite web, url=https://www.inquirer.com/philly/news/notable-septa-train-accidents-20170822.html, publisher=The Philadelphia Inquirer, accessdate=15 September 2020]
Stations and stops
All are located in the
City of Philadelphia.
References
External links
Official SEPTA Route 10 schedule and map
{{SEPTA , state=autocollapse
10
Tram routes in Philadelphia