Kenyon F. Karl on 10/05/16

Builder: J. G. Brill Co.
Description: SEPTA Class B2 'Bridge' car
Secondary Use: None
Type: Rapid Transit Cars
Year: 1938
Retired from Service: 1984
Acquired by the Museum: 1984
Fund: 596

SEPTA 1018 and 1023

From Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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History

This car is one of 26 rapid transit cars purchased in 1936 by the Delaware River Joint Commission for operation on its newly opened rapid transit line between Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ. Passengers on this line rode high above the Delaware River on the Ben Franklin Bridge, which had opened in 1926 for vehicular traffic. The Bridge Line trains were owned by the Delaware River Joint Commission (Delaware River Port Authority after 1951) and originally operated by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company. The PRT was reorganized as the Philadelphia Transportation Company in 1940. Louis T. Klauder designed car #1018 and the other “Bridge cars” with curves, chrome, fluting and a blue and silver paint scheme, giving them an art deco, streamlined style popular in the 1930s. Philadelphians called these cars “Flash Gordon” cars after a futuristic comic strip character popular in the 1930s. Car #1018 seated 67 passengers on comfortable green leather bucket seats. Standees could bring the load to more than 200 riders. During World War II, car #1018 helped carry heavy loads of workers from Philadelphia to ship yards in Camden. In later years, this car’s interior was somewhat modernized. In 1968, the Bridge Line was rebuilt, extended to Lindenwold and equipped with new cars. So, car #1018 and the other “Bridge cars” moved to operation on Philadelphia’s Broad Street subway line. In 1968, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority acquired the city’s transit operations from the Philadelphia Transportation Company. The Seashore Trolley Museum acquired #1018, along with #1023, in 1984 when it was retired from service on the Broad Street line and donated by the city.

Technical Information

Seats: 67
Control: ABF (XM115A)
Brakes: AMUE
Compressor: D-3-F

Trucks

Number: 2
Manufacturer: Commonwealth

Motor

Number: 4
Manufacturer: Westinghouse
Model: 555A1

Weight and Dimensions

Length: 67’ 6.00"
Width: 10’ 4.00"
Height: 12’ 4.00"
Weight: 114600 lbs.

Additional Images

Kenyon F. Karl on 10/05/16