Tag Archives: SEPTA

Rail Photo of the Month: August 2024

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M-4 1118

Location: 46th Street Station, Philadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA)
Date of Photo: June 27, 2001

Last week, SEPTA awarded a contract to Hitachi Rail for 200 railcars for its Market-Frankford Line, by far the busiest line in the Philadelphia transit network.  These cars are scheduled to be delivered between 2029 and 2031, replacing the existing fleet of M-4 cars seen here.  The M-4 cars were quite advanced at the time they were introduced, as they included features such as AC traction motors, interior LCDs to display the next stop and automated announcements.  Also, unlike most newer subway trains, they retained a full railfan window at the front of the train.  Now that these cars are over 25 years old, SEPTA has started the process of replacing them with what will be known as the M-5 cars.  From the renderings that SEPTA has made public, the cars will probably feel somewhat similar to the 8000 Series cars that Hitachi is currently building for WMATA, as the M-5s will feature open gangways, longitudinal seating, and designated spaces for bicycles, strollers, and luggage.  

Believe it or not, I am sharing a 23 year old photo of the M-4s because it is among the most recent photos I have of rolling stock on the Market-Frankford Line!  So if you’ve been like me and haven’t been on an M-4 in awhile (or even if you have been on one more recently), make sure to get some last rides in over the next 5 years or so!

For more photos of the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line, please click here.  

Bus Photo of the Month: February 2024

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New Flyer XDE40 3303

Location: Broad Street at Fitzwater Street, Philadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA)
Date of Photo: July 8, 2021

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority, better known as SEPTA, is coming up on a milestone anniversary this month.  The first organizational meeting for the agency that ultimately became SEPTA was held on February 18, 1964, exactly 60 years ago this month.  SEPTA was actually created by an act of the Pennsylvania legislature on August 17, 1963 and did not begin direct operation of any services until November 1, 1965, but the agency considers the February 18, 1964 date to be its anniversary for these purposes. 

That being said, there was public transit in Philadelphia prior to this date.  Trolleys began operating in the 1890s, the Market-Frankford Line began operating in 1907, trackless trolleys began operation in 1923, and the Broad Street Line first opened in 1928.  As was the case in other cities, these were all privately operated services initially, but as these companies encountered financial difficulties, governments stepped in to ensure that services continued for the public good.  

Since 2023, SEPTA is the only transit agency in the United States to operate all five major transit vehicle types:  commuter trains, rapid transit trains, light rail trolleys, trolleybuses (trackless trolleys), and buses.  This distinction was shared with Boston until 2023 when the MBTA’s remaining trolleybuses were withdrawn from service. 

For more photos of SEPTA, please click here.  

Some Things Are Worth Waiting For…

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New Flyer XE60 19506
Very observant visitors to this site might have noticed two things recently.  First, it has been a very long time (nearly two years in fact) since any announcements of new photos being posted to Oren’s Transit Page have been made.  Second, the January 2023 Bus Photo of the Month came from a city that was not included on Oren’s Transit Page before.  The reasons for this are several fold.  In 2021, travel was slowly resuming and the Oren’s Transit Page Baby (as he was known then) required a level of care that was age-appropriate but one that does not facilitate frequent website updates.  In 2022, travel really took off again, as my travels took me not only up and down the Northeast Corridor but to the Florida panhandle, San Diego, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Israel, and Greece.  As you can imagine, travels that extensive generate lots of photos, which in turn, take time to organize, touch up, caption, and post.  The good news is I’ve made some headway on that front, and I believe any photos I took prior to May 2022 are now online.

The “highlights” from this update in my opinion in “chronological” order are:

The rest of 2022’s photos are still to come, and I’ve already taken one trip within the US in 2023 and I’m sure more are to come, so stay tuned.  The photos from all those travels will be posted.  Eventually.

Here is the full listing of where new photos were added to the site, with new sections highlighted in bold and italics.  

Rail Photo of the Month: December 2018

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AEM-7 2303

AEM-7 2303

Location: Temple University Station, Philadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA)
Date of Photo: April 19, 2012

Yesterday, SEPTA ran a Farewell to the AEM-7s trip on its Paoli/Thorndale Line.  Since 1987, SEPTA has had a fleet of seven AEM-7 locomotives that have primarily operated push-pull express trains on its Regional Rail Lines. These seven AEM-7s were the last ones in service with any railroad, as Amtrak retired its AEM-7s in mid-2016 and MARC retired its AEM-7s last year.  SEPTA is replacing its AEM-7s with the ACS-64 locomotives, identical to those Amtrak has been operating in the Northeast Corridor since 2014.  With the exception of the refurbished HHP-8s that remain at MARC, all electric locomotives along the Northeast Corridor between Philadelphia and Washington will now be ACS-64s.  SEPTA’s retirement of its AEM-7 fleet is truly the end of an era within the Northeast Corridor.  

The SEPTA AEM-7 unit pictured here is departing from the Temple University Station in April of 2012.  At the time, the Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars were on their last legs.  It is hard to grasp how much of the equipment I photographed that day is no longer in service.

For more photos of SEPTA AEM-7 Locomotives, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: September 2018

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B-IV 510

Kawasaki B-IV 510

Location: Pattison (NRG) Station, Philadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority
Date of Photo: June 21, 2003

Since 2010, the southern terminal of Philadelphia’s Broad Street Line has been more than just a subway station.  In that year, SEPTA sold the naming rights to Pattison Station to AT&T for five years for five million dollars.  Almost instantaneously, signed references to Pattison were replaced with AT&T, which certainly makes for an odd station name in my opinion.  Making it even stranger is the fact that to my knowledge, AT&T’s only connection (no pun intended) to that station or any other SEPTA station is that the company was the only one with coverage along the underground portions of the Broad Street Line and Market-Frankford Line.  Last month, the naming rights were sold to NRG Energy for 5.25 million dollars and five years, and once again the signage has been changed to reflect the new name.

I believe that station names should have some connection (whether current or historic) with where they are located.  SEPTA has sold the naming rights to one other station, Market East, which is now known as “Jefferson Station.”  At least Jefferson Station is near its namesake, the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, though I wouldn’t have minded the naming rights addition to the name had it been something along the line of Jefferson Station at Market East, thereby still raising revenue while retaining the old name.  Pattison Station is surrounded by sports stadiums and parking lots, and to my knowledge, neither AT&T nor NRG has ever had a physical presence in the area.

What do you think of selling the naming rights for transit stations?  Leave a comment below.  Meanwhile, I still think of the southern stop on the Broad Street Line as Pattison, so there’s my answer to that question.

For more photos of the Broad Street Line, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: May 2018

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AEM-7 2302

AEM-7 2302

Location: Temple University Station, Philadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority
Date of Photo: April 19, 2012

The AEM-7 electric locomotive was a mainstay on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor as well as on SEPTA and MARC commuter rail trains for over 35 years.  Nowadays, SEPTA is the only agency that still operates these locomotives, and even in the Philadelphia area their days are numbered.  SEPTA is currently testing its first ACS-64 locomotive and upon the delivery and acceptance of all 15 of these locomotives, the AEM-7 locomotives will be retired.  Affectionately nicknamed “toasters”, these locomotives outlived the newer and more powerful HHP-8 locomotives that were introduced at the start of the 21st century, proving that in some circumstances, older can be better.

For more photos of SEPTA Regional Rail rolling stock, please click here. 

Oren’s Reading List: SEPTA Tokens or Jewelry?

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B-IV 510
SEPTA is the last transit agency in the United States to accept tokens.  However, even in Philadelphia, the token is about to become a relic of the past.  As this milestone approaches, a number of businesses are planning to make various keepsakes, such as necklaces and earrings, out of tokens.  Read more about these businesses here.  Would you buy SEPTA token jewelry?  

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Silverliner Sunset

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Silverliner II 9007 at North Broad, April 19, 2012

In 2012, SEPTA finally had enough of its Silverliner V cars to be able to withdraw the last of the Silverliner II and Silverliner III cars from its Regional Rail fleet.  I happened to be in Philadelphia in April and had some time in the afternoon to meet up with a local railfan who I know to chase the remaining cars at that time.  After riding a set from Center City out to Fox Chase, we came back to Temple University to photograph the start of the evening rush hour.  However, knowing where the Silverliner II and Silverliner III trainsets were and glancing through the timetables, I suggested we move up to the North Broad station to get something different.  In the Philly railfan community, North Broad is usually thought of as a morning photo spot, due to its layout relative to where the sun would be positioned.  However, being from out of town, I suggested we give it a shot.  It worked out pretty well.  Not only was the afternoon light conducive to getting decent photos, we had four Silverliner II/Silverliner III sets pass through the station in the span of about 3 minutes, probably representing the entire active fleet at that time.  This is my favorite photo of the set, if you look closely you’ll see not one but two of the four trainsets in this single photo.  Want to see more?  Check out the SEPTA Regional Rail Rolling Stock page and look for photos from April 19, 2012.

 

Rail Photo of the Month: August 2016

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Silverliner V 720

Silverliner V 720

Location: Temple University Station, Phiadelphia, PA
Operator of Vehicle: Southeastern Pennsylvania Area Transit Authority
Date of Photo: April 19, 2012

Philadelphia has been in the news a lot in the past week, having just hosted the Democratic National Convention.  Philadelphia has also been in the news in the transit world as its Silverliner V fleet was sidelined due to structural issues discovered in the cars.  The Silverliner Vs were ordered in order to replace railcars dating back to before SEPTA operated the Philadelphia area commuter rail lines.  Upon their arrival and the retirement of this older equipment, the average age of the Regional Rail fleet decreased significantly.  These cars featured LED destination signs and automated announcements, as well as a railfan seat (albeit now modified) rarely found on commuter rail trains.  While SEPTA continues to operate as much Regional Rail service as it can with its Silverliner IV fleet, as well as equipment leased from Amtrak and other commuter rail systems, Philadelphia area commuters will be glad to see the full fleet back in service.

For more photos of SEPTA’s Regional Rail Rolling Stock, please click here.