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Route 6 Via Ogontz Avenue
1948 All-Electric PCC 2117 awaiting departure on former Surface Streetcar Trolley Route 6 at Olney Transportation Center in 1984
Overview
Operator	SEPTA
Garage	Luzerne Depot
Vehicle	PCC streetcar (to 1986), bus
Began service	1907 or 1924
Ended service	January 11, 1986 (Actually January 12, 1986, spanning mid-night for the late cars) (streetcar)
Route
Locale	North Philadelphia to Willow Grove, Pennsylvania
Communities served	Olney, West Oak Lane, Germantown, Ogontz, Cheltenham Township, Willow Grove
Start	Olney Transportation Center
Via	Ogontz Avenue
End	Willow Grove Amusement Park Cheltenham & Ogontz Avenues Loop
Length	2.9 miles (4.7 km)
Service
Ridership	1,783,200 (FY2019)
Route 6 Trolley Legend formerly to Willow Grove Park Cheltenham Av Ogontz Av   Champlost Av Nedro Av Broad St │ Park Av Olney Av  BSL  Tabor Rd Old York Rd to Luzerne Carhouse Diagram is not to scale This diagram: view talk edit ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

Route 6, also known as the Ogontz Avenue Line is a former streetcar line and current bus route, operated by SEPTA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Route description

Route 6 begins at the Olney Transportation Center, a core station of the Broad Street Line, principally traversing Ogontz Avenue in Philadelphia, crossing the City Line at Cheltenham Avenue, and then proceeding on private right-of-way down the middle of Limekiln Pike before running as a streetcar line on Keswick Avenue in Glenside, and then mostly side-of-the-road private right-of-way until reaching Willow Grove Park. The line was fully double-tracked. Streetcar service to Willow Grove Park ended on June 8, 1958 when the Pennsylvania Highway Department (predecessor to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation) acquired portions of the private right-of-way on Limekiln Pike for construction of the soon to be built Pennsylvania Route 309 Expressway. PCC streetcars were assigned to Route 6 beginning June 20, 1948. Route 6 was cut back to a loop and terminus at Ogontz & Cheltenham Avenues at the City Line. Starting on September 30, 1968, Route 6 streetcar service was transferred the new transit authority, SEPTA, and buses replaced Route 6 service on January 12, 1986.

History

As one of the newer trolleys to be adopted by SEPTA, the Route 6 trolley was established by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) in 1907, although some sources claim it was established in 1924, as the Glenside Line between the Willow Grove Depot and the City Line and Ogontz Avenue via Limekiln Pike. In 1929 the line was extended to Broad Street and Olney Avenue a year after the opening of the Olney Terminal on the Broad Street Line.

This was once a popular trolley line to Willow Grove Amusement Park (current location of the Willow Grove Park Mall). Buses replaced trolleys north of Cheltenham Avenue to Willow Grove on June 8, 1958 (PCC 2134 was the last trolley to Willow Grove). Bus service known as "6 Bus" (See below). The remaining trolley service operated south of Cheltenham & Ogontz Avenues Loop (Cheltenham Square Mall). Despite public criticism by community and transit advocates, SEPTA voted to close the Route 6 trolley line on October 23, 1985. Additionally, the plan involved the closing of the SEPTA Route 50 trolley line along Rising Sun Avenue, although Route 6 trolleys were allowed to remain in service a little longer. Buses replaced the streetcars on the remaining portion of the Route 6 on January 11, 1986, and the Route "6 Bus" renamed Route 22 on the same date to eliminate confusion over the current Route 6.

Route 22, the former Route 6 Bus

Service on this bus route began on June 8, 1958, as the Route 6 Bus, replacing the truncated Route 6 trolley service to the Willow Grove Amusement Park. New Alternate service via Easton Road was added on September 3, 1961 replacing County Transit Company bus service. Route 6 Bus was extended to Johnsville via Warminster on June 19, 1966, by merging with the Route 74 bus, another former trolley line. Service was rerouted into the new Willow Grove Park Mall on August 1, 1982. Route 6 was redesignated Route 22 on January 12, 1986, with the conversion of the Route 6 Streetcar to bus operations. On September 7, 1997, service was streamlined to operate on the Easton Road and Old York Road routings between Glenside and Warminster. Service along Keswick Avenue and Edge Hill Road, the original trolley route, was eliminated. The right of way of old Route 6 trolley is still visible along Edge Hill Road. A former Route 6 trolley car along this route can be found at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, Pennsylvania.

As of 2008, all buses along both routes are ADA-compliant, and contain bicycle racks. No plans are currently under way to restore the Route 6 line as light-rail service, nor are there such plans for the Route 22 line.

References

1. The History of Trolley Cars and Routes in Philadelphia (1974 SEPTA Brochure; Page 8)
2. "SEPTA DERAILS 2 TROLLEY LINES", by Frank Dougherty; Daily News Staff Writer (Philadelphia Daily News (PA) - Thursday, October 24, 1985)
3. John Mueller (July 19, 2007). PA Trolley Museum 071907 008 (photograph). Retrieved September 28, 2013. {{cite AV media}}: External link in |people= (help)
4. SEPTA (June 22, 2006). "SEPTA Capital Budget Program and Comprehensive Plan" (PDF). www.septa.org. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 November 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2021.

External links

• SEPTA Route 6 and 22 Bus schedules
• Former Route 6 Trolley (WorldNYCSubway.org)
• 1974 SEPTA Trolley History Brochure

v t e  SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
Metro	Lines Current  Market–Frankford Line  Broad Street Line  Subway–Surface Trolleys  Route 10  Route 34  Route 13  Route 11  Route 36  Route 15 Trolley  Media–Sharon Hill Line  Norristown High Speed Line Former Trolley routes 6 23 50 53 56 60 Proposed Roosevelt Boulevard Subway Stations Proposed List of stations Major stations 69th Street T.C. Darby T.C. Drexel Station at 30th Street Fern Rock T.C. Frankford T.C. Norristown T.C. Olney T.C. Equipment Proposed Kawasaki Type K LRV SEPTA PCC III B-4 M-4 N-5
Regional Rail	Lines Current      Airport Line      Chestnut Hill East Line      Chestnut Hill West Line      Cynwyd Line      Fox Chase Line      Glenside Combined      Lansdale/​Doylestown Line      Manayunk/​Norristown Line      Media/Wawa Line      Paoli/​Thorndale Line      Trenton Line      Warminster Line      West Trenton Line      Wilmington/​Newark Line Former Bethlehem Line Cynwyd-Ivy Ridge service Elwyn-West Chester service Fox Chase-Newtown service Pottsville Line Thorndale-Parkesburg service Proposed Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Stations Proposed List of current stations List of former stations Major stations 30th Street Suburban Jefferson Temple University Equipment Current Siemens ACS-64 Comet Silverliner Silverliner IV Silverliner V  Former ABB ALP-44 EMD AEM-7 Silverliner Silverliner I Silverliner II Silverliner III
Buses and trolleybuses	Current Trackless trolley routes 59 66 75 City bus routes 6 23 29 35 37 38 53 56 60 79 Suburban bus routes 103 104 Former Trackless trolley routes 29 79
Miscellaneous	1983 Regional Rail strike 25 Hz traction power system Callowhill Depot Center City Commuter Connection SEPTA Key

v t e Cheltenham Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
Founded 1682
Communities	Arcadia University Ashmead Village Cedarbrook Cheltenham Edge Hill Elkins Park Glenside La Mott Laverock McKinley (part) Melrose Park Wyncote
Education	Ancillae Assumpta Academy Arcadia University Bishop McDevitt High School Cheltenham Township School District Cheltenham High School Delaware Valley Minority Student Achievement Consortium Gratz College Reconstructionist Rabbinical College Salus University Tyler School of Art Westminster Theological Seminary
National Historic Sites	Beth Sholom Synagogue Camp William Penn Camptown Historic District Curtis Hall Arboretum Elkins Park station George K. Heller School Glenside Memorial Hall Grey Towers Castle Henry West Breyer Sr. House Milmoral Rowland House St. Paul's Episcopal Church Richard Wall house Wyncote Historic District
People	Reggie Jackson Lucretia Mott Benjamin Netanyahu Yonatan Netanyahu Ezra Pound Wallace Triplett
See also	Pennsylvania's 4th congressional district Elkins Estate Lynnewood Hall Greenleaf at Cheltenham Newgrounds Tookany Creek Holy Sepulchre Cemetery Cheltenham, England Curtis Publishing Company Einstein Medical Center Oak Lane Day School
Historical railroads	SEPTA Route 6 North Pennsylvania Railroad Reading Railroad Pennsylvania Railroad
Regional rail lines	Main Line Airport Line Fox Chase Lansdale/Doylestown Warminster West Trenton
Regional rail stations	Jenkintown–Wyncote Glenside Elkins Park Melrose Park Cheltenham
SEPTA bus routes	6 16 18 22 24 28 55 57 70 77 80 H XH Former: C
Infrastructure	Cheltenham Township Police Department
Philadelphia Delaware Valley Pennsylvania

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