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Route 53
A SEPTA Route 53 trolley turns from Pulaski Avenue to Erie Avenue in April 1985
Overview
Garage	Luzerne Depot
Began service	Pre-1890
Ended service	1985 (as a streetcar line)
Route
Locale	Philadelphia
Communities served	Mount Airy, Germantown, Hunting Park
Start	Carpenter Woods Park
Via	Wayne Avenue, Pulaski Avenue, Erie Avenue, 10th Street, Old York Road
End	Hunting Park (BSL Station)
Length	7.1 miles (11.4 km)
Service
Ridership	766,500 (FY19)
Route map Legend Carpenter Lane Chestnut Hill West Line Chelten Avenue SEPTA Main Line Wayne Avenue Clarissa Street US 1 Roosevelt Expwy. Clarissa Street Pulaski Avenue  56  Erie Avenue  BSL  Broad Street  23  Germantown Avenue Lansdale/Doylestown Line Old York Road Luzerne Carhouse 10th Street  56  Erie Avenue This diagram: view talk edit ← {{{previous_line}}}  {{{system_nav}}}  {{{next_line}}} →

Route 53 is a former streetcar line and current bus route, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The line runs between the West Mount Airy and Hunting Park neighborhoods primarily along Wayne Avenue.

Route description

SEPTA Route 53 starts at Carpenter's Woods in West Mount Airy. It follows Wayne Avenue east through a residential area, crossing over the Chestnut Hill West Line, shortly before passing Tulpehocken (SEPTA station). The route continues to run fairly closely to the rail line until Chelten Avenue, where the rail line dips to the south.

The scenery becomes less residential as the route approaches Wayne Junction. After crossing under the railroad bridge by that station, the line turns south on Clarissa Street, crosses under the Roosevelt Expressway, and runs along the east side of SEPTA's Regional Rail Wayne Junction Yard before crossing West Hunting Park Avenue. At that point, the route continues on 18th Street, Pulaski Avenue, and 17th Street before turning left onto Erie Avenue, which carries SEPTA Route 56, another former street car converted into a bus route. (West-to-northbound buses use Pulaski Road all the way between Erie Avenue and 18th Street, as did the trolleys.) Both routes connect to Erie Station on the Broad Street Subway Line, as well as Germantown Avenue, which carries SEPTA Route 23. While SEPTA Route 56 continues northeast to the Torresdale-Cottman Loop in Tacony, Route 53 takes a left turn on 10th Street, and heads north towards the former Luzerne Depot, which became an all bus garage, and is now a cardboard recycling plant.

A 2016 route change has certain buses continuing to the Hunting Park station on the Broad Street Line, as before, while others continue east along Hunting Park Avenue to G Street.

History

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SEPTA Route 53 was established as the Wayne Avenue Line sometime before 1890, and was expanded in 1904, 1929, and 1930. Route 53 was the first streetcar line in Philadelphia to receive PCC cars. On Sundays Routes 53 and 75 streetcar lines were operated as one route between Mt. Airy and Bridesburg. This consolidated service ended when the Route 75 was converted to trackless trolley operation in 1948.

Route 53 was "temporarily" converted to buses in June 1981 because of a bridge reconstruction project. The conversion was made permanent May 16, 1985, when SEPTA track inspectors discovered misaligned rails on Wayne Avenue forcing buses to replace streetcars forever, and it was actually extended north of the former Luzerne Depot to Hunting Park (BSL station). Today, the northbound route passes Luzerne Street and makes a left turn at Lycoming Street, where it shortly encounters the southbound segment of the route on Old York Road onto which the northbound route makes a right turn, only to turn left at East Hunting Park Avenue, where it reaches Broad Street near the Hunting Park BSL station again. The line heads northeast along Roosevelt Boulevard, then turns on Bristol Street, only to head south on Old York Road again, until it reaches Luzerne Street, and makes another left on its way to the intersection with 10th Street.

As of 2008, all buses along this route are ADA-compliant, and contain bicycle racks. While SEPTA plans to evaluate the possibility of restoring Route 56 line as light-rail service, no such proposal exists for SEPTA Route 53.

On March 23, 2023, SEPTA released a new draft plan for Bus Revolution, SEPTA's bus network redesign. Under the plan, Route 53 would become a frequent route, be rerouted to serve Germantown station instead of Carpenter Woods, and be extended on its eastern end to the Richmond-Westmoreland Streets Loop. In the final plan, approved on May 23, 2024, the western terminal was changed to Carpenter station.

References

1. Luzerne Depot; SIA Philadelphia Car Barn Tour (PhillyTrolley.org)
2. SEPTA Capital Budget Program and Comprehensive Plan (Page 67)
3. "Recommended Route Changes" (PDF). SEPTA Bus Revolution. SEPTA. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
4. Sharber, Cory. "SEPTA's board of directors approves Bus Revolution, set to go into effect next summer". WHYY. Retrieved June 17, 2024.

External links

• SEPTA Route 53 (Official Map and Schedule)
• Former Route 53 Trolley (World-NYC-Subway.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

• SEPTA
• SEPTA Light Rail
• Tram routes in Philadelphia
• Transportation in Philadelphia
• Railway lines closed in 1981
• SEPTA bus routes