Misplaced Pages

Route 59
Castor–Bustleton to Arrott Transportation Center
Route 59 trackless trolley en route to Bells Corner
Overview
System	Frankford District
Operator	SEPTA City Transit Division
Began service	1950 (1950) (trackless trolleys)
Route
Locale	Philadelphia
Communities served	Northeast Philadelphia
Start	Bells Corner Loop (Castor and Bustleton Avenues)
Via	Castor Avenue, Oxford Avenue
End	Arrott Transportation Center
Length	4.1 miles (6.6 km)
Service
Journey time	17 minutes
Ridership	4,068 (2019 weekday average)
Annual patronage	1,182,018 (FY2019)
Timetable	Route 59 schedule
Route map ← 58  City Transit Division  60 →

Route 59 is a trackless trolley line operated by SEPTA that runs from the Market–Frankford Line at Arrott Transportation Center Station to Bells Corner in Rhawnhurst, primarily along Oxford and Castor Avenues. Major stops along the route include Oxford Circle and the Alma Loop in Castor, which is near a shopping center and a junior high and senior high school.

The trackless trolleys (or trolleybuses) replaced trolley cars (streetcars) on the route on in June 25, 1950.

Diesel buses temporarily replaced trackless trolleys on route 59 in June 2002, because of reconstruction of Frankford Depot (garage) and the adjacent Market-Frankford "El" viaduct and station, which required the temporary removal of the overhead trolley wires used by trackless trolleys both at the garage and along the deadhead route (under the El viaduct) connecting route 59 to the garage. However, trackless service was restored in April 2008. All of the vehicles currently in use are ADA-compliant and equipped with bicycle racks.

See also

• Trolleybuses in Philadelphia

References

1. ^ "SEPTA Route Statistics 2018" (PDF). SEPTA. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
2. ^ Springirth, Kenneth C. (2008). Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys, pp. 10 and 115–116. Charleston, SC (US): Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-5692-5.
3. Trolleybus Magazine No. 280 (July–August 2008), p. 95. National Trolleybus Association (UK). ISSN 0266-7452.

External links

• SEPTA Route 59 (Official schedule and map)
• Flickr Photo

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
• Philadelphia-area trackless trolleys
• 1950 establishments in Pennsylvania
• SEPTA bus routes