Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys (Images of Rail: Pennsylvania)

An extensive number of trolley car lines linked the city of Philadelphia to the rich farmland and picturesque towns of southeastern Pennsylvania. These trolley lines traversed miles of narrow streets lined with row houses whose residents were proud working-class Americans. These historic photographs trace the trolley cars' routes, including Route 23, the region's longest urban trolley route, from the expanses of Northwest Philadelphia's Chestnut Hill through the crowded commercial Center City to South Philadelphia with a variety of neighborhood stops at everything in between. Southeastern Pennsylvania Trolleys follows the history of the trolley cars that have served this diverse and historic region.

Kenneth C. Springirth has a vested interest in rail history, as his father was a trolley car motorman in Philadelphia, and his grandfather was a motorman in Washington, D.C. A native of Philadelphia, he commuted by trolley to attend classes at Drexel Institute of Technology. Springirth is the author of five Arcadia titles: Greater Erie Trolleys, Johnstown Trolleys and Incline, Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys, Suburban Philadelphia Trolleys, and East Broad Top Railroad.