Southeastern Penn. Transport. Authority (SEPTA) 2185

In 1929, the Electric Railway President’s Conference Committee was formed, with the participation of 28 operating companies and 25 manufacturers. The goal was to develop a modern streetcar – quiet, fast, and comfortable. Based on several years of research and testing, the first production PCC car was built in 1936. 5024 of these modern streetcars were built in the United States. The last car built for service in North America was San Francisco Municipal Railway car 1040, delivered in 1951, and rebuilt in 2010.
Philadelphia Transportation Company 2185 was built in 1948 by the St. Louis Car Co., and shipped to Philadelphia. It was one of a group of 60 cars numbered 2141 to 2200. The car is single-end, meaning that it has operating controls at only one end. It is all-electric, utilizing electric power for both acceleration and braking. Like most PCCs built after World War II, it features standee windows, oval windows below the roof line and above the regular windows, to enable standing passengers to see the location of the car.
Philadelphia Transportation Company and other area mass transit service providers were absorbed by the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. In the late 1970s, SEPTA began a general overhaul program. At that time, the car was repainted in the white with red and blue stripes paint scheme. The rebuilt cars operated well into the 1990s.

2185 was built for city street operation in Philadelphia with the non-standard gauge of 5' 2 1/2." In order to operate the car on the East Troy Electric Railroad, the gauge had to be changed to the standard 4' 8 1/2.". Car 2185 was retrucked with ex-Chicago Transit Authority 6000-series trucks. We also installed a trolley pole on the front end (a “back-up pole”) so that we can operate the car in reverse. With rare exceptions, the car has been operational since 1995.

Photos of 2185