Callowhill Depot is a bus and trolley barn operated by

SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...

, located in

West Philadelphia West Philadelphia, nicknamed West Philly, is a section of the city of Philadelphia. Although there are no officially defined boundaries, it is generally considered to reach from the western shore of the Schuylkill River, to City Avenue to the n ...

, near the Delaware County border. It was built in 1913 by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) and was later operated by the

Philadelphia Transportation Company The Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) was the main public transit operator in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from 1940 to 1968. A private company, PTC was the successor to the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT), in operation since ...

(PTC) before being taken over by

. The depot was constructed as part of the Thomas E. Mitten modernization program. Since its construction, the depot has suffered fire damage and reconstruction in 1949, 1950, and 1995. The Callowhill Depot is located in the heart of

, located on the southwest corner of the 5900 block of Callowhill Street with the bus and trolley bays across the street. The depot is surrounded by 59th, Vine, 58th, and Callowhill streets. Callowhill Depot was an all-trolley depot until May 28, 1955, when Route 70 (52nd Street Line) was converted to bus operation. Callowhill Depot was the base of all streetcar routes that operated in West Philadelphia, until

National City Lines National City Lines, Inc. (NCL) was a public transportation company. The company grew out of the Fitzgerald brothers' bus operations, founded in Minnesota, United States, in 1920 as a modest local transport company operating two buses. Part of th ...

converted most of them to buses. The depot is accessible only to SEPTA employees, however, transit enthusiasts often photograph streetcars pulling in and out. For safety reasons, SEPTA Transit Police will stop and question anyone found on the property without reason or authorization.

Routes

Callowhill Depot is home to two

trolley routes and 11 bus routes. The depot's trolley bays are 2, 3 and 4. Bay 2 is the rail shop, bay 3 is used by the T1, and bay 4 is used by the G. These routes all operate in

, with their eastern terminus being either in downtown

Center City, Philadelphia Center City includes the central business district and central neighborhoods of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It comprises the area that made up the City of Philadelphia prior to the Act of Consolidation, 1854, which extended the ci ...

North Philadelphia North Philadelphia, nicknamed North Philly, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is immediately north of Center City, Philadelphia, Center City. Though the full extent of the region is somewhat vague, "North Philadelphia" is regarded as ...

. Routes operated include: * T1 BSicon SUBWAY-CHN

Overbrook to Center City via Lancaster Avenue and Subway–Surface Tunnel * G Port Richmond & Northern Liberties to Haddington via

Girard Avenue Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street in Philadelphia. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 30. ...

and Richmond Street * Route 21 69th Street Transit Center to Penn's Landing via

Chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Description ...

and

Walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

streets * Route 30 69th Street Transit Center to

30th Street Station 30th Street Station, officially William H. Gray III 30th Street Station, is a major intermodal passenger transport, intermodal transit station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The station opened in 1933 as Pennsylvania Station– ...

(30th & Market streets) via Haverford Avenue * Route 31 Overbrook Park to Center City via Market Street * Route 38 Wissahickon Transit Center to Center City via Belmont Avenue,

Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

and

streets * Route 40 West Park/ Wynnefield to Society Hill via 40th, 41st, Lombard and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

streets (Monday - Thursday) and eastbound on Pine Street (weekends only) * Route 42 Wycombe &

to Penn's Landing via Spruce,

and

streets * Route 43 Parkside to Northern Liberties/ Port Richmond via Spring Garden Street and Columbus Boulevard * Route 44 Ardmore/Gladwyne to Center City via Montgomery Avenue,

City Avenue U.S. Route 1 (US 1) is a major north–south U.S. Route, extending from Key West, Florida, in the south to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canada–United States border in the north. In the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, US 1 runs for ...

, Schuylkill Expressway and Market Street * Route 46 Overbrook to Angora via 60th Street * Route 52 Gladwyne/ Wynnefield to Southwest Philadelphia vis 52nd and 54th streets * Route 65 69th Street Transit Center to Germantown/ Mount Airy via City Line Avenue and Walnut Lane. This route was formerly shared with the Allegheny Depot.

External links

Philadelphia Trolley Tracks:Girard Avenue Light Rail Progress - August 8-9, 2001 Photos (PhillyTrolley.org)
* ttp://www.trainweb.org/phillynrhs/RPOTW050904.html Philadelphia NRHSbr>SEPTA Bus Roster (Philadelphia Transit Vehicles)
{{SEPTA Railway stations in the United States opened in 1913 Transportation buildings and structures in Philadelphia SEPTA 1913 establishments in Pennsylvania