SEPTA Route 11

Route 11, also known as the Woodland Avenue Line, is a trolley line operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) that connects the 13th Street station in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Darby Transportation Center in Darby, Pennsylvania. It is one of five lines that are part of the subway–surface trolley system.

Route 11 Subway–surface trolley line
SEPTA's Route #11 line bound for Darby
Overview
System	Subway–surface trolley lines
Termini	Darby (Transportation Center) Center City (13th–Market)
Stations	8 underground
Operation
Opened	1858
Depot(s)	Elmwood Carhouse
Technical
Line length	13.3 mi (21.4 km)
Track gauge	5 ft 2 ^1⁄4 in (1,581 mm)[1]
Electrification	overhead lines
Route map SEPTA Main Line to Glenside MFL to Frankford 13th Street BSL City Hall 15th Street MFL Suburban 19th Street 22nd Street Schuylkill River Northeast Corridor 30th Street Station 30th Street MFL Harrisburg Subdivision NEC/Keystone Corridor 32nd Street Tunnel MFL to 69th Street 33rd Street  10  to 63rd–Malvern 36th Street 37th Street 40th Street Portal  34  Baltimore Avenue Chester & Woodland  13  Chester Avenue Woodland & 41st Woodland & 42nd Woodland & 43rd Woodland & 45th Woodland & 46th Woodland & 47th ELW Woodland & 48th Woodland & 49th  36  49th Street Woodland Heavy Maintenance Shop Woodland & 50th Woodland & 51st Woodland & 52nd Woodland & 53rd Woodland & 54th Woodland & 55th Woodland & 56th Woodland & 57th Woodland & 58th Woodland & 60th Woodland & 61st Woodland & 62nd Woodland & 63rd Woodland & 64th Woodland & 65th Woodland & 66th Woodland & 67th Woodland & 68th Woodland & 69th Woodland & 70th Woodland & 71st Woodland & 72nd Woodland & Island Cobbs Creek Main & Front Main & 2nd Main & 3rd Main & 4th Main & 5th Main & 6th Main & Summit  13  │ Main & Mill Main & Powell Darby T.C.

Route description

Starting from its eastern end at 13th Street, Route 11 runs in a tunnel under Market Street. It stops at underground stations at 15th Street, 19th Street, 22nd Street, 30th Street, and 33rd Street. From 15th to 30th Streets, it runs on the outer tracks in the same tunnel as SEPTA's Market–Frankford Line.

Passengers may transfer free of charge to the Market–Frankford Line at 13th, 15th, and 30th Streets and to the Broad Street Line at 15th Street. Connections to the SEPTA Regional Rail are also available. Underground passageways connect the 13th and 15th Street Stations to Jefferson Station and Suburban Station.

Route 11 surfaces at the 40th Street Portal near 40th Street and Baltimore Avenue (US 13), and then runs southwest along Woodland Avenue, along with Route 36 trolleys, and then turns down 49th Street where the Route 10 diversion line ends. Route 11 continues its run along Woodland Avenue, and is the most consistent of the five subway–surface lines when it comes to taking a straight route. The line runs parallel to the north side of the Wilmington/Newark Line and crosses a bridge over CSX's Philadelphia Subdivision freight line, at 60th Street.

At the intersection of Island Road and the Cobbs Creek Parkway, an unnamed line runs southward toward Elmwood Depot on the corner of Elmwood Avenue, which is a major turning point for the Route 36 line. The northwest corner is also the home of the historic Blue Bell Inn[2] Route 11 moves northwest from Woodland Avenue to Main Street as it crosses the Cobbs Creek and enters Darby. Here, Route 11 crosses the Philadelphia Subdivision again, but at an at-grade crossing along with 6th Street.[3] The road and line move to the west shortly, only to turn back northwest and finally north to 9th Street at the Darby Transportation Center. Some Route 13 trolleys also terminate at the station, but the other public transportation consists of SEPTA Suburban Transit Division buses.

History

Route 11 was established as the West Philadelphia Passenger Railway Company in Darby on December 24, 1858, and ran as horsecars from 9th and Main Streets in Darby to 49th Street and Woodland Avenue in West Philadelphia. It was originally a segregated street car that required African-Americans to ride on platforms along with the driver, until abolitionist William Still challenged that rule between 1859 and 1867.[4] In 1896, the line was extended as far east as Front Street via Chestnut and Walnut Streets, and was integrated into the subway–surface trolley system by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company on December 15, 1906.[5]

The at-grade crossing along Main Street at the intersection of Sixth Street in Darby[6] was the site of the Darby Baltimore and Ohio Railroad station. B&O had passenger service into Philadelphia until 1958.[7]

Stations and stops

All are in either the City of Philadelphia or the Borough of Darby.

Neighborhood / location	Images	Station or stop	Connections	Notes
Market East		13th Street	MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 27, 31, 32	Closed between 12:30–5:00am
Penn Center		15th Street	(at Suburban Station) MFL Market–Frankford Line, BSL Broad Street Line (at City Hall station) 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 4, 16, 17, 27, 31, 32, 33, 38, 44, 48 124, 125	Late night terminus
		19th Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 17, 31, 38, 44, 48, 62, 78 124
Center City West		22nd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 7, 31, 44, 62 124, 125	Replaced 24th Street station
University City		30th Street Station	Amtrak (at 30th Street Station) NJ Transit: ACL Atlantic City Line (at 30th Street Station) (at 30th Street Station) MFL Market–Frankford Line 10, 11, 13, 34, 36 31, 49, LUCY	No direct passage to 30th Street Station
		33rd Street	10, 11, 13, 34, 36 30, 31, 49, LUCY	Serves Drexel University
		36th Street	13, 34, 36 21	Serves University of Pennsylvania
		37th Street	13, 34, 36 40, 42, LUCY	Serves University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
Spruce Hill		40th Street Portal	13, 34, 36 30, 40, 42, LUCY	End of Route 34 concurrency
		Chester & Woodland	13, 36 30	End of Route 13 concurrency
		41st & Woodland (EB)	36 30
		42nd & Woodland	36
		43rd & Woodland (WB) 45th & Woodland (EB)	36
Squirrel Hill		46th & Woodland	36
		47th & Woodland (EB)	36
Kingsessing		48th & Woodland	36
		49th & Woodland	36 12, 52, 64	End of Route 36 concurrency
		50th & Woodland	12, 52
		51st & Woodland	52
		52nd & Woodland	52
		53rd & Woodland	52
		54th & Woodland
		55th & Woodland
		56th & Woodland
		57th & Woodland
		58th & Woodland	G
Elmwood		60th & Woodland
		61st & Woodland
		62nd & Woodland	G
		63rd & Woodland
		64th & Woodland
		65th & Woodland	108
		66th & Woodland
		67th & Woodland
		68th & Woodland
		69th & Woodland
		70th & Woodland
		71st & Woodland
		72nd & Woodland
		Island & Woodland	68
Philadelphia–Darby line
Darby		Front & Main
		2nd & Main
		3rd & Main
		4th & Main
		5th & Main
		6th & Main
		Summit & Main
		Mill & Main (EB)
		Powell & Main (WB)
		Darby	13 113, 114, 115	Limited Route 13 service

References

1. Hilton, George W.; Due, John Fitzgerald (1 Jan 2000). "The Electric Interurban Railways in America". Stanford University Press. Retrieved 2014-06-10.
2. Blue Bell Inn (DarbyHistory.com)
3. Philadelphia Transit; Streetcars;Route 11 (Kavanaugh Transit Systems)
4. William Still, Darby, and the Desegregation of Philadelphia Streetcars (DarbyHistory.com)
5. 1974 SEPTA Trolleys Brochure
6. Google view of the crossing in Darby
7. Former Darby B&O Station (Existing Railroad Stations in Delaware County, Pennsylvania)

External links

Template:Attached KML/SEPTA Route 11

KML is from Wikidata

• Official SEPTA Route 11 schedule and map
• Subway-Surface Lines & Proposals on Google Maps