The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum is restoring Car 8042, chosen for preservation because it was the last car to operate on the York Road to Willow Grove line on September 8, 1940.

The 55-seat car was built in 1923 by J.G. Brill Company and measures 45’6″ in length, 10’10” in height, 8’6″ in width, and weighs 37,720 lbs. (18.9 tons).

According to the Museum, Car 8042 is one of 385 single-end cars purchased in 1923 by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT). The order included a fleet of utility cars, including cranes, plows, sweepers and other miscellaneous vehicles, and was the largest single order for surface passenger equipment at one time.

Car 8042, one of the 8000s, incorporated many advances in design and construction, such as a greater use of lightweight steel construction and wood framing, sliding doors and an interior step well.

Photos of Route 55 in past action, courtesy of Pinterest

The Willow Grove line, also known as Route 55, is a City Bus Route that travels between Olney Transportation Center and Willow Grove. 

According to SEPTA, Route 55 was originally a trolley that operated from Broad & Olney Terminal to Willow Grove. Trolleys continued to run on this route until June 27, 1952 when buses replaced streetcars.

Route 55’s service was extended to Doylestown in 1966 and then to Willow Grove Park Mall in 1982. In 1997, service was extended to the new Cross Keys Shopping Center, creating the route the 55 travels along today. 

This fall, SEPTA returned some of Philadelphia’s antique trolley cars to Route 15. Six trolleys from the 1940s are expected to run along 8.2 miles of tracks on Girard Avenue after three years and $1.5 million in restoration. According to SEPTA, 12 more cars are expected over the coming months.

For photos of the process and the full restoration story of Car 8042, you can click here.

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Photo: Philly Trolley Museum