Old maps

On the old site, there was a discussion about old maps of the SEPTA system, and how some of them can still be seen adorning the walls of the current network! Today, I was in the 15th street Frankford-Market station. Looking down to the trolley platform, it had a map on the wall which I didn't recognise. My eyesight not being what it was, but it was older than the SEPTA map with the grey regional rail lines and I don't think it was the 1976 map, but I may be wrong. Anyone any ideas or pictures?

roverinexile wrote:On the old site, there was a discussion about old maps of the SEPTA system, and how some of them can still be seen adorning the walls of the current network! Today, I was in the 15th street Frankford-Market station. Looking down to the trolley platform, it had a map on the wall which I didn't recognise. My eyesight not being what it was, but it was older than the SEPTA map with the grey regional rail lines (including the 1976 map, but I may be wrong. Anyone any ideas or pictures?[/img]

Yes, if you head up Exit 2 from the Frankford-bound platform and make a sharp left and walk down the stairs you can get a closer look. Old signs are everywhere in the system, and if you've noticed, the current system signs are just large stickers placed on the front of the older system signs. People often peel them off and expose the old sign.

If you get off the trolley at 15th Street going east, there is a map on the platform from I believe 1968. It shows Franklin Square on the PATCO, the Subway Surface Lines are colored purple, and if you look at what is now the R6 it actually has an arrow and says "to Reading."

Jbad wrote:If you get off the trolley at 15th Street going east, there is a map on the platform from I believe 1968. It shows Franklin Square on the PATCO, the Subway Surface Lines are colored purple, and if you look at what is now the R6 it actually has an arrow and says "to Reading."

In other words, it was easy to go then where a $2billion trolley can't go today...

Jbad wrote:If you get off the trolley at 15th Street going east, there is a map on the platform from I believe 1968. It shows Franklin Square on the PATCO, the Subway Surface Lines are colored purple, and if you look at what is now the R6 it actually has an arrow and says "to Reading."

Ive seen this map too... The SEPTA symbol is in the old meatball style, and like you said the SSL are purple, plus the regional rail lines are seperate and are called PENNCENTRAL and READING still... There is no Commuter tunnel.. The only I think you have wrong is the date. SEPTA did not excist in 1968, more likely it is circa 1976 or sometime there about. I have tried to steal that map on quite a few occasions. Im sure Septa wouldnt miss it.

SEPTA did exist in 1968, it was created by an act of the Pennsylvania Legistlature in 1963 to save the failing bus and trolley services on the City of Philadelphia and it's suburbs. In 1974, rolling stock was purchased by SEPTA for the Reading and the Penn Central Commuter lines to subsidize their ailing stock. For all intensive purposes, ConRail was offering commuter services of some nature or another until about 1981, my literature indicates that, I wasn't around to vouch for whether or not ConRail was operating commuter services in Philly, maybe somebody else can make that clarification. The map in the PATCO tunnel and and the the passge from th concourse to Suburban Station, There's two or three of them down that passage, are maps that reflect the commuter system of either 1972 or 1974, I can't remember which year is the right one, but it is one of those two years.

SEPTA did exist in 1968. It finally became an operating agency when it acquired PTC in the fall of that year. On the other hand, PATCO did not exist in 1968 in a recognizable form. The DRPA was still working on the new part, though they did operate the Locust St.-Camden (Broadway) line starting late in the summer of 1968, having acquired it from PTC, with the rest opening in February 1969.

The Pennsylvania (or Penn Central) and Reading railroads operated under subsidy (including stock purchases) from PSIC or SEPACT and then SEPTA until 1 April 1976 when both railroads were formally absorbed by Conrail. Conrail operated the service similarly under contract until 1 January 1983, predating this commentator by about eight weeks, when SEPTA became the primary operator. The last Conrail passenger train anywhere was a West Trenton local out of Reading Terminal around 6pm 31 December 1982 (seems even back then holiday and special event service was horrible; 6pm on New Year's Eve?!).

-asg

Trackseventeen wrote:

Jbad wrote:If you get off the trolley at 15th Street going east, there is a map on the platform from I believe 1968. It shows Franklin Square on the PATCO, the Subway Surface Lines are colored purple, and if you look at what is now the R6 it actually has an arrow and says "to Reading."

Ive seen this map too... The SEPTA symbol is in the old meatball style, and like you said the SSL are purple, plus the regional rail lines are seperate and are called PENNCENTRAL and READING still... There is no Commuter tunnel.. The only I think you have wrong is the date. SEPTA did not excist in 1968, more likely it is circa 1976 or sometime there about. I have tried to steal that map on quite a few occasions. Im sure Septa wouldnt miss it.

You mean this map:

http://www.railfanwindow.com/gallery/album27/IMG_3356

I photographed it in August 2003.