Introduction
SEPTA Bus Route 51 operates from Olney Transit Center to Plymouth Meeting Mall or Chestnut Hill via Stenton Avenue. Service on route 51 is provided by Midvale Depot (District 3).
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Route 51 Routing
SEPTA Route 51 operates local service from Olney Transit Center to Chestnut Hill via Nedro Avenue, Stenton Avenue, and Gravers Lane/Evergreen Avenue, and Germantown Avenue. From Germantown Avenue and Belthlehelm Pike, route 51 splits, with one version operating via Bethlehelm Pike to Paper Mill Road, then doubling back to Bethlehelm Pike via Montgomery Avenue, and terminating outside of the Chestnut Hill loop. The other version operates via Germantown Avenue into Germantown Pike, and to Plymouth Meeting Mall.
Key Transfer Points on Route 51
SEPTA Route 51 has many transfer points including…
- Olney Transit Center
- Wister Street and Chelten Avenue
- SEPTA bus route K
- Chestnut Hill Loop
- SEPTA bus routes 23, 77, 94, 97
- SEPTA Regional Rail Chestnut Hill West Line at Chestnut Hill West Station
- Germantown Pike and Church Lane (Barren Hill)
- SEPTA bus route 27 (Barren Hill Trips Only)
- Plymouth Meeting Mall
Route 51 Origins
Route 51 was originally SEPTA bus route L which was re-designated as route 51 on February 22nd 2025. The origins of route L is split up between route K, and an Auch Interborough Transit Co bus line that operated from Erdenheim through Chestnut Hill to Norristown
Route 23a and 23b, and Route X
Route 23a and 23b operated as shuttle trolleys between Chestnut Hill and either Erdenheim (23b) or Germantown Av & Northwestern (23a). This service would be replaced by a route X bus on January 7th 1929, which operated between Germantown & Northwestern and Erdenheim via Chestnut Hill. This version of route X would be replaced with Auch Interbrough Transit Company service on February 19th 1939.
Auch Interborough Transit Co Bus Service
Auch Interborugh Transit Company operated a bus line between the Erdenheim, the Chestnut Hill Loop and Norristown via Germantown Pike and Plymouth Meeting, replacing the original Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company route X service. On PTC official maps (1940+), the Auch Interborugh Transit Line to Norristown via Plymouth Meeting was was occasionally labeled as route “23b” and “23a”, as it operated as an extension of route 23.
This service would be shortened to operate betwen Chestnut Hill Loop and Norristown via Plymouth Meeting by 1946, as service from Chestnut Hill to Erdenheim would be acquired by Philadelphia Transportation Company and added to bus route L.
While no start date was properly given, this service ended when SEPTA (PTC’s successor) acquired the line and created service on route L in its place on August 24th 1969, though it wasn’t officially printed on timetables until December 17th 1973.
SEPTA/PTC Route L
Route L was created by the Philadelphia Transportation Company on October 30th 1938, replacing a portion route K that operated along Stenton Avenue. This route operated between Broad-Olney Station on the Broad Street Subway, and Chestnut Hill Loop via Stenton Avenue. Route K would had previously operated to Chestnut Hill Loop, but would be cut back to Washington Lane and Stenton Avenue as service to Chestnut Hill would now be provided by bus route L.
Bus route L would be extended north via Bethlehelm Pike to Erdenheim, replacing Auch Interbrough Transit service, by 1946.
On August 24th 1969, a spur of route L operating from Chestnut Hill to Norristown via Germantown Pike and Plymouth Meeting Mall would be created, replacing the service that Auch Interborough Transit would had provided previously, though this change wouldn’t be reflected on timetables until December 17th 1973.
The spur of route L to Norristown would be cut back to Plymouth Meeting Mall on March 7th 1977, and route 98 would be created to continue operating that trip.
Service on route L would continue alternating between terminating at Erdenheim and terminating at Plymouth Meeting Mall from then onwards. Express service was added to the line on February 28th 1988. Route L would continue to operate largely un-modified until February 22nd 2025, where it was re-branded as route 51.
With the New bus network, SEPTA route 51 will be re-routed to operate via Broad Street and 66th Avenue instead of Nedro and Wister Streets in February 2027.
Combination Trips: Route L and Route H
Similarly to route R, route L had combination trips that operated between the hours of 1:30am and 4:30am that would operate service along route L between Broad-Olney and Stenton-Mt Airy, then via route H (now route 51) to Cheltenham-Ogontz Loop. This service operated for a while, but wasn’t formally represented on timetables until 1982. These combination trips would be discontinued on September 2nd 2001 and all overnight route L trips would operate instead to Chestnut Hill. Overnight service on route 18 would be added on September 5th 2005 to make up for the loss of combination trips on routes L/H.
Other Routes using the same numbers.
There were previously three different lines that wore the number 51
- Route 51 from Front & Chestnut Streets to 33rd Street & Columbia Avenue Loop via 7th/8th Streets and Columbia Avenue
- Trolley service started May 12th 1893, though the number wasn’t assigned until October 12th 1912.
- Service discontinued June 15th 1929 and was absorbed by routes 3 and 47 on the same date.
- Route 51 from Doylestown and Perkasie to Quakertown via Sellersville
- Bus service started January 20th 1975
- Discontinued by Summer 1978 with no replacement
- Route 51″Welcome Line” from Center City Philadelphia to Parkside via 11th/12th Streets and Girard Avenue
- Trolley service started May 1995 and used trolleys for the duration of the operation
- Temporarily discontinued in December 1996, but revived for the holiday season of 1997, to be discontinued completely afterwards.
New Bus Network Changes
SEPTA route 51 will be re-routed to operate via Broad Street and 66th Avenue instead of Nedro Avenue and Wister Street in February 2027.
Timetables
Route 51 is currently active. Check out SEPTA’s official website for current timetables for route 51. Below are historic scans of old timetables for route 51/Route L. These are all out of date, and should not be used for trip planning, just educational purposes only.
- Route L
- 1986
- 1988
- 2003
- 2005
- 2008
- 2021
Announcements
These are the exterior door announcements for route L used on buses delivered betwen 1996 and 2016.