Introduction

SEPTA Trackless Trolley route 59 operates between Arrott Transt Center and Bells Corner Loop (Bustleton and Castor Avenues. Trackless trolley service on route 59 is provided by Frankford Depot (District 3).

SEPTA 801 on Route 59 by DashTransit
Back to SEPTA City Transit Division
Official SEPTA Page
Table Of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. SEPTA Route 59 Routing
  3. Key Transfer Points on Route 59
  4. Route 59 Origins
  5. New Bus Network Changes
  6. Timetables

Please Donate!
If everyone reading this could donate just one dollar today, we could afford to have Virtual Transit Center on the web for up to 6 years without interruption, or even the need for ads. For those who enjoy Virtual Transit Center and the services we provide, please consider donating.
Paypal Donate

SEPTA Route 59 Routing

SEPTA route 59 operates trackless trolley service along the full length of Castor Avenue north of Oxford Circle and Oxford Avenue south of Oxford Circle, providing service between Arrott Transit Center and Bustleton Avenue.

Key Transfer Points on Route 59

Transfer points along trackless trolley route 59 include..

  • Arrott Transit Center
    • SEPTA Metro L1 line at Arrott Transit Center Station
    • SEPTA bus routes 3, 5, 41, 75, K
  • Oxford Avenue and Pratt Street
    • SEPTA bus routes 8, 24, 72, 82
  • Oxford Circle
    • SEPTA bus route 1, 19, 67
  • Castor Avenue and Magee Avenue
    • SEPTA bus route 26
  • Castor Avenue and Cottman Avenue
    • SEPTA bus route 70 and 77
  • Bells Corner, Castor and Bustleton Avenues
    • SEPTA bus route 58

Route 59 Origins

Current SEPTA route 59 started as a trolley line that was created on November 5th 1922 by the city of Philadelphia, launching at the same as the Frankford Elevated portion of the Market-Frankford Line (now SEPTA Metro L Line). This route 59 trolley operated from Frankford-Oxford (now Arrott Transit Center) to Bustleton-Lott via Oxford and Castor Avenues.

The route 59 trolley would be shortened to Castor-Rhawn on December 4th, 1938, and bus service would operate between there and Bustleton-Lott due to reconstruction on a bridge in the area.

The route 59 trolley would be cut back one last time on on April 18th 1948 to Castor-Cottman for the stringing of new wiring and the paving over of tracks as the line would be converted to trackless in two years. The shuttle bus would then be rebranded as route 59B, operating Castor-Cottman to Bustleton-Lott via Castor Avenue. The shuttle would also be extended south to Pratt Street Terminal (Now Frankford Transit Center) via Buselton Avenue (South of Cottman Avenue). The southern end of the route 59 was also reversed so that trolleys would enter south via Oxford Avenue, and loop via Arrott and Penn Streets to head back north on Oxford Avenue. Previously, the 59 trolley would just change directions to head north on Oxford Avenue.

Trolley service on route 59 would be discontnued on June 24th 1950, and be replaced by trackless trolley service.

Route 59 Trackless Trolley, 1950-Present

SEPTA AMG 853 and 859 at Frankford by DashTransit
SEPTA AMG Trackless Trolleys 853 and 859 at Frankford by DashTransit

Route 59 would be established as a trackless trolley on June 24th 1950, operating between Oxford-Frankford and Bustleton-Castor, replacing the route 59 trolley. The bus shuttle between Castor-Cottman and Bustelton-Lott, called route 59B, would be rerouted to operate Bustleton Avenue north of Cottman Avenue to Lott Street. While route 59B would go through its own set of changes, and even eventually be re-numbered route 58, route 59 would operate virtually unmodified to this day. However trackless trolley service on the line was temporarily discontinued in 2003 due to the construction of Frankford Transit Center, but restored trackless trolleys with the August 31st 2008 schedule change, when the then-new New Flyer E40LFR trackless trolleys entered service.

Other Routes using the same numbers.

The very first route 59 operated between Bridge-Minlor to 2nd-South via Richmond Street and 2nd/3rd Streets. This service was discontinued on May 29th, 1920, and replaced by extensions of route 5 and 15.
The very first route 58 was originally the number for the trolley along Torresdale Avenue before route 56 was extended east.

New Bus Network Changes

SEPTA Route 59 will be unaffected by the New Bus Network.

Timetables

Below are some historic timetables for SEPTA’s trackless trolley route 59. These are older (out of date) timetable scans with their effective dates listed.