By Railfan & Railroad Staff

After a four-year hiatus, Philadelphia’s iconic Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars will again hit the streets this week. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, or SEPTA, recently completed a multi-year restoration of six of the decades-old trolleys, one of the last fleets in the nation to be used in regular service. 

The streetcars are expected to start running on SEPTA’s Route 15 on Sunday. The cars were taken off the streets in 2020 after a number of mechanical issues were discovered with them. Until the entire fleet is rebuilt, service on the route will be supplemented with buses. 

Philadelphia is one of three major American cities where you can still see and ride historic PCC cars on a daily basis. In Boston, a small fleet still runs between Ashmont and Mattapan. And in San Francisco, the F-Line features one of the largest fleets of PCC streetcars in the nation.