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Birney car in Upper Providence Township just south of the Media borough line on South Park Ave. This is a PRT Folsom Division Birney headed southbound on Route 77 from Media to Chester. Route 77 ran as a rail line for the last time on April 4 1936 nearly a year after the section from 25th and Edgemont to 6th and Welsh, Chester, was replaced by the Route 77-B bus.
The abandonment of the Southern Pennsylvania Traction trolleys in Chester brought pressure to bear on PRT because the PRT Birneys ran partially on track in Chester shared with SPT. According to traction historian Harold E. Cox and his co-author Paul Schieck ("Trolleys of Lower Delaware Valley Pennsylvania," 1970): "The operation of a trolley from Media to Chester's city line and then a transfer to a bus going the rest of the way was quite unsatisfactory and as soon as suitable arrangements could be made with the various political subdivisions concerned, the rest of the Middletown line was abandoned to bus service, this being accomplished on 5 April 1936." Folsom Division Route 77 was built as the Media, Middletown, Aston and Chester Electric Railway Co., hence the designation "Middletown" in the text.
The abandonment of the Southern Pennsylvania Traction trolleys in Chester brought pressure to bear on PRT because the PRT Birneys ran partially on track in Chester shared with SPT. According to traction historian Harold E. Cox and his co-author Paul Schieck ("Trolleys of Lower Delaware Valley Pennsylvania," 1970): "The operation of a trolley from Media to Chester's city line and then a transfer to a bus going the rest of the way was quite unsatisfactory and as soon as suitable arrangements could be made with the various political subdivisions concerned, the rest of the Middletown line was abandoned to bus service, this being accomplished on 5 April 1936." Folsom Division Route 77 was built as the Media, Middletown, Aston and Chester Electric Railway Co., hence the designation "Middletown" in the text.
Bob Lewis photo courtesy the Bill Volkmer collection; caption info from Ed Havens
