Philadelphia Traction Company stock certificate 1920s (Pennsylvania)

Classic Philly streetcar piece.  Perfect vignette of an electric streetcar in a city scene with passing horse-drawn carriage and period-dressed pedestrians. Issued and cancelled. Dated in the 1920s. Approximately 12 x 8 inches.

In 1883 a trio of entrepreneurs, William Kemble (1828-1891), Peter A. B. Widener (1834-1915), and William Lukens Elkins (1832-1903), formed the Philadelphia Traction Company to acquire existing streetcar lines and convert them to cable operation. The higher costs of the cable car infrastructure started the consolidation of the various routes into larger concerns despite restrictions on mergers and cross-ownership (usually avoided by the use of long-term leases and holding companies).

By the mid-1880s, however, the electric trolley was invented and it was clearly the technology of the future. Unfortunately, Philadelphia Traction’s investment in cable cars and the small size of most other companies contributed to Philadelphia’s slow adoption of trolleys.

Following the conservative Kemble’s death in 1891, Widener decided to abandon cable operation for electrification. The first electric line on Bainbridge and Catharine streets opened in 1892, and the horse cars made their final runs in Philadelphia just five years later.

In 1895 Widener and Elkins formed the Union Traction Company and within three years it controlled nearly all the lines in the city. To help increase off-peak ridership, the company built a large amusement park at Willow Grove in the northern suburbs in 1896. One of the region’s other successful amusement parks, Woodside in Fairmount Park, was owned by the Fairmount Park Transportation Company, which operated a popular trolley line through the park from 1897 to 1946.

Lease by PRT:
The Union Traction Company was then leased by the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company (PRT) in 1902, a new monopoly formed to coordinate the city's various transportation lines.

Market Street Elevated:
A major project of the PRT was the construction of the Market Street Elevated, nicknamed "The El," which was approved in 1903.

End of an era:
The company and its successors were replaced by the SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) in 1968, which acquired the company's assets.

Product descriptions and images
Please note that some pictures may only be representative of the inventory available.  If we have more than one piece, we are unable to scan and display every piece.  Unless otherwise noted, that there are variations for signatures, cancellation marks/holes, serial number, and dates.  Colors will be as noted and pictured.