Strawberry Mansion Bridge

Strawberry Mansion Bridge. . , Trolley service ended with the close of the Centennial Exhibition and it was not until 1894 that the notion of the trolley service in Fairmount Park resurfaced. Charles A. Potter, a member of "Hog Combine", a subdivision of the Republican Machine, secured rights to build an electric trolley line in West Park. Under the franchise agreement granted to the Fairmount Park Transportation Company, the trolley was proposed to begin operation within two years; however, problems arose in the construction of the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, the structure that would link East and West Park at the only point between Girard Avenue and Falls Bridge. Although the line opened in November 1896 it could only travel within West Park, the bridge did not open until June 1897. In its first summer, the trolley line carried 87,000 passengers., The 8 1/2 mile loop had stations every 3/4 mile and conformed to the contour of the land. T-rail was laid on yellow pine ties and grass grew between the tracks. Ten closed motor cars. 20 open motor cars, and 30 open-air trailers, all bright red with bronze trim, traveled along the route. At its peak during the early 1920s, the trolley carried an average of 2 million people a year., The boundaries of Fairmount Park were always a destination for major horse drawn railway lines in the mid to late 19th century; however, it was not until the Centennial Exhibition of 1876 that transportation extended into the grounds. The Fairmount Park Commission leased land to the West End Passenger Railway Company which built a 5 1/2 mile loop for steam-powered railcars. Ten locomotives and 40 open-air passenger trailers, produced by Jackson and Sharp of Wilmington, Delaware, each carried 100 passengers throughout Centennial grounds., Numerous factors led to the failure of the Fairmount Park Trolley. Not only did the automobile change the need and desire to use public transportation, but it altered how people spent their leisure time. Furthermore, the trolley line suffered financial difficulty throughout its existence. Unable to pay bondholders in 1912, the company defaulted on a second bond issuance in October 1915. This debt was settled through the sale of the company to the Fairmount Park Transit Company in 1917. For a brief period there was a surplus but the Depression guaranteed failure. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1935 and was granted permission by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to abandon the line in May 1945. The last regularly scheduled trolley traveled the loop on 9 September 1946.