THE PROTOTYPES
These big cars (50' long) were delivered to Philadelphia's SEPTA in 1981-1982. 112 single-ended cars were built by Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan to replace the oldest of the PCC cars then still in service. Now found only on the subway-surface routes on SEPTA, the cars have gone through several paint schemes and even some minor physical changes. All are in service, a testament to the maintainence care given them by SEPTA's shop forces and to Kawasaki.