Never did I think I would see something so very familiar to me here on Shorpy. I walk through those doors every workday, though it's now hard to imagine the suit-and-bowler crowd in the space.

69th Street Terminal is a mish-mash of lines. The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company built the terminal and the Market-Frankford Elevated that ran into the city past Millbourne Mills and down along Market Street, thus connecting the myriad of suburban lines directly to the heart of the city. You can see one of their cars sticking its nose out from the bottom right of the building, along with its motorman taking a smoke break.

The platform of the Philadelphia and Western Railroad Co.'s high-speed train to Strafford on the Main Line can be seen jutting out just above the Elevated car --- which actually dates the photo closer to 1908, as their cars didn't start operating out of their until mid-1907.

Trollies of the Philadelphia & West Chester Traction Co. from West Chester, Sharon Hill, and Ardmore (and later Media) came in out of frame at left. All in all, a bustling operation, even moreso today.

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