Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC) had a large fleet of PCC streamliners, of which 2711 (along with sister car 2723) represents one of the more recent. Originally built for service on the busy 23-Germantown Avenue line, the car came equipped for 2-man operation – almost unheard of in 1947, but traffic on the route more than covered the extra operating cost.

As PTC gave way to SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority) in 1968, the 2700s continued in service and remained after several trolley lines had been discontinued. Because of their age, many cars went through a general overhaul rebuilding in the 1980s to extend their useful life another ten years, including the replacement of the hand-cranked windows with school bus style windows and seating from scrapped former transit buses. But once that time was up and new cars were acquired, streetcar operation was sharply curtailed and the cars were surplus. In 1999 car 2711 was acquired by PTM for the purpose of having a wheelchair accessible car for operations. The generosity of corporate partner Adtranz (now Bombardier) that builds people mover cars and components in nearby West Mifflin allowed the car to be taken from Philadelphia to their factory in Elmira, New York where crews restored the original 1947 appearance. As a work car 2711 had many of it’s seats removed which facilitated reworking of the interior.

Wheelchair accessibility was achieved by modifying the outward-opening center doors of the car with a removable center support, making it possible to accommodate an external wheelchair lift. The interior of the car was also reconfigured to provide longitudinal bench seating in the front half of the car, which can be folded up to carry as many as ten wheelchairs at a time. A folding table was also mounted in the car, allowing PTM to use this car for birthday parties, charters and other special events. The exterior of the car was repainted to reflect its as-delivered paint scheme for PTC (green and cream, separated by a maroon belt rail).