Does anyone know when the P&W trolley accident was over the Schuylkill River in PA maybe sometime in the 80s ?

Question

My daughter is doing a report for school, and we are having a hard time finding info on this accident all I need to know is the date not alot of other details Thank You!!!

Answer 1

I think you may be looking for a fictional event, which is why you are having so much trouble.

"“[The] history of a kid is one part fact, two parts legend, and three parts snowball” (page 2). Maniac Magee is a work of fiction, not fact. But even within the fictional world some details seem very unlikely (Maniac had an eight-inch cockroach on a leash)
and some very concrete (his parents died in a trolley accident)."

You can check the two links below for a teaching guide for parents on the book "Maniac Magee" where the incident occurred, and Cliff's Notes for a synopsis of the story as well.

Also, in tracing the supposed history of P&W, it turns out that they were not even called that anymore around that time, having been taken over by SEPTA and having become the Route 100 line. From Wikipedia: "The company was reorganized as the Philadelphia and Western Railroad in 1946. It was sold to the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company in 1951 or 1954; the PSTC was later renamed to Red Arrow Lines, and was eventually merged into SEPTA."

Sorry. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Answer 2

Maniac Magee Cliff Notes