Brilliner was a tram designed by the J. G. Brill Company. The tram was designed to be a competitor to the successful PCC cars, but the design ended up being a failure for the company, with only several trams built. The tram utilized a clean, streamlined design, similar to a PCC car. It also used a boxy floor plan and a riveted steel body design. Due to the boxy floor plan, Brilliner cars could not clear the tight spaces required by the Philadelphia Transportation Company (PTC), the company's main customer.^[1] The Brilliner was the company's last trolley design before merging with American Car and Foundry (ACF).

10 cars were built for Red Arrow Lines (these were the only double-ended variants as every other car was single-ended), 24 trams were sold to Atlantic City, 3 cars were sold to the PTC, and one of each was sold to Cincinnati and Baltimore.^[2] One streetcar, Red Arrow Lines 5, is now on display at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.^[3]

Gallery

• 
  A Brilliner in service on the now-defunct Philadelphia Ardmore tram route (Route 103).
• 
  A Brilliner in service with the suburban Philadelphia Red Arrow Lines at 69th Street Terminal.

References