Pittsburgh Rys 101

[Derrick J Brashear]

On Sun, 4 Jul 1999, Charles Brown wrote:

> 7)  And speaking of which, would there be any justification today to
> re-extend the interurbans to Washington and Charleroi (ie have those
> cities increased enough and would there be sufficient ridership between
> them and Pittsburgh to warrant restoration of the lines)?  For that
> matter, have any physical obstacles been built since their abandonment
> to prevent their restoration?  We kicked around the Washington line on
> another list and I believe that there is a housing tract on the old
> right of way?

Charleroi for sure and most likely Washington have shrunk. There's still
MMVTA bus service to Charleroi from Pittsburgh, but I don't know if GG&C
still does service to Washington. Still, I can't see that the traffic that
uses transit now could prossibly justify what light rail costs today..
plus, especially in Peters and Upper St. Clair, right of way costs would
be huge these days! Yes, there's housing over the Washington line just
south of Drake.

> 9)  I had always considered Cincinnati to be the king of the inclines,
> but am surprised to learn of the number of inclines in Pittsburgh and
> their durability.  The 1949 map shows 6 in operation, a year after the
> last one closed in Cincinnati.  I read elsewhere that there were at
> least 20 inclines that operated in Pittsburgh.  Aside from the 6 shown
> on the 1949 map, how many other inclines were there and where were they
> located?  How many carried passengers, vehicles, and/or trolleys?

I wasn't aware that any carried trolleys.I don't know if the Mon freight
incline carried vehicles. For sure only the Johnstown Inclined Plane
carries vehicles now, but it's not in Pittsburgh!

During not the summer you can still see the path of an incline which
connected Wilmerding to East McKeesport when you're headed up the Turtle
Creek valley toward Pitcairn...

-D