Last Great Trolley Show???

[Jim Holland]

I sent this email earlier with an attachment of 30,000+ bytes.  Apparently it 
didn't take.  I shall send the attachment to Derrick and he can tell us if he 
has room to post it on his site.  The attachment is a graph showing two hours of 
car movements as detailed below:

Greetings!

        F-O-U-N-D!!

        The article above by Dave Hamley appeared in the March-April 1988 issue
of *Trolley Fare* where he details streetcar use for the crowds at Forbes Field
(I honestly thought this article appeared within the last 3-4 years it is so
vivid in my mind--I have included it in one of my East End Photo albums and I
searched the other album earlier!)

        The date is 1960.10.05, the first day of the World Series.  I am
including a graph which is only 30,000 bytes which details car movements at the
Schenley circle at Forbes for about 2 hours on game day.  Here is a quote form
the article:

        "The real rush came when the game ended.  About the eighth inning, cars
began to arrive from Craft Avenue and Tunnel to fill the two tracks of Duquesne
Garden loop.  On that first day the 16 cars crammed into the loop represent a
cross-section of PRCo's PCC fleet:  1164, 1217, 1226, 1227, 1241, 1273, 1274,
1553, 1662, 1663, 1674, 1703, 1716, 1717, 1722, and 1771.  While I was noting
these, especially the rare appearance of 1700 'interurban' cars in the East End,
Craig Street between Forbes and Fifth was being packed with cars in both
directions. . .  that fleet . . . 20-25 cars involved . . ."
        That is 36-41 streetcars for the baseball fans at Forbes field . . . so
far!
        On the day the Pirates won the series, Dave was in classes in Oakland
and within earshot of the field, especially when a homerun was hit that won the
game - the roar from Forbes Field told the story before it could come over the
radio!  Here is another quote from the winning day:
        "The very next car along was a '71 NEGGLEY' according to the hand-
lettered car card in the windshield.  And the car?  No less than 1052, the
oldest active PCC on PRCo, borrowed from Glenwood Carhouse for one last shot at
Glory."
        This is the car I mentioned which had dash lights added to it - appears
they are in the right location.  But with a small anticlimber, a split
destination sign, and top-of-the-windshield mounted wipers, it does look
strange!

        I remember that town was actually totally gridlock - don't remember any
streetcars coming out on Dormont for a long time and if you were in town, you
couldn't get out unless you walked - and you couldn't get downtown either!  So
much ticker tape was thrown out the windows that the wheels on one PCC locked up
which burned the trolley wire down.  There were some fatalities, but can't
remember if it was because of the downed trolley wire!


-- 
James B. Holland
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              PITTSBURGH RAILWAYS COMPANY (PRCo), June of 1949 -- June of 1953
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