Pittsburgh Rys 101

[EDWARD H. LYBARGER]

Pittsburgh had 17 inclines that we know of.
----- Original Message -----
From: Derrick J Brashear <shadow at dementia.org>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Monday, July 05, 1999 2:21 AM
Subject: Re: Pittsburgh Rys 101


> 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
>
>
>