South Hills Junction

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

Donald Galt wrote:

> I'm looking at the 1927 topo of the area around South Hills Jct. . . 

> Even though it's possible that the city may not have paid really close
> attention to changes in PRCo trackage, I can think of no real reason to
> believe that the map would not be as current or accurate in this respect as
> it would be for streets and buildings. So let's assume that it shows the
> situation as of 1926 or 1927.

> Therefore, some observations with regard to Jim's and Bob's comments (it's
> a little confusing to separate out which are whose):

> > > Jim said:
> > >         I don't believe that the loop around the admin building was there from
> > > the beginning but it was probably added very early on.  Some very early
> > > drawings I have seen omit this loop.  But the track behind the admin
> > > building might have preceeded the loop and was originally connected to
> > > the inbound 38-39-40-42 lines. . .

> Don said:
> The 1927 map definitely does not show a loop around the building, only the
> double tracks to the west and northeast. Plus a single track south of the
> building connecting the 38/39/40/42 with the Allentown lines. This has a
> couple of spurs (apparently gone by the time of Bill's map) and crosses the
> Overbrook line, but there is NO connection with the latter at this stage.

Jim said:
	I have maps from several different sources and one, purportedly around
1950, was not 1950 for I know for sure the track alignment had changed
by then.  It was very difficult to see anything on the map because of
all the noise in copying.  So I did not refer to it directly when making
comments.  You jogged my memory that I had other maps, so I searched
thru my files and found a map that must be identical to yours and it
raises even  m-o-r-e  questions concerning routing and the pull-in or
pull-out cars!  Actually, the map purported to be 1950 is the same as
1927 with a loop around the admin building and the connection to
Warrington at Boggs gone - and that isn't right - there were
considerable changes to the r-o-w of the routes thru the yard.
	As you mention, the loop around the admin building is not present but
the admin building is in the center of a triangle formed by the rail
lines you mention - a triangle with curved sides.  In the 1927 map, the
single track that runs behind the admin building is from the 
i-n-b-o-u-n-d  38-39-40-42 to the outbound 44-48 o-n-l-y.  By the 1950s
this single track was connected to the  o-u-t-b-o-u-n-d  38-39-40-42
and  b-o-t-h  inbound and outbound 44-48.
	1-- After the PM rush hour as the 38-39-40-42 lines are pulling in, did
they pull into the yard from the south and park or did they turn around
first to head outbound for the AM rush.  H-O-W  did the cars turn around
to face or head outbound?  With only an outbound connection from the
yard - behind the admin building to the 44-48 to the
Haberman-Ave-Laclede-St-West-Warrington-Ave loop - cars making the loop
are forced inbound thru the tunnel.  Any turning of the cars seems to
involve quite a lengthy backup  i-f  e-v-e-n  t-h-a-t  is possible (let
alone risky with only one pole on the cars.)
	2-- Look at the double track junction where the 40 line joins the
38-39-42.  First of all, note that there is only an inbound connection
to the yard - no outbound connection.  Cars could be backed into the
yard from the inbound track and can obviously leave the yard heading
inbound (and either go into the tunnel or outbound on 44-48).  Now
follow the inbound 38-39-42 track south from the yard switch and it is a
stub track that ends just north of where the inbound 38-39 lines enter
the yard (see comments later by Don.)
	3-- This latter situation presents another dilemna - it means that the
inbound 38-39-42 lines must run single track on the outbound 38-39-42
track all the way thru the tunnel to downtown as no crossover exists
anywhere in here to get to the inbound stub track!
	4-- There seems to be little problem getting the 44-48 lines in and out
of the yard because a single track continues north along Warrington
after the 38-39 inbound lines enter the yard.  This single track becomes
double track just before the junction with the 44-48 at Haberman.
	5-- When did the Barn at Castle Shannon close - late 20s, early 30s? 
(I think this information is in the *ERA Headlights* of 1952 - the
special on PRCo interurbans - but I can't find it at the moment.)  The
interurbans were then shifted to South Hills and this only compounds the
logistics of getting cars into and out of the barn.
	6-- That weird track from the outbound 40 line is shown to connect to
the mainline well south of where the interurbans branch off suggesting
that this is also south of the restaurant.  But a turnout exists from
the outbound mainline well north of where the interurban branches off
and the rails for this track run mysteriously parallel to the track it
branches from for quite some distance as evidenced in the photo PI-0303
from Harold A. Smith.  This particular track will probably remain a
mystery!
	7-- From Palm Garden trestle, try to follow the outbound 42 line up
thru the yard and it becomes track 6 right beside the shop building at
the north end of the yard!  Maybe your eyesight is better than mine but
it is difficult to trace all this out!
	8-- Then the inbound 42 line from Palm Garden Trestle apparently
connects with the outbound 38-39 lines as they head to the cutback loop
to Warrington inbound or continue their outbound trip to W. Liberty
Avenue.  This inbound 42 line continues on the outbound 38-39 line to
connect with the inbound 38-39 lines and, as mentioned above, continues
into SHJ on the outbound track!

	There seems to be considerable inaccuracies in the yard tracks -
connections of the 38-39-42 down thru the yard.  It would seem to be
extremely difficult to schedule the 38-39-42 lines thru the yard on
single track *for any distance* in the middle of the day let alone the
rush hours - and that on the outbound track only without access to the
inbound track anywhere!  Also, 1927 seems like a very late date for the
loop around the admin building not to have been constructed - but moving
the interurbans to South Hills would certainly have created an urgency
for such a loop.

> Don said:
> The only possible loop, in the absence of one at the junction, is at
> Haberman Avenue (Is this what you mean by "the Warrington loop"?)

Jim said:
	Yes, that is what I referred to.  But as I remember it from the 50s,
there was both an inbound and outbound connection to this loop.  The map
shows only an outbound connection to 44-48.  What good is the loop if it
accomplishes just a round about way of getting into the tunnel?  Is this
another map inconsistency?

> > >> Bob said:
> > >> Where was the access to Warrington Ave.?

> > Jim said:
> >       In the general vicinity of the Palm Garden loop - just north of that
> > location.

> Don said:
> Okay: the map shows the 38/39 branching off as a single track at the west
> end of the car house, then splitting into outbound and inbound tracks where
> it crosses an imaginary easterly projection of the little street named Peck
> Way. The outbound line hugs the Beechview line on past the shops, then
> turns away to approach Warrington Avenue, finally entering into that street
> at Boggs Avenue.
> 
> The INBOUND line, on the other hand, continues along the single track up
> Warrington; where the street and its single track bend northeast, the 38/39
> branches off to continue in a gentle curve around to its junction with the
> outbound line referred to above.
> 
> There is a loop between the outbound and inbound lines about 100 yards
> south of the abovementioned bend in Warrington Avenue.
> 
> The map, by the way, clearly shows the Palm Garden Dance Hall sitting (on
> S.L. Boggs property!) above Boggs Avenue just north of where it bends east
> to Warrington.

Jim said:
	The dance hall is at the intersection of Boggs and Southern - high on
the hill west of the 42 line - no connection except a very long stairway
to the yard.  From all the descriptions of this here dance hall, I
*thought* it was sitting where the latter day Palm Garden Loop was
built.  But here it has absolutely nothing to do with the yard except
that this particular area of the yard was named after it.

	Other interesting observations:
	1-- On the 1927 map, the interurban is double track southbound to the
Warrington viaduct where it begins single track.  When was it double
tracked to its latter day single track beginnings about another 0.5 mi.
south?  Also, the 1927 map still lists this as the *Pittsburgh and
Castle Shannon R.R.* and it connects directly to the South Hills tunnel
- not the Haberman loop - a rather tight loop even for a narrow gauge
RR!  Didn't the railroad go out long before 1927?
	2-- A photo on the cover of that 1952 Headlights mentioned above shows
a 3600 series interurban in the very early days.  It has just crossed
the track that runs from the 38-39-40-42 to the 44-48 behind the admin
building and is sitting on top of the switch for the inbound interurban
to return to double track.  So when was the double track extended from
this position to the Warrington Viaduct as shown on the 1927 map? 
Certainly the viaduct would be a limiting factor in extending double
track any further, but that is not much of a distance.  But with single
track right up to the track behind the admin building, an outbound
interurban would hold up all the lines coming out of the tunnel waiting
for an inbound interurban to clear!

James B. Holland
------- -- ---------
        Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo), June of 1949 -- June of 1953
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