October in the PA Trolley museum

[Vigrass, Bill]

Yeah, that's the booklet I was thinking of. I have it, and recall that the
author lived in NJ now. It was an interesting little publication about a
very much out of the way line.   Bill V. 

> ----------
> From: 	Jim Holland[SMTP:pghpcc at pacbell.net]
> Reply To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Sent: 	Wednesday, October 06, 1999 2:09 PM
> To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: 	Re: October in the PA Trolley museum
> 
> Greetings!
> 
> 	"Slow and bumpy" is an understatement.  I was down there on several
> fan 
> trips, the first one being PRMA PCC 100.  I like a good bounce, sway, and
> bump type 
> of ride but it was difficult to get the car moving on this line - maybe it
> was the 
> tall weeds that slowed us as well.
> 	Richard C. Albert published a 48-page booklet on *The Trafford
> Trolleys - 
> PRCo & West Penn* in 1980.
> 	It might be available at the Museum or Mr. Albert's address in the
> book is 
> 557 Washington Ave.; West Trenton, NJ 08628.
> 
> Vigrass, Bill wrote:
> > 
> > Consider that we were outbound in mid morning.  I suspect that there
> would
> > have been no service in that direction at that time.  Typical RR
> commuter
> > service was inbound am outbound pm with little or no base service. I can
> sy
> > with certainty that we never considered RR service for that leg of the
> trip
> > even though we did use PRR (from a through Monongahela Railway
> connection)
> > from Brownsville to Roscoe, fare 19 cents.  Maybe Bob Leech checked the
> PRR,
> > but if so, I do not recall it.  That's a while ago.
> > 
> > Didn't you write a monograph on the Trafford Line?  I think I have it.
> We
> > were trying to duplicate as closely as possible the route of the former
> > trolley service, and in a way, we did.  I think there was still some
> track
> > at Trafford that had been used by WP.  With four new 1600 type PCC's,
> the
> > Trafford line was greatly over serviced.  We were the only ones on the
> car,
> > so had several photo stops (at sidings where they stopped anyhow). It
> was a
> > private fan trip on a regular car. As I recall, it was rather slow and
> > bumpy, in an industrial landscape.
> > Bill.
> > > ----------
> > > From:         Derrick J Brashear[SMTP:shadow at dementia.org]
> > > Reply To:     pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > > Sent:         Wednesday, October 06, 1999 11:52 AM
> > > To:   'pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org'
> > > Subject:      RE: October in the PA Trolley museum
> > >
> > > On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Vigrass, Bill wrote:
> > >
> > > > I dunno about what train service there was.  We had planned to take
> a
> > > > Lincoln Transit bus from Trafford to Irwin, but we missed it (it did
> not
> > > > run very often) so took a cab.  With three of us, it wasn't much per
> person,
> > > > except that at that point in our lives, we didn't earn much, so
> anything
> > > > more than a few dollars was a burden.  West Penn cars still went to
> Larimer
> > > > on some trips, but for the trip we connected with, we got a car that
> ended
> > > > its trip in Irwin.  It was a 280-290 type car, as I recall. What RR
> service
> > > > might there have been, PRR?  Bill.
> > >
> > > There was frequent PRR service from Pittsburgh to Derry (east of
> Latrobe)
> > > apparently until 1963, which passed through Trafford, a bit further
> down
> > > the road from where the 62 loop was. There was also service from North
> > > Trafford station, basically just below the Trafford Viaduct, to
> > > Pittsburgh, but not east. Some theorize that the 63 Trafford Express
> > > (which was apparently discontinued before 1930) never became popular
> > > because for people going to town the railroad was available. I don't
> know
> > > the truth of it.
> > >
> > > The 63 Trafford Express incidentally approximates the 67F Trafford bus
> > > route I now use.
> > >
> > > -D
> > >
> > >
> 
> James B. Holland
> ------- -- ---------
>         Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo), June of 1949 -- June of 1953
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