Speed

[John Swindler]

This has been an interesting discussion concerning the speed - or lack 
thereof - of the 42S and 42L cars through Beechview.  Particularly when 
compared with other cities, the "swiftness" of PAT's light rail operation is 
not impressive.

For what its' worth, much of what exists in the South Hills today is a 
legacy of the Skybus controversy some 25-30 years ago.

q.  Why does the light rail line follow the alignment through 
Beechview-Castle Shannon-South Hills Village?
a.  That's the Skybus alignment.

q.  Why is there a Mt. Lebanon tunnel?
a.  In large measure, probably because Skybus called for a Mt. Lebanon 
tunnel.  (and it makes sense)

q.  Why is there no Beechview tunnel, and thus slow operation on Broadway?
a.  Besides being frightfully expensive, I suspect that, since Skybus called 
for an elevated structure on the hillside west of Broadway, surface 
operation on Broadway was a way to keep estimated light rail project costs 
close to the Skybus projected costs.  (Just a guess - need to ask someone 
involved in the decision process. Incidentally, Skybus would have continued 
north from Broadway in subway towards the Wabash tunnel, then turn right at 
the north end of the Wabash tunnel to follow the PRR towards the Panhandle 
bridge)

q.  Why was the Penn Station spur built in the Golden Triangle?
a.  That's the Skybus city terminal.

The discussion about Broadway operation in Beechview leads to speculation 
about the following:

- So what exactly is a "light rail" line???

- And how is it different from a "streetcar" line???  Or a "tram" or 
"trolley" line???

- Is it the vehicle or the right-of-way - or both that define a light rail 
line???  Or something else???

- Have you considered that the Duewag U-2 car is not a light rail vehicle?  
It's a "Stadtbahn" (or city railway) car from Frankfurt, (W.) Germany.  (And 
therein might lie some of the problems with Broadway.)

There's a story that Ed Tennyson (Deputy Sec. at PennDOT during 1970s) likes 
to tell.  Gov. Shapp once asked him "what is this 'light rail' thing?"  Ed 
asked the governor if he had ever used the Shaker Heights line when he went 
to college in Cleveland?  When Gov. Shapp said "Yes, and it was good 
transportation", Ed replied, "well, that's what light rail is!"

And maybe that's what the 42S line through Beechview - isn't.  It's still a 
streetcar line (operating in mixed traffic), and will always be one.  It's 
just not worth the cost to upgrade to eliminate mixed traffic.  And it would 
also be less accessible to local residents.  Instead, perhaps Pittsburgh has 
always had a light rail alignment through Overbrook.  And what PAT does with 
it remains to be seen.

Just some random thoughts.




>From: Jim Holland <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: Re: Speed
>Date: Thu, 14 Oct 1999 22:57:56 -0700

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