West Penn today

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Fred's been prolific of late, and it has taken me a few extra days to find
the time to think of things to add to his travelogue.  He's doing a great
job on this, and is quite good in the department of accuracy.

As to mapping, the USGS topo sheets for the area will provide as good a base
as one will need, but like anything else, one must interpret them carefully
so as not to be misled (see Footedale, below).  Also, the aerial images
available from TerraServer, etc. can be of great help, even 50 years after
the fact (thanks to John Swindler for that lead and a lot of work, as well).
But what I am happiest with are the company track maps that we located by
good fortune and copied two or three years back.  We have everything south
of Connellsville except Fairchance and Dickerson Run.  While they confirmed
that we had done a good job of mapping on our own, they also pointed out
some errors and answered some questions.  Now if we can only find the rest
of 'em....

More thoughts at random:  High Bridge out of Brownsville wasn't really so
impressive.  It was short, and not all that high.  The trestle at Fairbank
(not Fairbanks; the community was renamed for one of T. Roosevelt's VPs
about 1907-08 -- it used to be known as Low Phos), on the other hand, was
impressive due to its abrupt rise on the north end.  I have a couple photos
of it; the best is probably from a real-photo postcard of early vintage.
There are some great pictures of the railroad at Fairbank, too, from the MRy
collection.

The "community" at the south end of the Glencoe concrete viaduct was the
"West Penn Plan of Lots," which originally was laid out for many, many home
sites up on the hill, east of the car line.  Only the handful of houses to
the west were ever constructed.

Now on to Brownsville Jct. and Footedale...The substation is still at/about
the junction.  West Penn was planning to build a car barn here, and
purchased property from the Catholic church next door for the barn leads.
There are surviving drawings, and a map in the deed.  I referred earlier to
ways in which the topo sheets can be interpreted inaccurately, and an
excellent case in point is at Footedale.  It is easy to infer that the
trolley went up in back of the patch to get to Shamrock, but that didn't
happen.  It went along the road in front of the town, then turned left
abruptly and went up the stream valley to the east.  This area has been
badly obliterated due to strip mining and nothing through the Shamrock
Siding area is recognizable.

At any rate, the car line is on the "Old Railroad Grade" from about the tip
of the 1100-foot contour north of the cemetery, and follows the stream down
to Jefferies Crossing, where T509 intersects.  If you've come in from SR
(State, not county, Route) 3023 on T509, stay on it for another half mile
and turn hard right at the wye onto T478.  In about 3/4 mile, you will cross
the line again at Balsinger as it continues down the valley, and you will
shortly emerge on old PA 21.  After a difficult left, you will soon come out
on modern 21 immediately east of Revere.

About 1909, West Penn decided that traffic west of Uniontown was reaching
unprecedented levels, and embarked upon a double-tracking project to bring
relief (this was also when the plan for the car barn at Brownsville Jct. was
on the front burner).  About a half mile was built in conjunction with a
track realignment at Revere.  The west end was at a point just west of the
T509 (2nd) crossing, and it followed the West Penn Street alignment and
beyond to the Thompson's Corner stop at the road crossing near the former
Playford (USGS misnames it "Clayford") Mine site.

Chestnut Ridge is the large geological structure that rises to the east of
Uniontown.  It is visible from the site erroneously attributed to its name,
which is actually just a little hill near Thompson Siding (Mahoney's
Greenhouse).  From here the line ran downhill through property of
Continental 1 mine and came out paralleling Dixon Blvd.  This area is
largely built up now, with a medical complex on the R/W west of new 119 and
housing on the old mine site.  Continental 1 is very much extant -- it's the
area on both sides of S. Mt. Vernon Avenue, and consists of numerous company
houses.  The Union Supply store there was the last of its chain to close,
long after all the rest were gone.  The school just got torn down within the
last year.  Until 1944, there was a passing track in the middle of the
street just north of the company store, when it was moved around the corner
parallel to Dixon Blvd. and renamed "South Uniontown."  There was also a
stub siding built to the gob pile on the mine property (a photo exists)
where West Penn got its ballast dressing.  Ever wonder why the company never
had a sprayer?  Mine waste will kill almost any kind of vegetation, so they
periodically spread it along the track.

The abutments for the bridge over the PRR off N. Beeson Ave. are still there
but have been obscured by new buildings.  Latrobe car house in now about 1/3
shorter than it was 5 years ago.

Now on to Fairchance.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
[mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of
Fredbruhn at aol.com
Sent: Friday, July 07, 2000 10:29 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: West Penn today


I am extremely grateful to Ed for adding to my notes, correcting my
mistakes,
and making things more clear to me on the Brownsville line and Republic
area.
 Also out towards Martin.  It is interesting how you can get off base as I
did with the Church of the Madonna.  That error crept in after I had taken
my
tour and made my notes on the trip.  I was recalling my observations with a
railfan from the west and he recalled riding the West Penn in the 40's.  He
sent me some of his "recollections" and in them was the church mentioned and
I assumed from his comments it was the
church in New Salem.  That is what you get when you send a boy to do a mans
work and I screw things up.  Thank goodness we have Ed.

Before moving on with my trip, let me tell you how I prepared for chasing
the
West Penn.  I sent to Fayette and Westmoreland counties for maps and with
these spread out and the maps I have available, PERC, PTM, CERA I began to
plot where I thought the lines went, also using  timetables as a guide.
When
I finished this, I
redrew the sections adding every county, township, and state road to where I
thought the West Penn went.   I had a general idea of some sections from
photographs in the books from the above organizations, photos from available
sources (McCarter, Scholls, RR Avenue Enterprises, Bill Gwinn (deceased),
and
packed my albums in the truck (yes, more than half of Ohio vehicles today
are
pick-em-up trucks, or it seems that way) so I could find the same scene
today.

I have been most fascinated with the Brownsville line and the Martin line
probably because they quit earlier and I had so little information on them.

I started my trip in Brownsville and while I found the north end of the high
bridge in 1961 on a one day trip,  this time I couldn't and as you have
learned from Ed it can be found and that is a challenge for my next trip.
Since Republic is the next fair sized town inbound to Uniontown I headed
there first and stopped at the local police station.  The girl
"policeperson"
at the desk when I asked if she knew where the West Penn ran responded with
"I've never heard of it and I'm not from here
I just moved from Tenn."   O.K., so where is the barber shop, they would
know.  I didn't find that but I did find an old Italian shoe store.  Don't
go
in it if you go to Masontown.  The owner, operator was a great old guy, 82
years old and I must have been the first person in his store in years.  He
wasn't going to let me get away without hearing his life story, his
contribution in WWII, and as to where the West Penn ran, someplace in the
story he motioned East.  I finally got out of there after 45 minutes, and
his
prices were reasonable but the styles weren't current and the shoes were
dusty.  I next tried the post office.  Ah, the postmaster (madam) was most
helpful and was able to tell me about where the West Penn ran.  So I had a
start.  The problem is that here I am on day 1 of three days and its after
noon (4.5 hours to Brownsville from my home) and I am just getting started.

West Penn is so fascinating because of the bridges, trestles, grades (wait
till I tell you about the back line to Connellsville)  and for the most part
the majority of us don't know about them.  The high bridge in Brownsville,
the one over 166 in Masontown, the ones over the railroads just north of
Dunbar, the long Leckrone trestle have been pictured, the Brownsville Jct.
bridge, the back line  bridge into Uniontown have been in print, but just
read through Ed's notes from  Republic inbound  and try and picture some of
these trestles over the railroad spurs, mine spurs that I know nothing
about,
and who knows what else and you begin to realize just how this line was
constructed.  As Daffy Duck  would say, Sufferin Succotash.   As I stood
along the road east of Republic  I couldn't visualize how the West Penn
crossed the "Four Mile Run, but I can now.  With all these notes you too can
visualize it if you get a chance to run down there.

I also think you can trace the line through Filbert.  I had suspected the
line took what is the lower road but was wise enough not to say that because
I wasn't sure.  But when you go beyond Filbert and and go up one of the side
streets in Newboro you will come to the right of way which is up on a hill
away from the road.  Follow that right of way (there is a road that runs
parallel until I think it dead ends or goes into someones garage)  and you
will come to the large concrete pier as you look down into Filbert.  You
want
to scream where in the h did the line go from here.  Ed has told us, down a
trestle to street level in Filbert.  You will see it, and I hope photos
surface sometime of the trestle because it has got to be a dandy.

I was helped by an unlikely source in Merrittstown.  As you descend the
right
of
way/dirt road to the Glencoe concrete bridge, look on your left at one of
the
two or three small "homes".  When you find the one with all the smashed beer
cans outside in a pile, stop.  Hopefully you can find the owner at home.
Either he is a coal miner needing a bath, or just needing a bath as his
occupation seems to be collecting the beer cans for reclaiming at the local
VFW.  Anyway, he turned out to be a great source of information and I did
give him a few bucks for his own beer for his help as he told me exactly how
the line ran up through there and on in towards Republic.
If my truck  wasn't new, I might have invited him for a ride to explore more
of the line because he was old enough to remember riding it.  As an aside, a
hobby shop owner from Columbus one time several years ago was interested in
exploring the Dunbar area.  His approach was to find the first open bar and
announce that drinks were on him and he would like someone who knows the
West
Penn and rail lines to help him out.  It cost him $5.00 and he got a guided
tour of Dunbar.

I can't thank Ed enough for his additional input so far and hope you have a
chance to visit the WP remains sometime and these notes help you save time
and maximize what you can observe.

If you have CERA 89 there are a couple of interesting pictures in there on
what we hae seen.  The church in New Salem which I misidentified is there
with a car inbound on the Brownsville line, also the Cats Runs trestle and
running along Harvey Avenue.
The milk can picture on the Martin line with an outbound car (from
Uniontown)
as it crosses the road into McClellandtown is in there, and that scene isn't
much different today.  The right of way where the 700 is is now a drive to
three homes that are on the right, then as I mentioned you can drive a good
distance being your own operator
but its rough as a cob with lots of ruts.  The gas company 4x4's can take
it.

>From the end of the line in Martin, you can find your way back to
Brownsville
Jct.
and into Footedale, or take SR21 from Masontown to County 3023, or it may be
marked T513, but I think there is a sign to Footedale.

Don't waste your time asking the farmer where the Jct. was because he will
stare at you like your from another planet.

It looked to me like the line went just north of the small town of Footedale
and I don't remember seeing any 7-11's in Footedale either.  There was
evidence that this was another mining type town and the mobile home industry
is vibrant in this part of the land.

You will be on SR3023 with Footedale to your left and the WP just above the
town.
As you leave town take T509 which turns off to the left.  (If you make a
mistake and end up on 21 again, turn around).  I next ran into the line not
far down T509 which looks like the line ran cross country for a short
distance.  Look for the pole line and you can see where the line goes.  In
fact, turn right and ride along the WP for awhile.  There are a few houses
now which I question were there in WP days, maybe they were.

>From what I figured out, the WP ran cross country, up and down, somewhat
parallel to SR21 (the present road) from T509 to Revere, but maybe a half
mile away from 21.
You continue on T509 and pass some new homes and drive awhile enjoying the
scenery until you come to a jct. with T478.  Take T478 (straight while T509)
turns at this jct.  Watch for a pole line again  and a white fence along the
road.  I think there is a house here.  You can look towards Footedale and
see
the line going down grade
through the field, and then look towards Uniontown and see the discent to
T478 which I think is also called Denny Road.

>From here, continue on T478 to SR21, turn left towards Revere and Uniontown
and
drive to Revere.  Remember where we left T509 at that jct., well it comes
into SR21 right here.  It appears (and we are helped by a side street on the
south side of SR 21
that is named "West Penn St." the line was running close to the present SR21
o
utbound from Uniontown and crossed SR21 at this point, cutting behind a
store
and then crossing T509.    The right of way is very evident running between
a
couple of homes as it climbs the hill and starts its cross country run
towards Footedale.  If you have the time, its not a bad idea to drive out
T509  to that jct. with T478 to get a flavor of the area the line is running
through.  I don't remember being able to see it between the crossing of T509
and the crossing of T478.

It was fun driving down West Penn St. for a few blocks, but we ran out of
road.
Back to SR 21, it appears the line ran close to present SR21 for a period
and
then
bam, we see a sign "Chestnut Ridge".  I was excited, as my first
introduction
to WP in 1950 was that photo of the car descending Chestnut Ridge into
Uniontown, with open fields and the town in the far distance.  (Photo in
2--50 Trains mag, and on back cover of CERA89)  Well, Chestnut Ridge today
is
your typical housing development with enough streets to get you lost.  Not
only that, on the WP maps they show "Continental" as a stop between Revere
and Uniontown. That was an experience traveling the back roads outside
Uniontown to no avail.  If Continental exists, its a deep dark secret.  In
1960 I remember tracing the line in the brick street out of Uniontown (So.
Mt. Vernon  Blvd.) and you could see where the line was - although bricks
had
replaced rails - the siding, the crossing with the rail spur, and where it
turned off the street next to Dixon Blvd.  Well, don't waste your time based
on my experience.  Dixon Dlvd. is still there, but its wall to wall houses,
not to mention, which I forgot that Rt. 219 bypasses Uniontown now and cuts
this area up pretty well with a 4 lane road.  I also could not find the
bridge piers from the bridge taking the WP out of town over the railroads
for
the back line and Martin/Brownsville line.

What I am saying is that after Revere I lost track of things.  But for this
portion of the Coke Region I was fairly pleased with what I saw, am helped
by
Ed's notes, and believe you would find the remains worth a trip too.  The
pole line of WP Power, or its successor, helps a lot, but there are still
grades, cuts, concrete and tell tail signs of the line to both Brownsville
and Martin.  As to the MRy and mining, I remember in 1961 seeing some rail
lines in place, but there are not many, if any in Republic, Merrittstown,
Filbert, or Allison.  Fast food is available in Uniontown and Brownsville
so plan ahead, but I didn't venture into any of the towns looking for
eateries.  Masontown has a pleasant downtown area and I have just purchased
off ebay two postcards of hotels (2)  in town, so we know it was prosperous
at one time.

Next time I'll head to Fairchance and then tackle the main line, with some
good news and some not so good news on my findings.  Oh, I went to Latrobe
too, but I talked to Bob Rathke after my trip and drove right past the
Latrobe barn without finding it.  I wanted to see that barn.  He told me
where it was (or maybe still is).  And Hecla Jct. is still mecca.

Fred Bruhn