Favorite Things Intersections

[Kenneth and Tracie Josephson]

Jim Holland wrote:

> Greetings!
>
>         South Hills Junction - talk about an intersection!
>
>         Just watching one of the videos filmed in pat days to see an outbound
> Dormont car leave the jct followed by an outbound interurban followed by
> a pull-in car from the loop-back-track crossing both with other cars
> interspersed and a couple inbound ones  --  all this without
> interlocking or signalling  --  and it worked  --  even for pat!!!!!!!

Though I wrote this to you privately, I will share it with the list, too:

I believe the ingenuity and masterful design of South Hills Junction may
be lost on many fans because of its very survival. Think about it. Routes 21 and
40 have
been gone for over thirty years, as have those interesting East End junctions you

mentioned. We have had to rely on system maps, geographical surveys and
photographic
images to appreciate these Pittsburgh traction marvelsin the present. To see them
this
way drives home the engineering feats on the ground and in the air (as in
overhead.) South Hills Junction is still with us, though revamped. As we ride
through it frequently and are busy taking our own photographs, we may not notice
all the intriquing qualities of  this location.

Ken J.