[Fwd: Thanks to Street Railway Photograpghers...]

[Edward H. Lybarger]

>From day one in 1994, our exhibit photos at PTM have always emphasized the
scene, not the trolley (though there's often one present).  That's because
the public needs to see things they may be familiar with, rather than be
shown the nuts and bolts of the trolley.

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
[mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of mrb190
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2000 10:39 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: Re: [Fwd: Thanks to Street Railway Photograpghers...]


I think what I was trying to say was that I don't see many books out
there ("Pittsburgh-Then & Now" and the recent book on the "50's", being
the exceptions) that have old photographs in them of the locale, so the
Trolley photographs often serve two purposes: to see the cars, and the
areas in which they ran.  My original comments were only meant to be
complimentary.

Fred Schneider wrote:
>
> Is this a wonderful justification for just taking pictures of streets?
>
> My Dad walked around Lancaster PA in the middle 1960s and took eight
> pictures at each downtown intersection.   Those negatives have never been
> printed but they are a delightful historical record which I should make
> certain winds up in the local historical society some day.   I've spent
many
> a day walking around the city just taking pictures of buildings ... its
> amazing how many we still have in Lancaster County that were built when
this
> was a British colony.
>
> I guess what I'm trying to say is:  THERE'S A WHOLE LOT MORE OUT THERE
THAN
> TROLLEYS.
>
>                 -----Original Message-----
>                 From:   mrb190 [mailto:mrb190+ at pitt.edu]
>                 Sent:   Sunday, March 05, 2000 11:16 PM
>                 To:     pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>                 Subject:        [Fwd: Thanks to Street Railway
> Photograpghers...]
>
>                 (because of the difference between mrb190 and mrb190+;
long
> story, should
>                 be fixed -- djb)
>
>                 I am still kind of new to this group, so if this has been
> said before,
>                 please forgive the duplication of words...
>
>                 When I display streetcar photographs to folks around here
> who don't have
>                 the same hobby-like interest in the cars as I do, I often
> hear the same
>                 remarks:  "wow!  I remember that building!"  or "Yes!  I
> remember when
>                 the avenue looked like that!"  or "Is that what our street
> used to look
>                 like?"
>
>                 In short, to all of railway photographers, past and
present:
> not only
>                 have you recorded a terrific piece of streetcar history,
but
> also the
>                 surroundings.   I doubt if there are many picture-takers
out
> there today
>                 snapping as many pics on Fifth Avenue or Penn Avenue or on
> some urban
>                 neighborhood street of  autos or buses going by.  The
> streetcar WAS an
>                 intricate part of the street and made it all the more
> interesting enough
>                 for photographers to spend a few more dollars on film.   I
> wonder how
>                 many of you realized at the time that you were capturing
> more than just
>                 the trolleys, but also the time and place in which the
cars
> did their
>                 jobs.   It's a kick to hear current Pitt students who view
> the photos in
>                 the "Touring Pittsburgh By Trolley" book say:   "The
Towers
> (student
>                 housing) are in this picture!  That means you had trolleys
> running here
>                 in the sixties!   What happened to them?"    The Towers
were
> apparently
>                 pretty new, and I think they are still the newest dorms on
> campus, so
>                 when you view this particular photo in the "Touring..."
> book, it does
>                 seem like the cars were running down Fifth just yesterday.
>
>                 So, again, THANKS!
>
>                 And speaking of photographs, can anyone tell me where this
> Roberta Hill
>                 shot is located?
>                 Ken, do you know?
>
>                 http://davesrailpix.railfan.net/pitts/jpg/kjpgh213.jpg
>
>                 Matt