TEA -- Historic Lines

[Edward H. Lybarger]

A lot of the Washington right-of-way has been obliterated south of the
County Line.  The stretch along Route 19 has given way to businesses (even
up to the south abutment of Thompsonville Viaduct, where another new strip
mall is going in), and most recently the stretch through the former Van Eman
property has seen the removal of the signal bases in the siding site and the
cattle pass visible from West McMurray Road in the interest of new homes.
Widening of the highway near Morganza has all but eliminated it, and the
stretch between Canonsburg and Houston went when the radiation was cleaned
up at the former Vitro site.

What is intact:  the stretch through Upper St. Clair, literally in the back
yards; that from Meadow Lands to McClain, and that south of Arden to
(almost) Oak Grove.  Never underestimate the power of trailer parks to
multiply when no one is looking!

Ed
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
[mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of
HRBran99 at aol.com
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 6:41 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: Re: TEA -- Historic Lines


In a message dated 03/18/2000 1:21:27 PM Eastern Standard Time,
SaturnV at webtv.net writes:

<< HrB suggests...using PTM as a staging area for both storage and
 maintenance, funding may well allow for additional sheds, expansion of
 the museum's own yard trackage, and a rebuild of the old  right-of-way
 from PTM on into Washington, PA.  >>

You could also go the other way, north, to a connection with PATransit at
South Hills Village via the Drake Loop and now unused Drake line. This would
also provide a 'commuter use' for the project inasmuch as automobile traffic
could be reduced from Washington County to Allegheny County. I believe most
of the right of way still exists except for small sections in Cannonsburg
and
the area called Glen Cannon where Ryan Homes, Inc. built a new subdivision
in
the early 1970s. Wouldn't John Dameron be proud of us!

<<those who are presently "removing history" from the city at
an alarming rate and renovating in hopes of attracting new business.>>

I knew, back in 1978, when they started changing the traffic signals from
the
"only in Pittsburgh" system of green, to yellow over green, to yellow, to
red, that they would never stop until they had ruined the city.

<<all this modernization being effected to counter an increasing number
of people and business's leaving the city on an annual basis>>

By 1986 I had seen enough of the city's historic things, those things which
made Pittsburgh stand out from any other city in the country, disappear,
that
I too left for other parts of the country.

HrB