Remnants: (Was 62 Trafford - repaving)

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Washington Road was totally replaced from McFarland Road (Dormont Jct.) to
Alfred Street after the trolleys quit.  I could look down on it from my
office window (opposite Academy Avenue) and watched the whole process
unfold.  Interestingly, they poured the intersections with
high-early-strength concrete to avoid tying up traffic too long, and have
had to replace a number of these areas already.  So much for quality in
those low-bid highway jobs!

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
[mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Kenneth and
Tracie Josephson
Sent: Saturday, April 29, 2000 6:11 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: Remnants: (Was 62 Trafford - repaving)


What I find interesting (as well as ironic) is that the subsequent removal
of 42/38
trackage and overhead infrastructure from Washington Road during the 1980's
appears more
complete than the removal of other streetcar infrastructure that was
abandoned in the
'50's, '60's amd early '70's. Even most of the line poles in Mount Lebanon
that weren't
needed for streetlighting, etc. were removed as were all feeder crossarm
brackets, span
wires, etc.

It was unnerving for me to travel Washington Road last autumn and see
virtually no evidence
of former streetcar operation though I knew the line was alive and well in
the tunnel
beneath me.

Again, I can only imagine how much street operation that might have been
bypassed through
various means by PAT during the '60's and '70's if the decision had been
made to retain the
basic trolley system. Ken J.