Amusement Parks and West View Park

[Bob Schmidt]

That recap of your West View Park days, Bob, really lit up some memory
cells. I recall, in particular the years 1946 thru 1950 and St. Justin's
Westview Park school picnics in early June. For logical reasons PRC
wasn't about to furnish any of their recently acquired PCC rolling stock
for charter service especially for a bunch of crazed immorals launching
their first day of Summer vacation.

Three or four orange low floors showed up picnic day around 10 AM with
their roll signs displaying "chartered". They lined up on the inbound
track of the 40 Mt. Washington line at Southern Avenue and Lelia St. at
10:30 AM 

The trip took us downgrade to SHJ, through the tunnel on over the
Smithfield St. Bridge, through the city, and onto the Northside via the
6th St. bridge. On up Federal St.we'd go where it became Perrysville,
and onto Keating. By this time about twenty choruses of "Three Cheers
For Our Conductor" had been spent and we were just getting warmed up.

Yes indeed, the straightaway grade up toward Keating was a kind of speed
fetish for the motorman. He would always have the controller pulled all
the way around until it butted against the limiter stop. I always made
sure I got the seat directly behind the motorman so's I could observe
him using the controller and the horizontal braking lever. Swing and
sway it did as it travelled the PRW at full throttle with a car load of
ecstatic, boisterous, kids singing the praises of the motorman. 

The highpoint of the trip itself fo me was viewing the Keating
carhouse/yard and seeing just what they had there. Work equipment had
always facinated me, but never saw anything at Keating except a few
delapidated Pressed Steel high floors and a McGuire or two.

Once past Keating the PRW continued on downgrade towards Westview
splitting Center Ave. The chanting continued as the car rocked and
rolled right into the Park still on its own PRW. I never experienced the
return ride back to Mt. Washington since the return charter was
scheduled too early in the evening, and I still had ticket strips to
burn.  Mom and Dad knowing this would always drive out toward dark and
rescue me from a hard days play and any possible promiscuity.

My wife and I shop at Westview Park Shopping Center which is located
exactly within the boundry of the old amusement park. No traces of
anything to remind of those wonderous years except for the occasional
haunting sounds of the screaming people on the coasters, and visual
reconstructions from well stamped memories.       

Bob S.