Charleroi --- Castle Shannon to Finleyville --- WAS:: [History -- Pgh & PRCo --- WAS:---[West Liberty] ]

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

	Thinking about the abandoned RR being used for the Charleroi line CS to
Finleyville.  *IF* this RR was 16-miles between the two aforementioned
Boroughs, it must have snaked its way along.  PRCo Pgh to Lanks was
claimed to be 16-miles - subtract ca. 1-mile Finleyville to Lanks and ??
from Pgh to Castle Shannon and it is considerably less than 16-miles,
NO??!!
	What do your collection of maps say, Don?

	On Friday about 2-2.30-PM, Netscape indicated that new mail had
arrived.  *John-Swindler* - I said, but alas and alack, I was wrong!

> > John Swindler wrote:

> > Balwin Township:  While the land is valuable for farming and gardening, the
> > underlying strata of coal constitute the great source of wealth.  The mines
> > are operated . . . and in the valley of Saw Mill Run by the Pittsburgh &
> > Castle Shannon Railroad Company, . . . The branch from
> > Glenwood to Finleyville, sixteen miles long, was built in 1883.  The road
> > was sold under foreclosure 20 Nov. 1884, and purchased by the Baltimore &
> > Ohio for $50,000.  It was subsequently reorganized under the present name.
> > The portion of the old line between Castle Shannon and Finleyville, twelve
> > miles long, has since been abandoned.

> > (that last sentence sure got my attention)

> Jim Holland wrote:

>         YES:::::::  --  the last sentence above coupled with the info below
> *suggests* that the Charleroi interurban *may-have-been* built on this
> old railroad prw which was initially single track.  Hoped for growth
> then explains the double-tracking.  While mid-day service could probably
> work well with single track, rush hour traffic from the 1920s to West
> Library and from Simmons after 1953 would be greatly hindered by single
> track operation.
>         A little hard to imagine a railroad climbing from Wash Jct to Hillcrest
> and then into the next dip southbound, but the rest of the route is
> reasonably flat.

> > Bethel Township:  Bethel Twp. was suggested in 1802 for upper end of St.
> > Clair twp, that being name of a meeting house, but not formed until 1886
> > from Snowden Twp . . .  This territory enjoyed railroad facilities during
> > the short period that the Pittsburgh and Southern was in operation, and
> > names of Smithton, Upperman, Bethel, Cowan, Rockridge, Norwood and Library
> > yet adorn the map.

> > (question:  As phrased, seems to imply  railroad stations?  And is/was part
> > of Charleroi line on old Pittsburgh Southern railroad right of way?  Or is
> > discussion concerning Pittsburgh Southern garbled by authors???????  Maybe
> > there is more to Charleroi line then we have known???)

James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
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