Various answers, corrections &c. ATTN: Jim Holland & John Swindler

[brathke at juno.com]

I'm waiting for someone to bring up the (urban legend?) story that the
guard rails on the Castle Shannon interurban line were originally from
the narrow gauge railroad line.

Bob 9/12

-----------------------------------

On Tue, 12 Sep 2000 09:40:09 EDT "John Swindler" <j_swindler at hotmail.com>
writes:
> 
> >Donald Galt commented:
> >
> >Not necessarily the final word folks, but:
> >
> >PITTSBURGH SOUTHERN
> >
> >Eyeballing it on the map, I'd say the railway distance would easily
> >be 12 miles from Finleyville to Castle Shannon, with at least
> >another four to the West End via Mt. Lebanon and Banksville.
> >
> >The following is extracted from Hilton's AMERICAN NARROW-
> >GAUGE RAILROADS:
> >
> >"[The Pittsburgh, Castle Shannon & Washington Railroad] was
> >originally planned as a southern extension of the ... Pittsburgh &
> >Castle Shannon ... to reach a coal-producing area at Finleyville, 
> 12
> >miles to the south [i.e. 12 mi from Castle Shannon]."
> >
> >
> 
> 
> Thanks for the info.  Jim mentioned hills south of Washington Jct. 
> on 
> Library line to about Mesta.  Perhaps, as with turnpike, PRC took 
> advantage 
> of newer technology (ie streetcar in this case) to plot a more 
> direct route 
> and only partially used some existing railroad right-of-way - that 
> is, if 
> PCS&W even existed.
> 
> 
> >W LIBERTY & BROOKLINE
> >
> >To answer my own question, Lippincott's map of Greater
> >Pittsburgh, copyright 1908, shows West Liberty incorporated into
> >Pgh, mostly into the 19th Ward along with Mount Washington, but
> >partly into the 18th with Beltzhoover and Allentown. Beechview, not
> >absorbed until the year following, is still shown as a separate
> >municipality.
> >
> 
> Allentown (PAT 52) was separate borough.  City took a chunck of it, 
> and 
> remainder incorporated as Beltzhoover (PRC 49).
> 
> 
> >Streetcar lines are shown out W Liberty Avenue to the edge of the
> >map just short of Dormont Jct (Dormont is not yet incorporated)
> >and along Brookline Blvd as far as the city limit at Queensborough.
> >So, obviously these two lines were in place by 1908.
> >
> 
> 
> Didn't find answer to Jim's question about Beechview and Brookline 
> names but 
> following is from pp 770 of 1922 History of Pittsburgh:
> 
> "The northern line of Greentree is the city's line of the 20th ward, 
> but 
> between that borough (Greentree) and the city lines were the 
> boroughs of 
> Beechview and Brookline, annexed to the city in 1901."  (date could 
> be my 
> error in transcription)
> 
> And further, for Jim's benefit, "Then comes Borough of Dormont, 
> incorporated 
> from a portion of Scott Township in 1909, and beyond that to the 
> south the 
> township of Mt. Lebanon."
> 
> 
> 
> >EAST LIBERTY
> >
> >I mistakenly wrote earlier that East Liberty had lain on the
> >boundary between Collins and Pitt Townships. The line between
> >Collins and Peebles Townships (NOT Pitt) followed Penn Avenue. I
> >suppose E Liberty might more accurately be said to have sat on
> >the Collins Tp side of this line.
> >
> >D2
> 
> 
> State Library in Harrisburg has City of Pittsburgh map, dtd Sept. 
> 1936 
> entitled:  "Incorporation of Boroughs and Townships now annexed to 
> City."  
> Size is about 2x3 ft.  If Derrick would like to see what can be done 
> with 
> several zerox pages.................
> 
> John
> 
>
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