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

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

	Not a legend - the inner rails, often called guard rails but were not
really needed for such purpose, were from the old narrow gauge
railroad!  Think that has been mentioned before here on this list and
think that the July--1952--*Electric-Railroads* which is an history of
the interurban division of PRCo mentions that.  When I find some time I
shall quote that section.

	Are you trying to be a rabble-rouser, Robert?!?!::>>)))

brathke at juno.com wrote:

> 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.

> > 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

James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
    To e-mail privately, please click here: mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.mcs.net:80/~weyand/nmra/