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

[Donald Galt]

On 14 Sep 00, at 21:30, Jim Holland wrote:

> 
>  The *partial* Drake routing makes sense to avoid the grades - once
> at Washington Jct. where does one go to avoid the grades?  Not
> present Library line; what about Route-88 alignment - curves too
> tight.  But Drake gets around the hills! 

Okay, at last I fold on this one.

Yet another perusal of the 1890 Allegheny County map that I have 
studied before - not carefully enough, apparently - shows the 
Pittsburgh Southern doing exactly what Jim says it should, 
heading from Wash Jct to Drake, then curving around to the 
southeast, with Upper St. Clair station approximately at the line 
now separating U St C township and Bethel borough. 
Unfortunately, the map I have (can't remember where I copied it) 
gives out somewhere along Logan Road, but logic dictates that the 
line would have joined the present route just north of King's School.

That acknowledged, it just doesn't seem that good a choice 
despite what Jim says. Washington Jct sits at about 1120 feet 
above sea level. From there, the Library line climbs to about 1230 
feet at Hillcrest and probably another 10 feet a bit farther south, 
then requires earthworks to cross the next valley before cresting 
again at about 1225 feet just north of Center Street. Then onward 
without major change in altitude to South Park Road, after which it 
is down the valley all the way to Library.

Now, from Washington Jct (1120 ft, remember) the other route 
descends to 1000 feet at Drake, is then forced to climb to 1160 
feet at the junction of Logan and Patterson Roads, then down to 
1040 at King's School. So locomotives would appear to have 
worked harder this way than they would have by going via 
Brightwood. No matter how you tackle it, you have to cross that 
ridge!

So at least I'm not going to eat my crow without salt.

D2