http://gelwood.railfan.net/other/lightrail/pat-1676r.jpg P&L E Canopy & Clock -- Smithfield St. Bridge

[Dietrich, Robert J.]

Here is everything you ever wanted to know about the Smithfield street
bridge.  This is a long scary link.  

http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=hhphoto&action=browse&fileName=p
a/pa0000/pa0073/photos/browse.db&recNum=0&itemLink=D?hh:108:./temp/~ammem_kB
kj::&title2=Smithfield+Street+Bridge,+Spanning+Monongahela+River+on+Smithfie
ld+St.,+PITTSBURGH,+Allegheny+County,+PA.&displayType=1

If it doesn't work for you try this http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/hhquery.html
and enter Smithfield Street Bridge into the search field.

This document does not show the P&LE canopy indicating that it was not
officially part of the bridge.  Of course that doesn't deter me from
including it as part of the bridge in my mind.  

My mind also tells me that the clock was always on Eastern Standard Time.
Not to get off subject but didn't the railroads always run on Standard Time?
Something tells me they switched over to Daylight Savings during their
troubled decades, 60's and 70's timeframe.  I guess it doesn't matter except
Professor Holland will want to have it right when he builds his model of the
bridge.

Bob

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Jim Holland [mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net] 
Sent:	Sunday, September 17, 2000 10:26 PM
To:	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject:	Re: http://gelwood.railfan.net/other/lightrail/pat-1676r.jpg
P&LE Canopy &  Clock  --  Smithfield  St.  Bridge

Greetings!

	The picture of the Smithfield St. Bridge on page 193 of
*Time-of-the-Trolley* by Middleton shows a similar portion of the bridge
but from on the bridge and facing south.  From the sidewalk, it appears
as though the bridge proper might be continuous to the P&LE canopy - but
the construction of the bridge differs markedly.  There is the main
*cantilevered* portion, an open portion, a thru-arch-truss, and then the
P&LE canopy with underpass.
	How wide is the underpass, incidentally?
	Also, comparing Bob's photo to the book, note the different style
*catenary-bridges* (2) to support the overhead before entering the main
portion of the bridge.

> brathke at juno.com wrote:
> 
> > I'm sure that the P&LE canopy clock was
> > changed to DST in April - at least after 1958,

Jim Holland wrote:

>         That is  m-u-c-h  sooner than I thought - thanks for the update.
>         Your following description of *facilities* around the P&LE station
and
> the Smithfield St. Bridge raise some interesting questions as I am not
> at all familiar with the construction *down-under* at this location.
>         1)--Where does the Smithfield St. Bridge proper start?
>         2)--Behind 1676 is what looks like an arched thru truss - arches
on
> both sides of the double track - but this was earth fill as I remember.
> Used to be a location for a crossover used by the Carson Street shuttles
> on pullouts until the turn was cut in at Carson.  So this part is on an
> embankment, No?  It is not actually a trestle in spite of the arches, or
> is it?  I would assume that the Smithfield St. Bridge itself starts on
> the north side of those arches, Yes?
>         3)--It seems as though the P&LE canopy itself was a small trestle
with
> first a pedestrian underpass and then the same used for autos.  But this
> *trestle* is separate from the Smithfield St. Bridge itself, No?

>         Will be checking your photos on the P&LE station.
>         Do you have photos of the B&O station on the north side of the
bridge?

>         MANY  THANKS!

> > The east (inbound) side of the canopy had a staircase that went down the
> > east side of the bridge structure, then you walked through a pedestrian
> > tunnel, past the taxi driveway to the course level of the P&LE station;
> > this tunnel is still there, but ioday it is used by automobiles going
> > from Station Square to the parking lot on the east side of the bridge.
> > Going back to the old canopy: people on the west side of the canopy
> > (outbound) simply walked across the auto lanes of the Smithfield Street
> > Bridge, entered the main doors of the station and walked down the grand
> > staircase to the concourse level: or...you could walk down a staircase
to
> > the outside walkway along the railroad tracks(this walkway has been
> > enclosed and is now a dining room at the Grand Concourse Restaurant).

> > If you'd like to see some of my photos of the P&LE station, go the
"P&LE"
> > page on the website
> > <www.dnaco.net/~gelwood>.  I also have photos of the PRR and B&O
stations
> > on those railroad pages.

> > The P&LE canopy contained a large sign showing the numbers and names of
> > the trolley routes that stopped there.  There was a similar sign at the
> > Liberty Avenue trolley stop at the PRR Station.  And, there MAY have
been
> > a trolley route sign at the old B&O station (torn down in 1957) on the
> > downtown side of the Smithfield St. Bridge.  I'll have to check my
> > photos. I assume (hope) that these signs were saved.  Does anyone know
> > their whereabouts?  I took a photo of the P&LE sign, but never
> > photographed the sign at the PRR station.

> > Bob 9/17

> > ---------------------------------------------------------

> > On Sun, 17 Sep 2000 15:24:50 -0700 Jim Holland <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
> > writes:
> > > Greetings!

> > >       This URL
> > > http://gelwood.railfan.net/other/lightrail/pat-1676r.jpg shows
> > > the P&LE Canopy.  It appears as though there were stairs leading down
to
> > > the railroad tracks so one might assume that P&LE built the canopy.
> > >       The sign under the clock reads *Eastern Standard Time.*  The
railroads
> > > *in-the-good-old-days* always ran on standard time so if this canopy
was
> > > owned and maintained by P&LE, then I assume that this clock remained
on
> > > Standard time 365-days a year - at least thru the end of PRCo and
> > > probably into the next decade!
> > >       Good assumption or No?!?!

James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
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