Phantom rails on Beltzhoover (was: Second Avenue/Tenth/Carson &c)

[Donald Galt]

On 30 Sep 00, at 9:13, Bob Schmidt wrote:

> 
> The thought of the 33 line continuimg out Bailey Ave. from the incline
> on down Beltzhoover to Warrington, would seem logical. The short hop
> involved would've been under l/2 mile providing PRC with a connect to
> SHJ and the 44, 47, 48, 49 routes.
> 
> Like you, I've never seen any PRC track plan that would confirm the
> existance of such a hypothetical rail extension. Also, logic as we would
> like to perceive it wasn't, in many cases, the forte of PRC especially
> when it came to the creation and destruction of its various "rail ways"
> over the years. 
> 

I mentioned the phenomenon to Ed the day after noticing it, and he 
expressed complete surprise.

If the 33 had been completely isolated from SHJ, who knows? But 
in fact there was a west-south connection at Virginia and Shiloh.

Presumably route 33 went into decline from the very moment the 
40 began service, so perhaps there was no incentive to enhance it. 
But a connection between Bailey Avenue and Allentown would have 
been rather handy, particularly after the closing of the Castle 
Shannon south incline.

Anybody in the area want to take a jaunt over to Beltzhoover 
Avenue North with a tape measure? I'd be interested in knowing 
how close to 5-2½ the distance between those patches is. Though 
I could be wildly wrong (Jim, looking at one of my photos, thinks I 
am,) I'd guess that they are at most 3" off. 

Don