Fifty Years Ago

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Routes 2 and 3 were, like the West End routes, examples of lines the
railfans liked because of their splendid high speed operation but not
necessarily something the company wanted.  High speed had a corollary:
fewer passengers.  Routes like 22 Crosstown with continuous turnover of
passengers every mile can be very profitable.  Perrysville was a
moneymaker ... only about three miles long and jammed with homes all the
way plus neighborhood shopping areas at East St. and again at Charles
St. plus two downtowns, the heart of old Allegheny (the North Side) and
then the Golden Triangle.  Most of the east end routes had great
passenger turnover.  

But East Ohio Street from 16th Street to Millvale only had a single row
of houses on the north side of the street ... no streets farther back
... nothing on the river side.  Maybe 100 families per mile, 200 might
be generous.  And widening to four lanes would eliminate many homes.  If
the word "forced" is applied, it would be forced by economic issues.  

An example of a good trolley line, from mamagement's perspective, was
PTC's route 23.  It was the longest line in Philadelphia but most
important, there were numerous traffic generators along the line
separated by homes.  There were shops near the end of the line in
Chestnut Hill.  The intersection of Germantown Ave. and Chelton Street
has a major retail sector probably equivalent in scope to downtown in a
city of 40,000 people. A little farther down, there were numerous stores
at Broad / Erie / Germantown Ave.  Ten or fifteen minutes later the cars
were in Center City with Lit Brothers, Gimbels, Wanamakers, Strawbridges
and all the other specialty shops.  South Street was filled with tailor
shops.  This was the kind of line that made money.

In recent years, PTC / SEPTA route 6 (the shortened version after
1958).  It carried more people per car mile, more people per car hour,
more people per route mile than any other SEPTA route.  It has the north
end of the Broad Street subway at one end, and a major inner suburban
shopping center at the other end.  It was converted because it didn't
fit in to plans for the new Olney subway station.  Whether or not it
would be viable today is a different story because the neighborhoods
have changed drastically.   

"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:
> 
> I think history will confirm that the Pennsylvania Department of Highways
> gave Pittsburgh Railways the option of buying into the East Ohio Street
> upgrade, of course at greater cost than the company could ever recover
> through operations.  The use of the word "forced" may be misunderstood...it
> was the economics that was compelling, not just another government doing in
> another trolley line.
> 
> Ed
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> [mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Jim Holland
> Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 2:37 PM
> To: -->- PRCo -- WP -- JTC -- The Big *3* -<--
> Subject: Fifty Years Ago
> 
> Greetings!
> 
>         Many of you may know Dennis M. Linsky personally or from the email
> lists.  He often makes postings to the effec of:  "This Day in History
> XX Years ago" concerning trolleycars.  The following is what he sent me
> personally::
> =================================================
> 
>         At the other end of the Keystone State, it was 50 years ago that
> Pittsburgh Railways went under new ownership.  Much was now happening.
> Route 9 shuttle trolley was abandoned, buses were now labeled
> "Pittsburgh Railways," and routes 17, 20, and 81 were now bus.  Herron
> Hill Car House was closed and transferred to the Way Dept.  Route 85
> (Bedford Avenue) now operated from Craft Avenue and route 22 (Crosstown)
> from Manchester barn.  Route 37 (Castle Shannon) now operated only
> during rush hours, but with the Washington and Chaleroi cars still
> running, route 37 cars were operating on 15-minute headways.  The
> Pennsylvania State Highway Department has forced Pittsburgh Railways to
> give up the Millvale Car Barn, placing the future of trolley routes 2
> and 3 in great doubt.
> 
>     Very Sincerely,
> 
>     Dennis M. Linsky
>     1350 East 5th Street, Apt. 3P
>     Brooklyn, NY   11230-4686
>     mailto:Dennismk1 at aol.com
>     1/5/01
> =================================================
> 
>         Many times the historical event is exactly 'to the day' but Dennis does
> not specify that this time.  What specifically interested me is the
> following quote from his email:
> 
>         "Route 37 (Castle Shannon) now operated only during
>         rush hours, but with the Washington and Chaleroi
>         cars still running, route 37 cars were operating
>         on 15-minute headways."
> 
>         The interurbans to Charleroi and Washington ran limited from Pgh. to
> the loop at Castle Shannon outbound and the same inbound and these
> interurbans displayed those Destination Signs.  Line-37 service ran all
> day for local service.  Concurrent with the bankruptcy reorganization,
> the interurbans began local service for the whole route, displayed
> Shannon-Charleroi and Shannon-Washington Destinations, and of course,
> the local 37-line was cut back to rush hour trippers only.
> 
>         Is  TODAY  the exact day of that changeover in 1951?
> 
>         OR was that changeover actually in November of 1950 when the 3800s and
> the Brill 3700s were withdrawn from service?
> 
> 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/