Missing Blocks of Car Numbers

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

> Tom Phillips wrote:

>         I  NEVER  saw an interurban car assigned to the 38-line.

> I AGREE, JIM -- BUT I DO RECALL SEEING OUTBOUND 3800'S PLYING THE 38
> LINE DURING LABOR WEEKEND (COUNTY FAIR AT SOUTH PARK) IN 1948 AND 1949)
> THEY WERE JUST BARELY ABLE TO MAKE THE TURN FROM WASHINGTON ROAD INTO
> CLEARVIEW LOOP BECAUSE OF A LINE POLE, LATER MOVED, ALONG THE SIDE WALK.

	Ooooooohhhhhhh,  Ooooooohhhhhhh,  Ooooooohhhhhhh,  (sorry, Charles!) 
--  THIS  Is  PriceLess!!

	But this was probably like below - to avoid the bottleneck of the
sidings on Overbrook.  We have to remember that prior to 1953, there
were only 2-sidings  --  1)--Bon--Air  and  2)--Reflectorville--Smith! 
Even in the early 1960s, Fair cars to West Library were every couple
minutes!!!
	The 38s would continue on to Charleroi and the Fair via 38A!

	Have  OFTEN  wondered about such a maneuver - and the opposite - 38s or
37s going inbound on 38 from Shannon for some reason!

	ANY  MORE  memories like this???!!!!!!!

> The interurbans did use the 38-line inbound in the evening rush to prevent
> a bottleneck with all the sidings on Overbrook, but these were not
> assigned to service on the 38-line.

> THAT WAS A TOUGH ONE - DIDN'T THE 38-MT.LEBANON CARS LAY OVER ON THE
> INBOUND LEG OF CLEARVIEW LOOP THEREBY CREATING A BLOCKAGE FOR THE INBOUND
> INTERURBANS -- THESE MUST HAVE BEEN EMPTY TRIPPERS RETURNING TO TCH --
> I DOUBT THAT LOADED INTERURBANS WOULD HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO THE BLOCKAGE.

	Sorry - should have stated this more specifically.  All cars were
always in service unless disabled for some reason or on Charter, etc.,
but it was trippers returning back to the barn.
	Before getting to Castle Shannon there was a crossover to the outbound
track which was controlled by an electric turnout.  And from the
outbound track there was a sprung turnout that was always set to go to
the back of the Shannon loop which connected directly with the 38A.  So
inbound Library and Drake cars could make this move.
	Took this a couple times with Charlie Diehl but don't remember it being
used often - and never remember any passengers on board, either.  Don't
remember any passengers on board when we went back to the barn on
Overbrook!  Quite often it was the 37-Shannon trippers which would back
onto the 38A for the trip back to the barn on the 38-line.
	In Mt.Lebanon, the operators would know that there were cars returning
to the barn from Shannon so they would lay back on the loop.  If they
happened to pull up onto the 38A track, the tripper from Shannon would
just have to wait!

	At the 42-wye, regular service cars would back out deeply so cars
returning to the yard could precede them - quite an operation to watch. 
The car that backed deep was close to McFarland with just enough room
for one car in front.  The wye is a big advantage over the loop for
barn--bound trippers!!
	About 3-car lengths past the wye downhill was the time clock where
operators stopped to punch the leaving time.  But barn--returnees
usually didn't bother with this formality and either threw the
controller open or put the pedal on the floor leaving the wye and
clattering through the diamond!!

James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
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