[PRCo] Re: 46--line vs 49--line --- & 47--line

[Jim Holland]

HI!
	Many  THANKS  to Tom, John-F, and Don who all chimed in to give
direction and clarification.

> John F Bromley wrote:

> Sorry, I wasn't clear.  49 via Tunnel RHO, every 15 minutes, the 46 on the
> hill was base service.  Sort of explains the replacement eventually by 47.

	What was the downtown route for the 47-line?  Did it travel Smithfield
and turn down 3rd, go out 4th, and then Grant back to the tunnel? 
Comparing schedules, the 48-line took 19 minutes to get to Arlington and
Brownsville while the 53-line took 16-minutes to reach the same point. 
Seems like any time savings for the 47-line would be slim, if any, and
if it looped ala the 48 or latter day PRCo-49, then it would take
longer!!

>> Tom Phillips <tsquare at toad.net> wrote:::::::

>> S'funny!  But I don't recall ever seeing a 49-Beltzhoover
>> running thru the tunnel.  (It may have been a rush-hour-only
>> operation, however, as I didn't usually ride at that time of
>> day -- I do recall seeing 47-Carrick via Tunnel on occasion.)
>> A point to remember:  PRCo's operators often would give only
>> a partial turn of the rollsign crank or otherwise show a
>> false destination when deadheading -- this trait was peculiar
>> to PRCo -- thus showing an inappropriate message.

>> Tom

> John F Bromley wrote:::::::

> Route 46-Brownsville was replaced (date?) by a re-routed 49-Beltzhoover
> when  49-Beltzhoover stopped coming up through the tunnel (and was replaced
> by rush hour 47 Carrick via Tunnel).  The 46 went to Gearing & Chalfont,
> just as did the 49, so the denizens of the surrounfing area could whip
> downtown via the fast route or the scenic route.  This from the Lewis 1926
> guide and the June 1936 and October 1938 PRC route guides (all gleaned from
> bids on the odious eBay in the past few months).  Oh, that it were so today.
> Riders from this area are probably lucky now if they see the odd bus that
> might drop them at the junction!

> Presumably the changes occurred in the 1940s.  The guides don't list loops
> and PERHAPS the line stopped in the street at the intersection and that a
> loop wasn't necessary until the 1940s.   On the other hand I remember that
> loop well (lots of pix as well) and I can't see PRC buying a property in the
> 1940s and tearing down a house or three for the purpose of building a loop,
> so maybe it was there all along (or at least from the beginning of the
> single end car era).   So far I haven't turned up a route guide for that
> period.

>> JFB

>>> "Jim Holland" <pghpcc at pacbell.net> wrote:::::::

>>> Trivia question.  The other day, Ed said:::::::

>>>> Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

>>>> Became "Beltzhoover" September 30, 1946.  Now if I were only this efficient
>>>> and knowledgeable about real work...

>>> ...And I have mentioned the MD McCarter photo of a PCC signed
>>> 46--Brownsville so PCCs worked the line which means
>>> there was a loop somewhere.

>>> ...AND  Tom Phillips, John-S, and others have mentioned that
>>> there was a 49-line that ran up through the tunnel,
>>> possibly as late as 1950 (although the quote from Ed
>>> above would seem to rule that out.)

>>> ...And  it has also been mentioned that the 46--line ran into Allentown.

>>> ...Now  --  did the original 46-line terminate near Warrington
>>> and reverse ends?  Did the original 46-line terminate
>>> anywhere else in this vicinity and then reverse ends?
>>> OR  did the 46 line always operate out Climax to Gearing?

>>> Just prior to the 1946.09.30 sign change of the 46-line,
>>> 1)--was the 49-line running thru the tunnel?
>>> 2)--Did both these lines have the same outer terminal on Gearing?

>>> The plot, like Chunky, gets thickerer!

-- 
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/