[PRCo] Re: Fantasy___Justifications

[Edward H. Lybarger]

I don't read this as PRCo considering the purchase of 10 cars.  Rather, they
were talking equivalents.  I believe that the company knew in 1949 that its
streetcar-buying days were over.  If they didn't know that, they wasted a
lot of money recording the passenger counts that are in a book that now
resides at the PTM Library.

Like West Penn, Pittsburgh Railways was managed by very competent people.
Unlike West Penn, they inherited perhaps the worst of all political and
financial structures from their predecessors.  And they understood what the
automobile was doing to their business.

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of Jim
Holland
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2001 3:36 AM
To: -->-- PRCo___WP___JTC --<--
Subject: [PRCo] Fantasy___Justifications



Good Morning!!

	Received the following information from Dennis Linsky, known by many
here.   Interesting to note that PRCo considered the purchase of
10-new PCC cars about 1950.   Wonder what they could have been and for
what purpose.   Even then it was probably assumed that some streetcar
abandonments were inevitable coming out of bankruptcy, even the
cut-back of the interurbans to within Allegheny County.

	So my personal fantasies of PRCo purchasing new PCCs (assuming good
and modestly increasing patronage) have at least a little basis in
history, even if not consumated!(:->)

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PITTSBURGH'S LATE 1949 TRACK PROGRAM; OTHER NEWS

   From:  Dennismk1 at aol.com
     To:  pghpcc at pacbell.net

    Good Morning, Jim:

	It was 52 years ago when Pittsburgh Railways has rebuilt the
following trackage:

	Forbes Street from Homewood Cemetery to
		Craft Avenue--a very long stretch.
	Penn Avenue from Whitfield to Winebiddle
		(route 88)--1 mile.
	Brighton Road from Marshall to Davis
		(most of route 6).
	9th Street from Penn to Duquesne Way
		(about 2 blocks)
	West Ohio Street from Federal to Brighton
		(about 1 1/2 miles).

	Being in bankruptcy, PRWYS was allowed to lay only 22,000 feet of
track a year and Steel City had to tie in its paving plans with those
of the company.

	For 1950, they were talking about rebuilding North Avenue from
Federal to Arch (routes 6, 7, 9, 13, 14, and 15)--about 2 blocks.

	Woods Run Road (tip end of route 18).
	Penn Avenue from Winebiddle to Main
		(route 88)--about 1 1/2 miles.

	The company used 1000 streetcars in rush hours--about 300 being
non-PCC's.  It claimed a loss of about 2 cars a month through
retirement, disrepair, or accident.  It also said that the $3,000,000
it might have collected  in 1949-50 would have bought 10 new PCC cars
had the new fare increase been in effect sooner.

    Very Sincerely,

    Dennis M. Linsky
    1350 East 5th Street, Apt. 3P
    Brooklyn, NY   11230-4686
    email:  Dennismk1 at aol.com
    11/4/01

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James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation
    "O"--Scale  St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars  &
        "O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
        Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM) http://www.pa-trolley.org/
    Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.nmra.org

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