[PRCo] Re: West End

[Jim Holland]

Good Morning!

> John Swindler wrote:

> Route 32 P&LE Transfer (so as not to confuse with earlier
> route 32) required a double end car.  The crossover on
> Carson St. west of Smithfield was still in place for
> (really stretching the memory cells now) car 1000 fantrip in
> June 1958.

http://davesrailpix.railfan.net/pitts/htm/bvp003.htm - shows the X-over on
the Smithfield St. Bridge which the 32-line cars used for getting into and
out of the barn.

http://davesrailpix.railfan.net/pitts/htm/bvp013.htm - shows intersection
of Carson and Smithfield  *Before*  the 2-turns to and from West Carson
were installed to and from the tunnel.   And the turn from Westbound Carson
to southbound tunnel is not in as yet, either!

	There is also a photo of a 37 or 38-series interurban heading southbound
farside of Carson with many people standing there  --  we have discussed it
before and someone thought the car was stopping to take on passengers.  
Not the case - people were waiting for car to clear to cross the tracks.  
At any rate, I can't seem to find that photo to see if turnouts were in
place for turns to and from West Carson.

	These 2-turns seem to have been added during or immediately after WW2
which is interesting because the 3750s with left side door were reportedly
based at South Hills for the 23-line.   How did they get them to and from
the barn without these turns?   Must have gone downtown first and probably
to the downtown West End loop.

	At any rate, there would be additional time to route the West End cars
over the Smithfield Bridge in addition to increased congestion here.   The
West End downtown loop barely made it into downtown so cars were into and
out of downtown very fast.   The Smithfield Bridge could handle the
additional traffic   ---   consider the frequency of service in the 1940s
very early 1950s and the number of lines that used the bridge, the cutbacks
in headways in the mid-1950s, and running the West End lines this way could
have been done.

	But this would have greatly increased overhead as more cars would be
needed on West End routes because of additional running time but would be
theoretically carrying the same number of people!

> >From: Matt Barry <mrb190+ at pitt.edu>
> >Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> >Subject: [PRCo] Re: West End
> >Date: Tue, 02 Apr 2002 12:30:55 -0500
> >
> >
> >Mark,
> >
> >
> >I think route 32 stopped running in the early 50's.  The trackage from
> >Smithfield street to the Point Bridge was apparently abandoned in 1957
> >-- two years prior to the West End's demise.  I think the railways paved
> >over it or removed it - did something to it that made it unusable.
> >  (Maybe someone else can address.)
> >
> >Also, the West End lines were apparently $ losers.  The railways company
> >was apparently happy to not have to pay for the tax on trackage and
> >overhead.    Correct those of you who know better?
> >
> >Matt
> >
> >Macmarka at cs.com wrote:
> >
> > >Forgive me if you've already dicussed this. When was the 32 line
> > >discontinued? Also, why didn't PRCo just use the 32 trackage when the
> >Point
> > >Bridge was closed?  Could have kept the West end lines running at least a
> > >little longer, no?  I wasn't even born when the West End lines were
> > >discontinued. I had friends in Crafton when I lived in Pittsburgh and
> >could
> > >see certain areas where streetcars ran.
> > >
> > >            Mark McGuire

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James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation....... 
___"O"--Scale St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars and...
______"O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net

______Pennsylvania Trolley Museum 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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