[PRCo] Re: A 77/54 Bus in 1964? Also - A 10%/year loss?

[Fred Schneider]

May I answer your question to John?  The Pennsylvania Department of Internal
Affairs, now defunct, transferred all their annual reports to the Pernnsylvania
Historical and Museum Commission.  The series of electric railway, railroad,
bus system, and other reports are held in the Archives Tower adjacent to the
state museum at North 3rd and Foerster Sts., Harrisburg.  They are available
for public inspection from Tuesday through Friday.

These may be different from records filed with the PUC or may contain the same
information.  The one's I've looked at had elementary roster information (bus
files actually had detailed roster data), ownership, stocks and bonds and
mortgages issued or held, income and expenditures by numerous categories,
passengers moved, routes, stations ... just about all the basic corporate data
that bores most railfans but explained why the companies stayed in or went out
of business.

There was, however, a lapse in data in the early 1930s in the interval after
some companies went out of the trolley business and DIA discovered that there
was such a thing as a bus.  And some companies obviously had great difficulty
figuring out how to handle receipts and expenditures when they operated both
trolleys and buses.

John said something at noon today about wanting to go back to the PUC and
rummage.  The reporting requirements may have been similar.

Deere Brothers on the list making money?  Well, when Mom and Dad built a house
in Crescent Hills in 1935, "Mr. Deere" was running a school bus (Dad's term)
every hour on Frankstown Road into Pittsburgh.  Seems to me that in the early
PAT days that trunk was up to better than every 5 minutes in the rush hour!  I
suspect Deere was making some money.  At least he was buying new buses in the
early 1960s.

fws

Harold Geissenheimer wrote:

> Greetings
>
> Several private bus lines were still increasing ridership.
>
> Community Transit, Bigi, Horell, Culmerville, Deere and probably Oriole,
> Brentwood, Shafer
> and Ohio River.
>
> A question to John Swindler...are PUC records available to check?
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