[PRCo] Re: So you can't get to Pittsburgh?

[Jim Holland]

Good Morning!



> Ken & Tracie wrote:

> I am indirectly asking why you have no interest in
> visiting the first phase of the light rail reconstruction
> and why you still want to call the line through Dormont
> and Mt. Lebannon the 42/38? I draw a parallel to a diehard
> Boston Red Sox fan who would stop attending games because
> Fenway Park was replaced. :-)



	Thank You for asking directly now!!:)

	I can't be compared to a diehard Red Sox fan because I geese I
am not a diehard railfan  --  but that needs elaboration.

	There are those who have a keen interest in most any rail  -- 
witness those on this list who want to tour the country to see
the new light rail.    And we could find many examples for a very
wide variety of other interests concerning rail.

	I am neither a Promoter nor Detractor of rail.    If people want
rail  --  fine.    If people do not want rail  --  fine.    But I
do now question the massive expenditures necessary to Install And
Maintain rail.

	My Personal Interest in rail is more focused, probably Far More
Focused.    I am interested in the  *Historical__Aspect,* 
specifically PRCo 1955 And Before.    It has absolutely Nothing
To Do with projecting the past into the future and wishing things
had remained the same    ----    as already indicated, I am a
very firm believer in   *The__ONLY__Constant__is__Change.*   
With this focus I am not interested in touring the country to see
light rail  --  I want to see other things.    If light rail is
there, I  *might*  take a look.

	Additionally, one has to live thru the changes to at least
accept them, even if not agreeing with them.    I left Pgh.
40-years__7--months ago and am now a visitor.    Each time I
returned to Pgh. it had changed so much that it was hard to
accept and I realized that I was no longer a part of Pgh. but was
now estranged from it   --  and this has nothing to do with
trolleycars but with the town itself and the area in which I grew
up.    Many in Pgh. found the density too much and moved into the
suburbs.    Had I been living thru those changes the reality of
the change would not be so evident.    Pgh. was // is not a part
of me any more and Pgh. is a secondary interest at best.

	As lrvs debuted here in SF where I currently live (and where,
with Boston, modern lrvs made their first appearance) and other
places I recognized that I could be despising lrvs just like
old-timers familiar with Jones, Nearside, Brills etc. despised
the PCCs.    So I made a definite attempt to learn about them and
like them only to find that they quite honestly do not interest
me.    Please note that I am Not Passing Judgment  --  just
recognizing that modern lrvs are not of interest.

	As the Twins were growing up we visited San Diego to see the
lrvs there and found the line successful (fascinating for the
Twins because it was their era) but it really didn't hold my
interest.    I found it far more interesting to watch the
excitement of the Twins in this regard and to remember my
fascination with trolleycars when their age.

	Riding the equipment is not as much fun and even the passengers
are questionable if not threatening in many cases.    Maybe it
was the same when I was a teen but I was blind to it then, but I
often do not feel comfortable nor safe on the equipment now.   
This has been true in San Diego and especially Sacramento  -- 
and this is a Very Big Factor in not wanting to ride LaLa-Land
rail.

	It was in San Diego where I discovered that I do not like
Siemens-Deuwag equipment.    It is rough operating and more
toy-train like than prototypical.    This has been borne out with
experiences in Sacramento and Edmonton which also have this
equipment.

	There are many other things which influence my interest but
these are enough to address your questions.    I am not in Pgh.
and thus have not changed with it and where I am currently living
consumes my attention most thoroughly.    And with a focused
interest in rail, I would not be able to remember let alone want
to remember the current route number for the SHV rail line.   
And I disagree that the numbers  *must*  change  --  the line is
still the 42/38 but extended to SHV.    And  I-F  future demand
is like I mentioned in other posts, the  *Library__and__Drake* 
lrvs will operate via the original PRCo routing (except Drake to
SHV instead of Drake loop) and the  *other--line*  will operate
only to Castle Shannon.    Even if  *the--other*  runs thru to
SHV, so what!

	Additionally, the current Pgh.lrv line represents all that was
evil with  ({[pat.]})    I am one of the first to admit that
trolleycars had their day in the sun but  ({[pat]})  was
hell-bent on getting rid of trolleys just because they were
trolleys   --  their attitude against trolleys was as bad as if
not worse than railfans attitudes for trolleys.    The current
lrv line was built grudgingly  --  was supposed to be
Sky-Choo-Choo.    Much of the current line embodies  ({[pats]}) 
ugly attitude with ugly overhead which seemed designed to turn
people against rail.    So there is little to endear me to the
current line    ----    even though it runs only 10-doors up the
street from where I lived!!!!!!!:)

	({[pat]})  even strongly resisted the current Overbrook rebuild 
--  but it seems like this line could be of some real value and
possibly attract people to rail, especially for the commute.   
This line has real promise, great history, is part of the
original Interurban lines (my prime interest in PRCo) and thus
holds some appeal for me.    I am considering a trip to witness
the opening of Overbrook although I don't like all that hoopla
and the crowds will be horrible, but when I do make the trip to
see Overbrook it will probably be my last trip to Pgh and the
east.

	As humans it is difficult to be Absolute so there are always
exceptions.    I am totally enamored with Portland MAX and try to
get up there once a year to See And Ride the System.    I like
the Bombardier cars; do Not like the Siemen low-floor cars  -- 
they have the similar operational problems of other Siemen cars.

	Calgary is absolutely exceptional because they built a Real
System of rail LineS, not just one, and it is highly functional.

	I keenly like  *many*  of the European  *lrvs*  because they
built upon the foundation of the PCC using modern technology to
keep it current just as the development of the PCC here in the US
was an evolutionary development from the standard trolleycar but
with real research and development to make it a sound product.   
The Belgian(?) three section articulated with One Large Picture
Window in each section is Absolutely Astounding  --  would dearly
love to see it in person and to ride it.

	Hope this clarifies my outlook for you!:)



<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Waiting for a bus is as thrilling as fishing,
    with the similar tantalisation that something,
        sometime, somehow, will turn up. 
            George Courtauld

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

James B. Holland

• Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation....... 
  "O"--Scale St.-Petersburg Trams Company (SPTC)
	Trolleycars and "O"--Scale  Parts
		including Q-Car
	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

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>