[PRCo] Re: Where are you?

[Harold Geissenheimer]

Fred and Boris
I believe Palmer served on the PAT Board in the 1970's,  He was tied
in to Dr Hunt.  He was not a good operator, not like Tom Fitzgerald.
It was easy to compete with him.  Hunt, Palmer, Flaherty (both) and the
Judge hurt PAT in the 1970's.  Hunt was funded by the RR unions and
WABCO..  The ATU transit union  supported Sky Bus.

Several excellent PRC planners and managers did join my staff and
served for years.  Art Ellis, Bill McAnulty (brother of Duquesne U
Pres Father McAnulty), Bob Brown and Bob Fulton (PRC's first
black road foreman) worked with me for ovr 10 years and contributed
much to transit in Pgh.

A little story of competing with PRC.  PRC bus and Community Transit
both operated thru Sharpsburg. PRC vis Butler St, Community via Etna.
We (Community) had a 15 cent local fare in zones to New Kensington
including Sharpsburg.  One day I was riding our bus back to the garage
in Tarentum (In the old West Penn Barn-I beliieve its still there. a 
tire shop
at 2d & Adams).  Two elderly Polish women boarded the bus and asked
about the 15 cent fare.  One did not know how to tell the difference. in 
buses.
The other said "My dear, the 15 cent bus is the clean, painted one"   And I
added that the driver was more polite.

In Dormont, the Bigi bus was also popiular.  People took the first to come.
I lived at W Lib and Potomac.

Harold Geissenheimer


Fred Schneider wrote:

>Primarily a reply to Boris but I'm going to put this on the line.  I'm
>sure Holland will want to add something.  And maybe Ed will add
>something next week.
>I'm recovering from shoulder surgery ... the pain woke me up at 1:30
>this morning.  The operation was Wednesday and it failed to produce the
>intended results ... surgeon told my wife that the tissue was so beat
>that he couldn't guarantee that it would work.
>
>The history of Pittsburgh Railways is very well documented in the old
>issues of Trolley Fare and probably also in Headlights, the magazine of
>the Electric Railroaders Association.
>
>The majority of the employees went to work with the Port Authority on
>April 1, 1964.  Charles Palmer and I'm assuming that some of his legal
>and financial people stayed with the old company.  They had been
>investing in other things during the final years in an attempt to create
>a positive cash flow in order to keep the transit company functioning.
>Unfortunately, every time they invested a dollar in another gasoline
>station, the city political hacks tried to beat them over the head for
>diverting money.  At the same time the city publicly admitted that they
>were trying to ruin the company because it would reduce the condemnation
>price the public had to pay.
>
>The county condemned PRC and 28 other bus companies to create the
>transit division of the Port Authority of Allegheny County.  The entire
>PAAC name rapidly disappeared from anything the public saw and evolved
>into PAT.  I think only Deere Brothers and Pittsburgh Railways fought
>the county in judicial proceedings. PRC lost; they were fighting to get
>the county to take everything, just like they did with the bus
>companies.  PAT only took what they wanted ... some cars, some buses,
>some real estate.  The county even refused to take the overhead crane
>built into the Homewood car shops.  And the county won.  The 76 cars in
>Rankin car house, and the building, remained PRC property after the
>court case and PRC scrapped them.
>
>PRC management renamed their company Pitway Corporation ... EHL could
>tell you exactly when it happened.  The old stock code on the American
>Stock Exchange never changed ... it remained PRY until the company
>totally disappeared.  The company was well known as a manufacturer of
>First Alert smoke detectors.  I think they may have also been involved
>in aerosol cans.  I'm not sure how long Palmer lasted; his health was
>very poor when I did the PCC book.  I called him but his family didn't
>want him disturbed.  He must have died shortly thereafter ... late
>1970s.   Pitway was eventually sold to Honeywell Corporation.  Ed could
>tell you when ... my guess is within the last five to ten years.
>
>
>
>Boris Cefer wrote:
>
>  
>
>>Hi, Fred, Haven't heard from you for weeks. Or does it only seem to
>>me?I read quite interesting article concerning removal and scraping of
>>Pittsburgh PCCs, but haven't found any information about what happened
>>to Pittsburgh Railways Company when PAAC took over. I mean the company
>>itself, people and the property (assets) which wasn't taken over by
>>PAAC. And also it is not clear to me the process of taking over - did
>>PRCo sell part of its property to PAAC under some kind of government
>>control or was it an execution or embargo? I think this information
>>did not appear anywhere. Who paid for scraping surplus car fleet -
>>PRCo or PAAC? What about your back? Ready for work in a darkroom? I
>>have saved a lot of money for prints... (Don't forget about
>>humour.) Boris
>>    
>>
>
>
>
>
>  
>