[PRCo] PRCo History

[Jim Holland]

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: PRCo  History
Date: Thu, 31 May 2001 03:26:10 -0700
From: Jim Holland <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
Reply-To: pghpcc at pacbell.net
Organization: Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation  --  St.-Petersburg
Trams Company (SPTC)  *O*--Scale  Imports  --  mailto:PGHPCC at pacbell.net
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
CC: John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>,billvigrass at hillintl.com,
ALLMANR at aehn2.einstein.edu,rwan at dejazzd.com,
csiebert at paonline.com,elmerfry at desupernet.net, JacksoRE at STVINC.COM
References: <13887-3B159C80-292 at storefull-285.iap.bryant.webtv.net>

Mr. Tennyson,

	A Million  THANKS  for this highly enlightening
summary of events concerning PRCo.  Sure hope you find
time to share more information in this regard.  Nice to
hear it from someone actually employed by PRCo!!
	It was definitely the waning days of PRCo, but I
am glad I was able to see and enjoy the interurbans to
Charleroi and Washington and what was left up until 1962!
Have some fond memories!

> Mr. Ed Tennyson wrote:

>     No, John, no "can of worms". You have it right.
> The 1903 consolidation to  form Pittsburgh Railways Company
> was done with 99-year leases.  That way, P.R.Co did not
> have to buy the 99 ? other companies. . .  We do know
> the Judge who was first involved with Pat was
> "connected" to GM.    That is how John Dameron got in
> and deposed Harley Swift

> In 1950, P.Ry.Co operated NO buses.
> They contracted with Pittsbrgh Motor Coach for shuttle
> and feeder routes at a hue loss to P.Ry.Co  and let
> P.M.C. Co operate the "Throuh" bus routes separately. . .
> The Through bus routes never carried route numbers.
> There were about a dozen of them including one to
> Charleroi which the 1938 barkruptcy forced them to sell
> to Blue Ridge Bus, the big bus subsidiary of the
> Hagerstown & Frederck Ry. It really put a crimp in
> long haul interurban car rides as the bus did not
> carry local coal miners.  The 99 leased companies all
> claimed they were not bankrupt because P.Ry Co owed
> them rent.     Anne X. Alpern fought that one too,
> but this time, only this time, she was right and the
> Court put them all in bankruptcy. . .
> One condition of the consolidation, imposed by Anne
> X. Alpern was that no service leave Allegheny County,
> hence the interurban abandonments at that time.
> They would have been abandned in 1940 or 1941, but they
> belonged to legally solvent copanies and could
> not be liquidated so long as they were owned by others.
> During the War, ridership more tha doubled to make them
> valuabel, and after the war commuter business to the
> new outer suburbs kept them busy as far as Canonsburg and
> Finleyville (Riverview).    until e 15 percent federal
> tax was slapped on in 1948 but not applied to
> Blue Ridge Bus.  The govrnment really hated rail service.
> E d   T e n n y s o n

-- 
James B. Holland
        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
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