[PRCo] Re: Where are you?

[John Swindler]

Not so, Fred, concerning PAAC.

Public still sees PAAC in reference to public transit in Pittsburgh.  Try 
looking for transit statistics on Pittsburgh at the FTA website.  Also the 
front cover of the 1995 system map and the return address used on any of the 
brochures issued for current construction project - such as "Connextions: 
Stage II LRT".  Don't have any Pittsburgh transit schedules to check, but 
also suspect they will be identified as issued by PAAC, not PAT.  (but if 
you want schedule of electric service out of Victoria or Waterloo, that I 
have handy (:>)

Also, the name PAAC (Port Authority of Allegheny County) is used with all 
contracts and grant payments to the primary transit operator in Pittsburgh.  
PAT is never used.

John




>From: Fred Schneider <fschnei at supernet.com>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: Boris Cefer <boris6 at volny.cz>, pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: Where are you?
>Date: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 02:57:59 -0500
>
>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
>
>
>

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