[PRCo] Re: Rankin Car House

[Fred Schneider]

And for some years I had a neighbor who was a Conestoga Transportation driver
... actually he ran the last Ephrata car in 1947.  By the late 1960s and early
1970s he was Numero Uno, and picked a suburban route in the winter and extra
list in summer ... he loved those long summer charters to Nashville or the
Grand Canyon.

Your first statement comes right back to what I was wondering ... motormen
would live near the carbarn.

Who's got a 1937 union contract for PRC that shows what the company had to do
if they closed a barn and moved the men?  Since Castle Shannon closed in the
early 1930s, I would believe the issue was still fresh.

Harold Geissenheimer wrote:

> Fred and all
>
> Motorman would like to live near thebarn..especially for 3AM runs or
> late pull ins.
> Also extra board operators wanted to live close
>
> I believe that PRC ran some early 3AM trips on lines to get people to work
> Om 2d ave to glenwood or places with out all night service.
>
> Certainly all night service made S Hills a good assignment
>
> Always interesting which employee bid which type of run.
>
> Many of the oldest wanted 3-4AM starts to get home early.
> Others wanted them for the opportunity to get extra work
>
> Harmony's most senior bid the extra board because he wanted to work
> charters (The famed Sam Bardonna of Bardonna road off of route 8)
>
> Augie at Harmony and Community bid the last out in the AM rush
> because he did not like to drive in the snow,
>
> One driver always took 2 weekend days and 3 weekday because
> traffic was easier.  When wives worked or school considerations also
> affected bids.
>
> Ray M and Bob L from Butler picked a afternoon combination where
> they could drive together to Tarentum.  They had seniority to work mornings
> but could not get a good match.
>
> Types of eqipment and time of  rush hour trips in Pgh also affected picks.
>
> Many operators study run picks for hours before making a choice.
>
> Harold
> in the afternoon.
>
> Fred Schneider wrote:
>
> >Follow up on previous e-mails:
> >
> >Rankin Bridge collapsed June 26, 1937 and was reopened November 25,
> >1937.  A sidewalk opened in August.
> >
> >On July 10, 1937 Rankin Car House closed as an operating facility.
> >Routes 55, 60 and 61 were moved to Homewood.  Route 59 went to
> >Glenwood.  Routes 67 and 68 went Craft.  The route cards for each route
> >began with, "Because of the collapse of the Rankin Bridge, ....."
> >
> >Unfortunately, we have no information on the factors PRC used in their
> >decision to move the routes out of Rankin in 1937, or for the failure to
> >return those routes to Rankin later in the same year.  Perhaps the
> >company had been wanting to close it for sometime and the collapse
> >simply made shifting of jobs easier.  Apparently the other barns now had
> >sufficient capacity for all the routes, and they continued to have
> >adequate capacity throughout World War II.
> >
> >Thirty years earlier most operators would have lived in the neighborhood
> >where they worked ... generally within walking distance.  Perhaps mostly
> >within one-half mile.  If you moved men to another division, you might
> >have had to move them to a new home.  West Penn Railways did that when
> >the Iron Bridge Carbarn was closed; the company moved the men to new
> >houses at Greensburg or Connellsville.  But this was 1937 and most
> >families in the state had an automobile (ownership was lower in urban
> >areas like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia).  Moving men may have been more
> >of an annoyance than major problem.  My recollection is that most
> >carbarns in Pittsburgh did not have an abundance of parking for
> >employees.  This may not have been a problem at Homewood because there
> >would have been five blocks or more of street spaces beside the company
> >facility.  Glenwood may have had some space in the 1950s but I don't
> >know about 1930s.   Space was probably at a premium around Craft Avenue
> >... certainly the presence of Magee Woman's Hospital next door would
> >have put a premium on street space.   I would love to see what the rest
> >of you are thinking.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >