[PRCo] Re: Oakdale

[Edward H. Lybarger]

The "car house" was at the west end of Noblestown, just before the route
struck off on PRW for almost a half mile.  It was more or less an outdoors
affair, with an open-air elevated track that served as its "pit."

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of
Harold Geissenheimer
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2004 5:45 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Oakdale


Greetings to Bob and all
McDonald is a boro in two counties (Wash & All).  Trafford is in
two counties (Westmoreland & Al;l)

My unit was stationed at a 90mm gun site over Heidelberg. then at a Hq
site in Moon Run (at the end of Planet Way!) (Near the Montour Bus Garage)

Then at a Nike missile site between the old gun site and Oakdale

It was from here that I adopted McDonald as a home community.
The unit marched in Memorial Day and other parades there inluding
Emancipation Day in September.  McDonald had a black population
going back 100 years.  In the 1950's era there were two American
Legion Posts there..white and back.  We were supported by both
We did several street  recruiting displays on Saturdays and enlisted
men from McDonald High School before nunification.

 From the Legion Post, we met Mr Dunlap who was supt of the Boys Home there,
Again this was in another era..for orphans, not delinquents.  His son,
a graduate and basketball player from Villanover, joined the unit.
I see mention of the Home Property now closed in the PG.

McDonald had a weekly news paper and an impressive bank
downtown.

NOW A QUESTION....WHERE WAS THE  WEST PENN CAR BARN ON
THE LINE FROM OAKDALE.?

In later years, the Poskin Brothers bus and truck line operated into
Pittsburgh until PAT take over.  They operated Beaver built buses.

PRR operated communter trains on the Panhandle Division thru
Carnegie.

The radar site in Oakale was the location of the Pittsburgh area
Missile Master which controlled all of the Pgh defense..  The site is
still a reserve military base.  You can drive in..

I think the radar you observed from Steubenville Pike
was a different site.  The Oakdale Missile Master was on the
south side of the Parkway near Rennerdale.

Dave Brown, President of Community Transit, came from Hickory, Pa
in Washington county.

All in all..a typical western Penna community.  I enjoyed being there.
Quite a difference from Manhattan where I grew up!

Harold Geissenheimer


Bob Rathke wrote:

>I have a friend who grew up in McDonald, and he still lives there.  He
>complains that the town is too small to warrant a namesake McDonalds
>restaurant.
>
>He also remembers how the Army's anit-aircraft radar conrol facility in
>Oakdale used to interfere with TV reception in the area, and every 12
>seconds (the time that the radar antenna needed to make one revolution), a
>beep would be heard on residents' TV sets.  People would complain, and an
>Army officer would be dispatched to town meetings to remind everyone that
>the radar was needed for a critical Civil Defense function.  The TV beeps
>were not eliminated as long as the radar station operated.
>
>The Oakdale radar dome was visible from the Parkway West as you drove
>northwest of Steubenville Pike (Route 60) heading toward the airport.
>
>Bob 3/31/04
>
>-----------------------------
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Harold Geissenheimer" <transitmgr2 at earthlink.net>
>To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, March 31, 2004 8:48 PM
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: 4398
>
>
>
>
>>Roger
>>
>>If you are a veteran, there is a military base in Oakdale which can
>>
>>
>provide
>
>
>>some services.  McDonald, Pa. used to be a nice little town.  Have
>>not been there recently.  Washington, Pa. or Canonsburg also good.
>>Perry Coleman was feom Canonsburg
>>
>>Harold Geissenheimer
>>
>>trams at adelphia.net wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>>Just about any place in Western Pennsylvania is cheaper than California.
>>>
>>>
>But you get what you pay for sometimes, and that's either positive or
>negative, depending on one's reliance upon government for services.
>
>
>>>Ed
>>>============================================================
>>>From: rogertrolley.1 at juno.com
>>>Date: 2004/03/31 Wed PM 12:02:43 EST
>>>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>>Subject: [PRCo] Re: 4398
>>>
>>>
>>>Hey guys. I would really like to abandon California for a cheaper place
>>>
>>>
>to live. Any such place exist near PTM ???  Gas prices here are out of
sight
>and now at $2.23 for reg. !!!!!   cheers rogertrolley      I finally got to
>San Pedro to see the Red Car operation there with two replica PE 500 class
>cars and the real PE 1057 rebuilt out of a ten and nine hundred class car.
>Richard Fellows boatyard was next to Terminal Island where hundreds of PE
>cars were scrapped. He suceeded in dragging 2 hulks over to his yard and
>spliced them together to create the #1057, which was one number higher than
>the PE tens went. A great operation of only 1 3\4 miles long. Operates
>friday thru monday 8am to 6pm.  A great ride with a passing track in
middle.
>Also rode the New Pasadena Gold line. A truley funky operation of a lite
>rail line on all kinds of right-of-way. Center of freeway ,tunnel, P-R-W,
>middle of a street at 20mph and numerous road crossings where several
>collisions and near misse!
>
>
>>s!
>>
>>
>>>have ocurred with brain dead drivers, plus elevated concrete structures
>>>
>>>
>and finally ending at LA UNION STA. where in order to get to downtown ,the
>Red Line heavy rail is taken three stations !!!!  $3 all day pass gets you
>anywhere you want to go. Only parking is at Pasadena end at Sierra Madre
>Sta. where a free parking garage is located beside the I-210.
>
>
>>>============================================================
>>>
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>>>
>>
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