[PRCo] Re: Verona line chronology

[Fred Schneider]

I should have added that Oakmont-Wilkinsburg never ran into downtown
Pittsburgh.  And there would have been no reason because the Pennsylvania
Railroad provided excellent (in those days) commuter service from Oakmont to
East Liberty and Pittsburgh.  On the other side of the river the PRR also
offered stunning competition to West Penn between Tarentum, New Kensington
and Pittsburgh.

My mother worked downtown at Kauffman's in 1935-1937 and she commuted from
Oakmont by train.  I never heard any mention of her suffering the long
trolley ride.

Fred Schneider wrote:

> Aug 9 1902 ... Route 708 From Penn and Center Avenues to Wilkinsburg
> boro line.
> Dec. 16, 1902 - extended to Verona.
> Dec 19 2003 -- route 710 operated as a shuttle from Verona to Oakmont.
> May 16 2004  -- Wilkinsburg terminus extended to Wilkinsburg Junction
> Service through to Oakmont.  and 710 mreged into route 708.
> July 6 1922 -- Route extended to Hutchinson Avenue
> Jan 1 1923 -- eastern terminal moved to Braddock and Hutchinson.
> Aug 24 1926 -- One man cars
> Oct 19 1935 -- Service discontinued from Oakmont Station to Hulton
> Station and replaced with buses.
> March 18 1936 -- service suspended for two and a half days due to power
> failure associated with flood.
> March 28 1936 -- full regular service resumed.
> Mar 16, 1937 -- line truncated at Verona viaduct owing to construction.
> Mar 28 1938 --  Service cut back to Montier and Laketon Road,
> Wilkinsburg.   For four days, until a crossover could be installed, cars
> ran beyond Montier to Dream City Hill.
>
> References to cars show 4300s in later years.  Peak headway
>
> Car requirements are very confusing.  Between 3 and 6 cars were required
> to provide a 30 minute peak hour schedule.  Off peak on weekdays
> required two cars with service every hour.  The great discrepancy on
> week days suggests that there may not have been enough sidings and that
> cars might have been running in two sections.
>
> There were numerous changes in the routing in Wilkinsburg over 36
> years.  Until I get a good map to figure out what happened, there is no
> reason to even mention them.
>
> fws