[PRCo] Re: Why a Wye?

Mon Dec 25 13:55:57 EST 2006

It's fun isn't it Herb.

I remember a day on the Strasburg Rail Road when I was coupling that  
old PRR D16 4-4-0 to the train for the first trip of the day.   John  
Bowman, my engineman, was taking signals perfectly.   And I guess I  
might have been awake too.

There was a simple simon type of guy standing on the open car with  
his wife ... some jackass off the Pennsylvania Railroad ... who  
looked down at me and then at his wife and then back at me with and  
with a condescending tone said to his wife, "If this guy is half has  
good as he THINKS HE IS, you might not feel the jolt."

Well, I waved John off.   The coupler pin just simply went plink.   I  
gave him a signal to pull slack and waved if off again.   Not the  
least jolt.

And I had the satisfaction of looking up at the goon and saying,  
"Good enough for you?"

Not another word out of him.

Yes, I've had some years with steam too.   Not just trolleys.   But  
I'd rather be twirling a controller than be on the wrong end of a  
coal scoop.   The SRC did help pay for a college degree and for that  
I'm thankful.   And when you're young, it is a lot more fun.

Sometimes the moon and the stars do line up for us.

Sadly my old friend John's ashes are now spread on the ground.    But  
we've displayed some of his pictures at PTM over the years.

On Dec 25, 2006, at 12:25 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:

> In the late 1970s the loop at Castle Shannon was removed and  
> replaced by a wye. This was do to construction associated with the  
> upgrade (so they said)  from PCCs to LRVs. During peak periods a  
> Route Foreman (line supervisor) was stationed at the 'wye' to  
> assist operators in backing over the very, very, very, very, very  
> well worn switch points and rail. One afternoon a supervisor whose  
> name I do not recall. However, I do recall he was very mean, very  
> old, and was left over from PRCo days. Normally the former PRCo  
> employees were very interesting to talk with. This man was not!  
> Anyway, he was backing me over the switch point and yelled, in his  
> mean, overbearing voice, "Come on, give it some power and get it  
> (the car) back here!" I complied and pushed the power pedal further  
> down only to feel the car lurch off the rails and into the dirt. I  
> loved it...............the jackass supervisor never did have  
> patience enough...........now this derailment was all on him!!!!!  
> I, of
>  course, had to rub it in and said, "we could have made it if you  
> had not have wanted me to go faster!" I started to pick up the  
> radio handset to call Traffic Control. He stopped me and said,  
> "Wait, this car can be 'walked' back on the track. Don't call  
> Traffic." He knew if I called Traffic there would be Hell to pay  
> for him. At any rate, I had him on the receiving end of his B.S.  
> for once and savored every minute of it. We did get the car  
> 'walked' back on the rails in a few minutes. From that day until  
> that supervisor retired he never spoke in a mean or overbearing  
> manner to me again.
>
>   There, you just got "True tales #2--Off the rail at Castle  
> Shannon" just in time for Christmas!
> John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> I have a memory of 37 car using loop at Castle Shannon, then  
> backing onto
> 38A loop to return inbound via 42/38. Trouble is, memory not good  
> enough to
> recall if happened on more then one occasion, or if this was just a
> recollection from a fantrip. Dont' think it was a fantrip, but  
> maybe.....
> Could this have been a way to reduce number of rush hour trippers  
> using
> passing sidings on Overbrook?? Help????
>
> John
>
>
>
>
>
>> From: Jim Holland
>
>> Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Why a Wye?
>> Date: Sun, 24 Dec 2006 23:55:30 -0800
>>
>> Jim Holland wrote:
>> .
>>
>>> Freight! Wye is a turnaround but in case of Donora it was for
>>> freight.
>>> .
>>> Space limitations -- couldn't make a loop in location of 42-Dormont
>> wye.
>>
>> .
>> Motormen backed up line of sight with people walking the tracks
>> behind ---- don't 'know' of any conflicts here -- with
>> people. Sometimes motormen didn't pull up far enough to clear the
>> overhead directional frog and the pole backed up on the wire it  
>> entered
>> the wye which means it eventually wound up stuck in the spans!!!
>> .
>> .
>>
>>> 87-Ardmore had a wye briefly but upgraded to loop in different  
>>> location.
>>> .
>>> Riverview combination of wye // loop ---- wye portion of loop  
>>> added in
>>> 1922 so northbound Interurbans to Pgh. shared southbound Charleroi /
>>> Donora trackage near loop until last leg built to form wye.
>>
>> .
>> .
>> Wyes in Canonsburg and downtown Washington allowed Interurban  
>> TrolleyCar
>> to layover off-street ---- space saving as well as available real
>> estate!!!
>> .
>> .
>> The wye on the 2-Etna at Dewey just short of the end of the line is a
>> stumper -- maybe it was originally the end of the line and the single
>> track to the loop was added when it became available O-R more likely
>> when the Butler interurban ceased operation!
>> .
>> Castle Shannon loop around the admin Building was not built until
>> 1948 ---- before that it had been an elongated wye which was
>> originally used as PullOut routing for either inbound or outbound
>> Interurbans when CS was an operating Car House -- it then doubled  
>> as a
>> turning point for cars and was used as such after the Car House was
>> 'closed.'
>> .
>> There was also a wye on the 94 line that was like Canonsburg -- back
>> into it and pull out forward.
>> .
>> Abandoned intersections sometimes kept a wye as short turn -- we had
>> discussion on this some time back -- one on North Side and one near
>> Homewood.
>> .
>> Had to check my map for some -- this covers 'most' wyes.
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> JJ
>> .
>> .
>> .
>>
>>> mtoytrain at bellsouth.net wrote:
>>> .
>>>
>>>> Why a wye? Yes one in Donora, if Jones low Floor double ended cars
>>>> were used, why the wye, a freight station? a turn around? Other  
>>>> areas
>>>> of Pittsburgh Railways had wyes so why the wyes?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Merry Christmas to all !
>>>> Jerry Matsick
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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> Herb Brannon
>
>