[PRCo] Re: Why a Wye?

Mon Dec 25 18:29:59 EST 2006

There were a lot of "wyes" on the Chicago trackless trolley overhead even 
until the late 1960s.  I even remember "wying" a rt. 151 bus at Foster St. 
once, but there was a supervisor present to help.     In comparison, "wying" 
a trolley is simple as their are the rails for guidance.

Maybe that's why I'll frequently "wye"  my car, much to my wife's 
wonderment.

John

>From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>Reply-To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>Subject: [PRCo] Re: Why a Wye?
>Date: Mon, 25 Dec 2006 14:19:41 -0500
>
>Right.   That one always puzzled me.   Backing a high floor car in
>with a conductor watching out the rear is one thing.   Standing up
>and backing a low-floor in is something else.   But sitting down and
>backing a PCC into that wye while swarms of shift workers came out of
>the tunnel from the tunnel under the Pennsy from the Westinghouse Air
>Brake plant seemed somewhat akin to being a Kamikaze pilot.   That
>would not hang well with today's lawyers.   And I know that wye was
>still in use into the late 1940s.
>
>fws
>
>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
> >
> >
>
>

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