[PRCo] Re: Mod PAT Train

[Bob Rathke]

I just came across an issue of Rails Northeast magazine from 
January/February, 1982.  It has a feature article on a special run of the 
PATrain organized by Allegheny County Commissioner Dr. William Hunt in 
November, 1981 to show business and political leaders the opportunities for 
commuter rail in Pittsburgh.

Lots of photos in the article.  The 7-hour train ride ran from downtown to 
Whitehall (via B&O), then to McKees Rocks (P&LE), and finally to Blawnox 
(PRR/PC), and it was pulled by the PAT-color F7, as well as the Chessie GP7, 
plus four passenger cars owned by private individuals (one of the cars was 
an ex-PRR stainless steel diner).

The author commented that it remained to be seen if the politcal leaders on 
the train were really interested in seeing commuter rail opportunities, or 
were they just out for a nice Saturday ride.

In hindsight, it looks like they all enjoyed a nice free ride.

Bob 3/26/06

-----------------------------
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 5:23 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Mod PAT Train


>I recall riding it once in the early 70s.   PAT had a weekend pass
> which was valid, not just on buses and streetcars but on the trains
> too.   And parents had this nasty habit of givings the little
> darlings money to get rid of them.   The trainmen were all huddled
> out in the vestibules while the kids ran around like little savages
> inside the coaches.   A very pleasant experience.    The nice part
> about it was its brevity ... a much shorter return to Pittsburgh than
> the replacement bus for the 56 or 68 car.
>
> Had the ratio been more like the Silverton train (4 hours train
> versus 90 minutes on the bus between Silverton and Durango), I'd have
> taken the bus back to Pittsburgh.
>
> On Mar 26, 2006, at 6:02 PM, Bob Rathke wrote:
>
>> The locomotive in the photo attached by Mark is a B&O passenger GP7
>> - it was
>> previously used on the B&O's Pittsburgh-Connellsville commuter
>> train until
>> it was discontinued in April, 1965 (I rode the last trip).  The GP7
>> came
>> back in the 1970's (painted Chessie yellow) for use on the PAT
>> train, and
>> later it was replaced by an F7 that was painted orange and brown.
>>
>> When PAT discontinued the PATrain train,  I believe that the
>> locomotive and
>> cars went to another transit system.
>>
>> Bob 3/26/06
>>
>> -----------------------------
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Mark McGuire" <macmarka at netzero.net>
>> To: <Pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> Sent: Sunday, March 26, 2006 4:20 PM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Mod PAT Train
>>
>>
>>>  I never realized that PAT painted the trains in the mod schemes
>>> also. URL at bottom shows a PAT train in McKeesport dated 9-76.
>>>                           Mark
>>>
>>> -- Attached file removed by Ecartis and put at URL below --
>>> -- Type: image/pjpeg
>>> -- Desc: PAT Train 9-76 McKeesport.jpg
>>> -- Size: 17k (17409 bytes)
>>> -- URL :
>>> http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/PAT%20Train%
>>> 209-76%20McKeesport.jpg
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>