[PRCo] Re: The complexity of Pittsburgh back when

[John Swindler]

There were four lines between Wilkinsburg and Braddock Jct (as I remember it called in 1960s)  64, 65, 66 and 78.  65 was a short turn to Braddock.  Baxter also mentioned that there was also a Wilkinsburg-Kennywood route via 64/67 and Rankin Bridge at one time.  I just assumed summer only.  And don't forget route 80.  Murray Ave. was also a busy street.
 
Yes, 9 was the Perrysville short turn, then later the number used for Charles St. transfer.  There was a PUC petition around 1953 in which 7 Charles St. was a 24/7 type of route.  Well maybe not all night.  Another PUC petition from late 1950s had 7 as a peak hour only due to evaporation of ridership in only 4-5 years.  Both 6 and 7 went to PRR station in early years, just like 44.  It's listed in the 'seeing Pittsburgh' booklet available on digital history website.
 
Carson might have had four routes:  two via 10th St. and two via Smithfield, but details escape me this late at night.  And 41 was a short turn on rt. 40.
 
But you missed one shuttle route that once ran downtown:  Donora.  Initially thru cars alternated Donora and Charleroi.
 
Also 81 Atwood went downtown during peak in later years.  And Thornburg went downtown, but Heidleburg was a shuttle.
 
Just trying to keep up to date.  (:>)
 
The city was partially behind the rationalizing of the Penn Av., Ellsworth and Highland routes, Fred.   It's in one of the PUC decisions I gave you several years ago.
 
John
 
 
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org> From: fwschneider at comcast.net> Subject: [PRCo] The complexity of Pittsburgh back when> Date: Fri, 23 May 2008 17:20:20 -0400> > When I first journeyed to East Berlin (it was East Berlin in our > vernacular and just Berlin in the language of the D. D. R.) before > the wall came tumbling down, I was amazed by the multiplicity of tram > lines. A huge apartment complex would have routes going to all over > the city so that people didn't need to transfer. You just came out > of your flat and waited five minutes and the car for your destination > would be along. Well, as automobiles came to eastern German after > the reunification, people learned to make do with longer streetcar > headways and to transfer like the rest of the "free world."> > Looking at the Pittsburgh Railways route cars shows PRC operated a > system at one time not at all unlike what I had seen in Berlin in the > 1980s. Only in Pittsburgh it was in 1915 and earlier. Are we to be > amazed at how far behind they were in communist east Germany? Or > how far behind we are? Something to think about. It does not > require an answer.> > Virtually every street in the core section of Pittsburgh's east end > had multiple routes. Highland Avenue had the North and South > Highland lines. North Highland went from Highland Park into > Pittsburgh via Ellsworth, Center, Craig and Forbes. South Highland > went from Highland Park the entire length of Highland over to 5th > Avenue and into town. And there was also the Negley - Highland line > which ran on Ellsworth. There three or four different lines on > Ellsworth before 1915.> > Now remember that 75 Wilkinsburg line? It evolved out of 703 West > Wilkinsburg via 5th and Penn and 704 West Wilkinsburg via Penn. Both > 703 and 704 ran over Penn Avenue from Wilkinsburg to East Liberty. > Then 704 shared Penn Avenue in through Lawrenceville and the Strip > District with the East Liberty Express route. And 703 ran over > Ellsworth and 5th Avenue. What was 75? Well that was 718 which was > part of 703 and part of 704 after August 25, 1918.> > At one time there was enough business between Wilkinsburg and > Wilkinsburg Junction (Forbes and Braddock) that three routes ran > through there: 64, 66 and 78.> > I wonder how many of you realize that many or most of the shuttle > routes actually ran into downtown Pittsburgh at one time and they > were shortened because there simply were not enough customers.> A good example was the neighborhood on Charles Street on the North > Side. I remember PRC running a 7 Charles - PRR Station car. They > eventually gave up running it up to 11th Street because there just > wasn't enough business, and then they gave up altogether. Some of > you remember a 9 Charles car that shuttled from Perrysville and > Charles to the end of the 7 line until the early 1950s. But how > many know that 9 was once Charles via Perrysville from dawntawn while > 8 ran to Perrysville and East Streets?> > Route 17 Reedsdale was a remnant of another through route. Once the > Manchester Bridge got route 20, the shuttle on the lower north side > was created to connect 20 with North Side business districts it once > serviced.> > 51 Bon Air had through service to downtown at one time. The 52 line > -- the shuttle at the end of East Carson Street -- was once served by > Carson via 10th St as opposed by route 53 Carson via Smithfield Street.> > (See, once in a while Fred will post a Pittsburgh message.)> > > 
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