[PRCo] Re: FW: Nice PA Trolley Museum article in today's Post-Gazette

[Edward H. Lybarger]

That is correct! 

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Herb
Brannon
Sent: Monday, August 03, 2009 9:57 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: FW: Nice PA Trolley Museum article in today's
Post-Gazette

So............is the bottom line that, if we wish, at 12 noon on Thursday we
can come to PTM for cake?
On Mon, Aug 3, 2009 at 8:08 AM, Edward H. Lybarger
<trams2 at comcast.net>wrote:

> I think you already have!
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of 
> Schneider Fred
>  Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 9:49 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: FW: Nice PA Trolley Museum article in today's 
> Post-Gazette
>
> Yup.   We both know that.
>
> The issue isn't the 99 lines.   Who cars about that.
>
> The real issue is the cost of doing business.   If we don't try to
> educate the journalists and they in turn don't try to educate the 
> public, does that presume that the public is brain dead?
>
> Perhaps you should not answer that.
>
>
> On Aug 2, 2009, at 6:28 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:
>
> > Yes, but it's difficult to assume the public can or will understand 
> > any of that.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> > [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of 
> > Schneider Fred
> > Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 5:16 PM
> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > Subject: [PRCo] Re: FW: Nice PA Trolley Museum article in today's 
> > Post-Gazette
> >
> > I guess my only two comments are that there more than 99 routes 
> > because the shuttle lines were not initially numbered until there 
> > were enough abandonments to allow them to be given numbers.
> >
> > My other comment is that the fares prior to 1964 theoretically were 
> > sufficient to permit the private companies to pay off the invested 
> > capital (although the stock and bond holders often took a blood bath 
> > in various
> > bankruptcies) and to pay taxes to support government
> > operations.   We have pictures of those earliest horse car drivers
> > with license badges on their lapels, just one form of taxation.
> > Another was the insidious 50 cent tax on every line pole (why do you 
> > think they attached span wires to buildings?).  That would be about 
> > $700 to $1,000 a block annually in today's money.
> >
> > And today we have no real idea how much the fare is because so much 
> > of it is hidden in taxes and lottery proceeds, but somewhere around
> > $8 to $12 per passenger per trip is close and not the $2 the
> > journalist suggests.   The other flaw is that, because we never pay
> > off Federal government loans, the original cost of a subway or a bus 
> > or a light rail car just stays there added to the cost of the next 
> > order ... we simply issue new federal bonds and pay the interest 
> > year after year, century after century, but we do not necessarily
> > attribute it to transit.   We really don't know where it went.
> >
> > Furd
> >
> > On Aug 2, 2009, at 11:35 AM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:
> >
> >> Thought I'd share Scott Becker's email about the P-G article.  I 
> >> would add that the gentleman from the P-G, and the photograper as 
> >> well, were first-class.  The reporter was intelligent, asked good 
> >> questions and recorded the answers correctly.  His is the transit 
> >> beat and he acknowledged that he had to understand it in order to 
> >> cover it.  He was enthusiastic about his job.
> >>
> >> I wish more in the media had his sense of responsibility and ethics.
> >>
> >> Ed
> >>   _____
> >>
> >> From: Scott Becker [mailto:sbecker at pa-trolley.org]
> >> Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 10:17 AM
> >>
> >> Subject: Nice PA Trolley Museum article in today's Post-Gazette
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> There was a nice article in today's Pittsburgh Post Gazette about 
> >> the 150th Anniversary of Pittsburgh Transit event we are having 
> >> this
> >> Thursday- Sunday.
> >> Please go to:
> >>
> >> http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09214/987830-147.stm
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> The cake cutting ceremony will be at approx 12:30pm on Thursday 
> >> August 6th at the Horse Car in the Trolley Display Building and you 
> >> are all invited!
> >> If attending, there will be a streetcar leaving Richfol at 12:15pm.
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> Scott
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
>


--
Herb Brannon
On America's North Coast