[PRCo] 1935 Snow Storm

[Fred Schneider]

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BHEbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kUsEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6418%2C4287137

 

Pittsburgh Press, Feb, 23, 1935, Page 1

 

TROLLEYS RUN HOURS BEHIND,

COLD TONIGHT

 

   Traffic wormed its way today over streets and highways left still dangerous in the wake of an almost 24-hour continuous fall of snow and rain which crippled transportation overnight.

   City, county and state road crews were taxed to capacity to clear principal thoroughfares, while side streets and secondary roads were reported still impassable in many sections today.

   This district faced a quick drop in the temperature, eliminating the immediate danger of floods but bringing a new menace to vehicular traffic.

   Street cars, autos, buses and trains were either halted altogether or delayed for hours last night when the season’s heaviest show, about five inches, turned to rain late in the day.  Airplane traffic was grounded throughout the state.

   Autos were disabled and abandoned in many sections of the city, while water-jammed automatic trolley switches caused long delays.

   After waiting for hours for street cars, many persons walked home through the slush and water, in many cases well over their shoe tops.  Many tramped as far as Crafton and the boroughs along the Ohio River.

Boroughs Cut Off

   Rankin and Braddock were entirely without service for three or four hours.

   Creeks in Millvale, McKees Rocks, Avalon, Carnegie, Aliquippa, Duquesne, Clairton and Turtle Creek Valley rose rapidly but rivers remained near stationary.

   The impending cold weather, however, leaves little prospect of immediate danger of a flood, despite the heavy snow and rain.

   A drop to around 20 degrees by nightfall, and freezing the slush and water were predicted by Weather Observer W. S. Brotzman.  

   Pennsylvania Railroad trains from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh were far behind schedule.  Some were two hours late.

   The heavy snowfall in the Allegheny Mountains to the east virtually disrupted bus service.

   Emergency crews of the Pittsburgh Railways worked all night to keep the traffic moving but schedules were from one to two hours behind.

   As the cars moved slowly along their routes there often was a continuous flash of purple light as the trolley wheels contacted the wet electric wire overhead.

Two Feet of Water

   Safety fenders on front of the cars were frequently knocked down by snow and slush, causing further delays as operators stopped to replace them.

   In some places along car lines water was two feed deep, splashing into motors and disabling trolleys, which had to be run to the nearest barns.

   The state as a whole was in the grip of snow and ice with a fall ranging from 4 to 16 inches reported almost generally throughout Pennsylvania.

   In some sections of western counties motorists were forced to abandon their cars when confronted by huge drifts.  Road stands did a land-office business caring for the marooned.

   The State Department of Highways had 1,800 workmen on the highways yesterday and last night.

   Train service was disrupted in some sections, especially from the western counties.  In the vicinity of Ebensburg, Cambria County, scores of autos were reported marooned.  Four buses were also held up there.

Power Lines Wrecked

   In the Penn View mountains region, near Blairsville, a biting wind whipped the snow into huge drifts and tore down power lines to the areas.  More than 100 motorists crowded into a lightless roadhouse to escape the elements.

   All available men of the city’s Bureau of Highways and Sewers worked all night to clear principal streets, while outside the city the county had full crews at work.  Railroads also kept hundreds of men busy during the night, sweeping tracks and tending switches.

Track Snowbound

   At Gallitzin sleet-coated electric wires broke, throwing the automatic signal system out of order for more than an hour.  Near the same point, forty inches of snow slid from the mountain-side and covered the westbound track for [a] distance of more than 100 feet, delaying trains an hour.

   Two huge rocks rolled down a hillside in E. Ohio St., one narrowly missing an auto as it crashed into the 1900 block.  The other rolled into the street between Millvale and Etna.