[PRCo] Re: Rt 56 ROW

[John Swindler]

There were a number of independent bus companies in the Uniontown/Connellsville area during the 1960s and 70s that operated scheduled service to the mills in Homestead and (possibly also) McKeesport.  This was after the mines had closed down.  
 
The bus service had to operate for all three shifts.  The owner of Hill Top Bus Lines recently mentioned that he also ran service to Homestead from Monesson at one time.
 
But by 1985, the last person at the Homestead Works (according to my father, which might have been a comment in jest) was the 'rent a cop'. 
 
John
 

 

> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Rt 56 ROW
> From: fwschneider at comcast.net
> Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2011 21:34:43 -0400
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
> 
> And 55,000 people lived in McKeesport in 1940. In 2010 the population was 19,731 ... 64% of the population had flown the coup. 
> 
> Homestead borough, which the 56 carline skirted was down to 3,165 people in 2010. More than 20,000 people lived there in 1920. In the 1940s the mill was explanded and half the town's housing was ripped down. The trolleys were run into Homestead to serve a mill and 20,000 people ... kind of useless when you've lost 85% of your business. 
> 
> However, to partially dispute what George said, a lot of those people from McKeesport and Homestead also wound up living in newer homes out along the 56 car line. I can look at Google maps just like the rest of you and find those houses and some were within walking distance of the car line ... many were ... BUT THEY ALL GARAGES AND DRIVEWAYS AND MAY HAVE TWO CAR GARAGES AND THE TROLLEY DID NOT GO TO CENTURY III MALL.
> 
> FWS
> 
> 
> On Aug 7, 2011, at 8:43 PM, George W. Gula wrote:
> 
> > Hi everyone.
> > 
> > I just got back from Scout camp and a vacation where computer access was not
> > avaiable and I'm just catching up on all the mail.
> > 
> > Lets examine the entire route. Heavy traffic made for a very slow-going ride
> > in and outbound on Second Avenue along the J&L Mill and though the Hazelwood
> > and Glenwood areas. By the time Route 56 was abandoned in 1963, ridership
> > was going down and these neighborhoods were changing. With the opening of
> > the Parkway East, many local residents left for cleaner neighborhoods and
> > roomier homes. Small business in the area also began to close up in response
> > to a fall in local sales and the crime brought in by some elements who
> > replaced the locals who left. The mill itself was in decline, with fewer
> > workers to patronize the Railways trolleys. And jobs and shopping were also
> > beginning to decentralize away from the transit lines
> > 
> > Beyond the Glenwood neighborhood and the Glenwood Bridge, the PRW stretched
> > fairly straight through Hays and Lincoln Place to Dravosburg. Between Hays
> > and Lincoln Place, the line ran alongside a very narrow Mifflin Road, which
> > everyone wanted to see widened. The classic ROW was actually between Lincoln
> > Place and Dravosburg, but served a moderate to lightly settled area and
> > provided only light traffic outside the rush hour beyond Lincoln Place. In
> > fact there were 56A cars that ran out only as far as Lincoln Place. There
> > was some traffic in Hays and in Lincoln Place but very little along Mifflin
> > Road. The ROW entered the street in Dravosburg and crossed the Monongahela
> > River to enter McKeesport. The constant parade of slow-moving auto and
> > pedestrian traffic on Fifth Avenue in McKeesport and the daily delays at the
> > infamous B&O RR crossing slowed the ride considerably. Fifth Avenue between
> > the Yough River and the end of the line at Pirl Street loop was so narrow
> > that any car not parking at the curb and on the sidewalk was going to stall
> > a streetcar. As cars became wider, this situation occurred constantly,
> > voters complained to their representatives and McKeesport became even more
> > hostile toward the trolleys then they already were.
> > 
> > In addition, the construction of the new Mansfield Bridge in 1951 moved the
> > trolleys away from the central area of Dravosburg and out of the heavily
> > populated Tenth Ward of McKeesport. The additional walk that patrons had to
> > endure to get to the cars resulted in more business for the independent bus
> > lines and the auto dealerships.
> > 
> > The PRCo was interested in getting out of the streetcar business on these
> > marginal lines. There is an letter I found in the PTM archives some years
> > ago in which PRCo had told PennDot around 1957 not to plan for tracks in the
> > Glenwood Bridge when it was replaced. This occurred in 1963 and the line was
> > abandoned.
> > 
> > PRCo was interested in maintaining rail service on the heavy lines in the
> > East End and South Hills where it made economic sense but operating
> > streetcars on the rest of the system would only occur if it made economic
> > sense. Today, McKeesport, Glenwood, Hazelwood and Hays have lost significant
> > population. One can shoot a cannon and it wouldn't hit anything for blocks.
> > PRCo saw this coming and correctly got out of the rail business there.
> > 
> > 
> > George Gula 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
>