[PRCo] Re: Washington Interurban Forensics

[Dwight Long]

Phil

My experience from that era is that roll sign discipline was not very good.  Often times the indication “Pittsburgh” was not used on the northbound trips.  Other times, when it was, it was turned up at the Charleroi carhouse rather than at Elco or Roscoe.  I do not believe the roll sign indication is dispositive.

Is New Switch the siding just south of Charleroi, north of which the track takes a sort of “S-shaped” bend in order to access McKean Avenue?  That siding is not identified on my track map.  If it is, I would vote for that location as the one in the two photos.

Dwight


From: Phillip Clark Campbell 
Sent: Thursday, 08 December, 2011 11:20
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org 
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Washington Interurban Forensics
Mr.Lybarger;

The PCC sitting in the same location as 3761 and facing
the same direction has "Pittsburgh" displayed suggesting
we look south in the photo of 3761.  The roll sign could
have been changed specifically for the photo but such
certainly adds to the confusion doesn't it.

http://www.davesrailpix.com/pitts/htm/wvp009.htm

How do you know the date of the photo?
On page-196 of the first PCC book by Mr.Schneider is
a photo of 1707 at Allenport which is bound for Pgh.
The contactor for Nachod is evident as you mention.
But the road is on the very same plane and immediately
adjacent to the track; this is not the case with 3761
is it.

What about New switch?  The carline heading north did
an "S" to get onto the road and then turned somewhat
left heading north.  Not the exact alignment of the above
photo but close.  One would expect to see the PRR line
crossing in the photo as well.

 
Phil




________________________________
From: Edward H. Lybarger <trams2 at comcast.net>
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org 
Sent: Thursday, December 8, 2011 8:43 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Washington Interurban Forensics
 
All street track in Canonsburg south of the substation area on Adams Avenue
(that is, on Pike Street) was single track.  There was Nachod signaling
between Richfol and Arnold Siding (beyond Houston), but nothing that looked
like this.

I keep coming back to Allenport Siding on the Charleroi route.  Northbound,
the line went into Nachod territory there, coming off PRW.  But I don't know
exactly what the area looked like on July 27, 1952, when the photo was made.
Schematically (signal-wise), it's the only location where the signals and
the topography/geography coincide.  There was some re-arrangement of highway
in this area, but field work is definitely needed.