[PRCo] Re: Pittburgh Railway Company Map Draft

[Stephen Titchenal]

John, Thanks for catching the omissions. You have great eyes!
 

An updated version of the overview map is available at:

http://railsandtrails.com/pdf/index.html

Updated Google Maps/Earth KML files are available at:

http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=204661335735556483333
<http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=204661335735556483333&hl=en&gl=us>
&hl=en&gl=us

 

I used the Hopkins 1915 plate 5 to get the original alignment of Braddock
Ave near the Penn Lincoln Parkway.

 

The 1910 Polk Pittsburgh Map only shows a line along Wallace and down Center
St 1 block to Penn Ave. The 1915 Hopkins Plate 1 and 2 show a line down
Center St from Penn Ave to Franklin Ave which I have added.

 

The 1910 Polk also shows the St Clair and Euclid lines extending to
Friendship Ave and then Centre Ave. Also added.

 

The rails on the North side of the Monongahela River from Glenwood Bridge to
just beyond the Rankin Bridge along Second Ave and Braddock Road to Fleet St
and the Rankin Car Barn are partially shown on the 1910 Polk, Planning
Department Geodetic Topos, and 1915 Hopkins. It is a complicated route along
the river and under all the railroads. I did my best to reconcile the
locations as shown on the maps and what might be left on the aerials of
today.  Should be good enough for the overview map.

 

Rails along Carson Street on South side of the Monongahela added.

 

Relocation of 57 along Irvine St added.

 

In addition, I removed reference to "Interurban" and replaced it with
"Electric Ry." to avoid confusion between an Interurban and Street Railways.

 

I also made some improvements in Sharpsburg area.  Researching the
Sharpsburg Bridge at 19th St. took a number of hours this morning.

The 1959 Pittsburgh Electric Ry Club map shows it as abandoned early.

Hopkins 1906vnvp plate 24 shows a vacated road between 19th and 20th sts in
Sharpsburg connecting to a bridge. The Pennsylvania RR yard along the river
is not yet shown, but the property is listed as owned by the PRR. There is
also an extension of 22nd St (Alfred) to the river that has been vacated.

The 1907 Pittsburgh Topo shows the alignment at 19th St and tracks on the
bridge. PRR yard along river is not shown.

The 1938 penn pilot aerial shows the bridge still in place at the same
location as the 1907 topo, but the road connecting to 19th St. over the PRR
realignment appears to be a tunnel. The replacement Highland Park bridge is
under construction.

The alignment of six mile island is further east compared to a current
aerial photos in Google Earth (1995 - 2010). If you view the penn pilot 1938
<http://data.cei.psu.edu/pennpilot/era1940/allegheny_1938/allegheny_1938_pho
tos_jpg_200/allegheny_092538_aps11100.jpg> , 1956
<http://data.cei.psu.edu/pennpilot/era1960/allegheny_1956/allegheny_1956_pho
tos_jpg_200/allegheny_092156_aps_2r_127.jpg> , and 1967
<http://data.cei.psu.edu/pennpilot/era1970/allegheny_1967/allegheny_1967_pho
tos_jpg_200/allegheny_052667_aps_1hh_25.jpg>  aerials you can actually see
it moving!

The 1910 Polk shows the bridge south of 22nd St and names it the 22nd St.
Bridge. This appears to be incorrect.

pghbridges.com
<http://www.pghbridges.com/pittsburghE/0592-4482/highparkar1902.htm>
indicates it was built in 1902 and replaced by the current Highland Park
Bridge in 1938.

Not sure of the construction date of the tunnel under the Sharpsburg Yard:
PRR Chronology: The proposal for PRR Yard at Sharpsburg was in the 1902 PRR
Annual Report under the PCC&StL Ry Co. 1905 city ordinance signed covering
relocation of PRR. 1916 PRR board authorizes nw yard at Sharpsburg. 1822
Board authorizes next stage of Sharpsburg Yard. 1922 Enlarged Yard opens at
Sharpsburg. The main line was not relocated along the river until
12/15/1953.

 

 

 

-----Original Message-----

From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of John
Swindler

Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 2:34 PM

To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org

Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pittburgh Railway Company Map Draft

 

 

Just a couple items:

The 67 was rerouted in vicinity of Braddock and Penn Lincoln parkway -
original rails still visible in old Braddock Ave. next to supermarket north
of the parkway.

There were rails on Center St. in Wilkinsburg.  At one time was told it was
for 76 Hamilton; cars with 76 Hamilton-Jane St. were an extension to Jane
St. loop.  

 

Early on, there were rails on Euclid and St. Clair from East Liberty to
Highland Park.  Probably a second company trying to serve the park.  Also
early on there were rails north side of Monongahela from Glenwood Br. to
Rankin Br.  And south side on Carson St. to Glenwood Bridge.  In early years
latter cut back to 36th St., and later years cut back to 30th St. loop.
These are shown in some of the early plat maps.

Also a realignment of 57 Glenwood off of 2nd Ave. east of Greenfield to
eliminate B&O grade crossing.   

 

Thank you for all the work at putting these maps together.

Cheers

John

 

 

> From: stephen at titchenal.com

> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org

> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pittburgh Railway Company Map Draft

> Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:27:36 -0500

> 

> This version of the map is for a forthcoming book on the Pittsburgh
Railway

> Company and will be printed as an overview map. At this time I am most

> interested in corrections that are obvious at the current resolution. The

> book deadline is fast approaching, and street level detail is not needed.

> Once I have finalized the map, I will post a slightly higher resolution

> version of the digital elevation layer.

> 

> The original data is in various GIS formats and in various stages of

> completion when you get to the street level of detail. At some point in
time

> I will look at how to make the various layers available in a consumer GIS

> such as Google Earth. Some layers are rather large in file size and will

> probably need to be shared via a DVD and copied to a hard drive for
speedier

> display.

> 

> I occasionally place updated kml (Google Earth) versions of the route
paths

> in the "My Places" area of Google Maps. I have made them shareable so you

> can add them to your personal Google Maps "My Places" area. Google Maps
does

> not organize a large number of paths very well, but they display in the

> smart phone version of Google Earth. This allows you to go in the field
and

> explore.

> 

> http://maps.google.com/maps/user?uid=204661335735556483333&hl=en&gl=us

> 

> If you save the map to your own "My Places" area of Google Maps, you can

> view them in the smart phone version of Google Earth.

> 

> You can also view the paths in the personal computer version of Google

> Earth. Be sure to check for and reload any updated version. Unfortunately
my

> path naming organization is lost in this shared version. Hopefully Google

> Maps will eventually support folder organization.

> 

> At "street level" these paths still need a lot of work and organization.
The

> tricky part is changes to trackage and street location over time. Various

> layers also have different levels of geographic accuracy, making street

> level comparisons less than exact. I am struggling with how to manage
these

> types of changes in a useable way. The more you research at this level of

> detail, the more questions you end up with. It is a never ending project.

> 

> I am indebted to members of this mailing list, Ed Lybarger (Pennsylvania

> Trolley Museum Archive), and various sources of historic maps for the

> research so far. 

> 

> -----Original Message-----

> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org

> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementix.org] On Behalf Of Herb

> Brannon

> Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 9:11 AM

> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org

> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pittburgh Railway Company Map Draft

> 

> I had no problem with the layers loading.......everything came up on the

> screen in a second or two. I too, however, have the problem of lost detail

> when zooming in on a specific area to check detail. Will streets be
labeled

> in future drafts?

> On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 08:04, <eskuchas at comcast.net> wrote:

> 

> > Thank you. A great way to visualize why lines were routed as they were.
Is

> > there a file with a higher background resolution? I enlarged some areas
to

> > look at details an I lost resolution.

> > Ed

> > ----- Original Message -----

> > From: "Stephen Titchenal" <stephen at titchenal.com>

> > To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org

> > Sent: Tuesday, November 15, 2011 7:47:53 AM

> > Subject: [PRCo] Pittburgh Railway Company Map Draft

> >

> > I have posted a draft of a geographically correct map of the Pittsburgh

> > Railway Company and surrounding area at its peak in the early 20th

> Century.

> > The background digital elevation image is low resolution to keep the

> > document size reasonable while in draft form. Because of the number of

> > vector layers, it may take awhile to load in Acrobat Reader. You can use

> > the

> > layer navigation panel to turn individual layers on and off.

> >

> > http://railsandtrails.com/pdf/index.html

> >

> >

> > A number of list members have helped me trace some of the lines shown.

> > Thanks for all your help.

> >

> > I would appreciate any feedback on missing or misplaced lines. I have
not

> > tied the map to a specific date, but tried to show lines that were in

> place

> > at anytime in the early 20th Century.

> >

> > A couple of questions:

> >

> > 1. I assume the WP Oakdale and McDonald line followed Noblestown Road

> > between the named cities. Where did it end in each city?

> >

> > 2. Did the WP enter Brownsville on 6th Ave and take Market to about 3rd

> > Ave?

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> >

> 

> 

> -- 

> Herb Brannon

> In Cuyahoga Valley National Park

> 

> 

> 

> 

> 

>