[PRCo] Re: PRCo Thompsonville bridge

[Fred Schneider]

http://www.montourrr.com/Bridges/PghRailwaysInterurban.pdf

The Kodachrome picture of 3713 southbound crossing the old Washington Cinder Road with the Cheeseman farm house on the hillside is also a photograph by the late Samuel Lybarger, Ed's father.  

Today that one lane dirt road ... the old Washington Cinder Road ... is a two lane paved road called Old Oak Road.  Three Rivers Volkswagen has been built on the west side of US 19 where the interurban went under it.

In the old picture, the track distance from the dirt road to the bridge under the US 19 highway in the distance is slightly more than 400 feet.   The Volkswagen dealer has filled in the land to the height of the main highway to a distance of about 70 feet back from Old Oak Road, and then slopes down toward the back road, ending maybe 50 feet back today.   So if you stood where Sam Lybarger stood to take his color slide today, all you see is a wall of dirt!

Google has changed their mapping so it is impossible to attach a link to this. 

If you wish to see this in satellite view,

Go to Google maps in your browser (http://maps.google.com).

Thentime in Three Rivers Volkswagen, Washington Road, McMurray, PA in the map browser window and push enter,

then using the mouse, push the plus icon until it enlarges enough to see the details.

The tree line coming from the red A at Three Rivers Volkswagen down across West McMurray Road is the interurban right-of-way.  

Of the right side of route 19, it curved through which isnow Forest Lawn Cemetery (past where the Cheeseman barn used to be) and eventually comes out along the side of route 19 again.

P. S. --- See that house with the roof gleaming in the son about 200 feet southwest of the intersection of Old Oak Road and Oakwood Road?   I am told that was designed by Mrs. Samuel Lybarger.   That is where Ed lives today.

And that tan driveway 300 feet down (south) Old Oak Road from Oakwood (the house next door) was where Ed grew up.   If you see the pictures of him in the November 1950 snow storm in white stuff up to his neck, it's in that driveway.   He told his parents moved out there around 1940 because it had the convenience of that brand new paved highway (US 19) and the interurban only 600 feet from the front door.   

Only Ed and I both remembered it as rural.   He grew up there.   I had to drive through it on that highway to get from Pittsburgh to my grandparents in Marietta, Ohio.   I remember those color light signals along the interurban as a young boy.   How well I remember looking into what is now Forest Lawn at that curve in the interurban around what was then the Cheeseman barn.

Today Peters Township has over 21,000 inhabitants.   The 1950 population was 3,004.   I guess that's the Cheesmans, the Donaldsons, the Lybargers and and 2989 others.  

(I know how he must feel surrounded by people today.  I moved to eastern PA in 1950 into a township with about 7000 people.  It has 38,500 people today.)





On Apr 6, 2012, at 12:59 PM, Lattner, Raymond wrote:

> Put together by the Montour RR site.
> http://www.montourrr.com/Bridges/Bridges.html
> 
> 
> Ray
> 
>