[PRCo] Re: Cleveland

[Dwight Long]

Herb

Sorta like a franchise run, eh?

Dwight

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Herb Brannon" <hrbran at cavtel.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 5:40 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Cleveland


> Nothing, except that PATransit exercised it's right to operate over tracks
> which it owned at the expense of the County Commissioners. There was 
> really
> no need to keep those tracks.
> On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 5:02 PM, Dwight Long <dwightlong at verizon.net> 
> wrote:
>
>>
>> Herb
>>
>> What was the perceived advantage of that somewhat circuitous rerouting of
>> 49?
>>
>> Dwight
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Herb Brannon" <hrbran at cavtel.net>
>> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 2:16 PM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Cleveland
>>
>>
>> >I worked in the Service, Rates & Planning Dept (SRP) as a Planning
>> > Assistant. SRP is the planning and testing arm of the Operations
>> Division.
>> > The main planning area was called Long Range Planning and Development 
>> > and
>> > was part of the Executive Management. Working in SRP was an interesting
>> > and
>> > fun job. Not as much fun as operating the buses and cars but 
>> > nonetheless
>> > not bad at all.
>> > One of the fun things I did was "vehicle to route testing".  When new
>> > routes or methods of operation were proposed it was the job of SRP to
>> > check
>> > out the routing and the type vehicle selected to operate on the new 
>> > route
>> > or service to make sure all clearances were OK, streets could be
>> navigated
>> > without too much trouble, passenger pick-up areas were safe, etc. This
>> > testing also set the actual running times as opposed to the proposed
>> > running times given in the original written proposal.  When a routing 
>> > was
>> > to be tested we would call the division which would be operating the
>> > service to set a date to begin testing. Local 85 of the ATU would be
>> > notified as would the Instruction Department. The date would be set and
>> > myself representing Service, Rates & Planning along with a Training
>> > Instructor from the Instruction Dept, a representative of the 
>> > Amalgamated
>> > Transit Union, and the operator of the vehicle would start the proposed
>> > route from one end to the other then back again. We would all note 
>> > safety
>> > concerns, traffic bottlenecks, parking problems, passenger
>> > boarding/alighting  concerns,  proposed bus/car stops and any thing 
>> > else
>> > we
>> > saw. Over the next few days the same group would "time" the route 
>> > during
>> > AM
>> > Peak, Base Day, and PM Peak periods. Everyone then met, discussed the
>> > items
>> > and decided if the proposal was a yes or a no.
>> >
>> > Another thing I did was go to citizens groups to answer questions on 
>> > new
>> > or
>> > existing service. These were mostly church groups and they complained a
>> > lot. A much better audience I confronted were  the students at the 
>> > Boyce
>> > Campus of Allegheny County Community College. Myself and another guy,
>> > (Arthur Carter) who began working in SRP when I did, went to ACC on
>> > several
>> > occasions to talk with students on the new services PATransit was
>> > instituting to that campus.
>> >
>> > I worked on one streetcar routing change. That was sending the
>> > 49-Arlington
>> > Warrington on a new Sunday/Holiday downtown loop. The normal 49 loop 
>> > was
>> > Ft. Pitt, Grant, Liberty, Wood, Ft. Pitt. We tested and, for a short
>> time,
>> > put into service Smithfield, 4th, Ross, Forbes, Grant, Liberty, Wood, 
>> > Ft.
>> > Pitt. It lasted a few months until bus drivers coming inbound on Forbes
>> > claimed the streetcar sitting on Forbes near Grant caused a safety
>> problem
>> > since they had to squeeze by between the curb and the trolley.
>> >
>> > There was lots and lots of  not so glamorous work such as checking new
>> > timetable master sheets for accuracy, checking maps for accuracy, being 
>> > a
>> > "go-fer", running things back and forth between SRP and the operating
>> > divisions, etc.
>> >
>> > Like I said it was fun but not near as much fun as pressing down on the
>> > power pedal of a 1700 series PCC and feeling the car pick up speed on 
>> > the
>> > right of way.
>> >
>> > On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:45 AM, Phillip Clark Campbell
>> > <pcc_sr at yahoo.com>wrote:
>> >
>> >> Mr.Brashear,
>> >> I should have written "Cleveland and CVSR are growing."
>> >> It is very impressive; considering the times and the
>> >> economy, it is even much more impressive.  Mr.Brannon's
>> >> enthusiasm is subtle but very clear.  It is nice to take part
>> >> in positive growth.  I wish Cleveland, CVSR and you
>> >> continued success Mr.Brannon.
>> >>
>> >> I was reading through old list emails.  You wrote you worked in the
>> >> Planning department of Pat.  Could you please detail some of
>> >> your experiences and the challenges you faced and how they
>> >> were resolved?
>> >>
>> >> Your writing recently is riveting, very well organized with very good
>> >> information.  You seem to have many good resources and use
>> >> them well.  Thank you for your efforts.  You seemed very quiet
>> >> when I was reading the
>> >>  archives.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Phil
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> My apologies Mr.Brashear.  Yahoo extends the quote area below;
>> >> I am not able to respond below your comment to follow your example.
>> >> There isa way to trick the computer but I forget what it is at this
>> >> moment.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> >________________________________
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> On Mon, May 21, 2012 at 11:44 AM, Phillip Clark Campbell
>> >> ><pcc_sr at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> >> >> This is a very impressive resume of the CVSR Mr.Brannon.  It is
>> >> >> very much in line with the current Cleveland transit system.  They
>> >> >> seem
>> >> >> to not only counter trends in other cities where massive cutbacks 
>> >> >> are
>> >> >> the rule but Cleveland and Ohio are growing.  They seem to be
>> >> >> systems to emulate.
>> >> >
>> >> >From: Derrick Brashear <shadow at gmail.com>
>> >> >To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org
>> >> >Sent: Monday, May 21, 2012 10:48 AM
>> >> >Subject: [PRCo] Re: East Broad Top Railroad won't run this summer |
>> News
>> >> | CentreDaily.com
>> >> >
>> >> >Cleveland, yes. Ohio? Well, it seems like transit in Ohio is all the 
>> >> >3
>> >> >Cs (basically, the places I'd be willing to live)
>> >> >and the rest of it is "hey, can we put another road to some new
>> >> >suburban development?"
>> >> >
>> >> >--
>> >> >Derrick
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >
>> >
>> > --
>> > Herb Brannon
>> > In Cuyahoga Valley National Park
>> >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> -- 
> Herb Brannon
> In Cuyahoga Valley National Park
>
>
>