[PRCo] First Harmony Car Enters Pittsburg

[Derrick Brashear]

On Fri, Nov 8, 2013 at 5:24 PM, Edward H. Lybarger <trams2 at comcast.net>wrote:

> You have to wonder how many other companies nationwide were built, like the
> Harmony Route, to satisfy the gigantic ego of the guy behind it.  It went
> the long way to Butler (and probably drew just enough traffic from the
> Short
> Line to render it insolvent); New Castle was a long way off and although it
> had people, not enough of them wanted to go to Pittsburgh.  In between was
> a
> lot of nothing, plus Evans City and Ellwood City.  Oh, yes, there was also
> a
> nice camping area along the Connoquenessing that Mr. Boggs favored.  He
> also
> favored the most expensive construction that could be had...only the best.
>
> Mr. Boggs built the line with the expectation that everyone adjacent to it
> would come to his department store.  This just didn't happen.  David
> McCahill compounded the misery by acquiring the Short Line out of
> receivership in about 1919...now he had two companies that couldn't earn a
> living, and when the bonds came due, there was no money.  Some of the
> bridges sat for years after abandonment because no one could earn enough in
> scrap value to justify the labor cost of dismantling them.
>
> Just another company that never should have been built.
>

While today, a fast rail route to at least Cranberry would be fantastic.



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