[PRCo] South Hills Jct Question

[Herb Brannon]

While riding the trolley home from work (yes, I'm working again) Monday I
noticed a newer building in the South Hills Jct complex with streetcar
rails coming out of one end but not going anywhere.

I was able to check it out further yesterday (Tuesday) when going home from
work. The building number is "5" and it is located about halfway between
the South Hills Jct station and the Palm Garden station. The building has
five or six bays, with overhead doors, which extend from the north end to
the south end. The furthest bay from the current trolley tracks has a set
of rails coming out of the south end then running along the retaining wall
(Mt Washington is above this wall) then turning toward the existing trolley
tracks. Just before reaching the trolley right-of-way there is a
"Y-switch". The track splits and starts curving both north and south then
ends.

There is no way the track could connect to the current right-of-way because
of a pronounced difference in elevation between the right-of-way and this
track. Building 5 has, as I said, several bays. There are no other bays
with tracks coming in and out, however.  Currently Building 5 has a lot of
PAT heavy duty service trucks parked at the north end. These are dump
trucks, salt spreaders, snow plows, etc.

The question is does anyone know what Building 5 was used for in the past
and why is there a track coming out of one of the bays? Perhaps, before the
realignment of the trolley right-of-way in that area (for the rebuilding
and relocation of the tracks above Saw Mill Run Blvd) was the building used
for storage of maybe the line car or other work cars and was it connected
to the right-of-way prior to the new elevation of said right-of-way?

-- 
Herb Brannon


*In Pittsburgh.............................A City And.........A State of
Mind*

Let's Go Bucs



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