Father Pitt

Category: Transit

  • Rebuilding the Red Line

    Construction at the Hampshire Avenue grade crossing

    The Red Line has been closed between South Hills Junction and Potomac for extensive reconstruction. The workers did not dally: as soon as the line was closed, it was covered with construction equipment, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit has posted signs at all the shuttle-bus stops informing us that the line will reopen on schedule September 1. Here we see the Hampshire Avenue grade crossing under reconstruction.

    Hampshire Avenue

    This road looks about as closed as it can get.

    Hampshire Avenue grade crossing with a pile of gravel
    New track at the Westfield stop

    Newly laid track at the Westfield stop, whose platforms have also had extensive work. The track is Pennsylvania Broad Gauge, a relic of the laws that prohibited streetcar companies from using standard-gauge track out of well-founded fear that a secret deal with the railroad companies would send freight trains down the middle of city streets.

    New track

    New track along Suburban Avenue.

    New track
    Construction equipment
    Along Suburban Avenue

  • Mount Lebanon Station

    Mt. Lebanon Station

    A two-car train enters Mount Lebanon station from the subway tunnel that goes under part of Dormont and Uptown Mount Lebanon. Part of the platform is under reconstruction at the moment, so only the front car will open its doors.

    The Red Line is partly closed for the next two months as Pittsburgh Regional Transit sorts out an accumulated backlog of construction projects. The section from Potomac south to Overbrook Junction is still open.

    Two-car train at Mount Lebanon
    Outbound train, with stairway
    Kodak EasyShare Z981.

  • Trolleys at Penn Station

    Penn Station

    Although the subway spur to Penn Station is not in regular use, it is kept in working order for emergencies and special events. The subway downtown has been interrupted at Wood Street for track reconstruction, so trolleys are diverted to Penn Station, with a shuttle bus to Gateway.

    Penn Station
    Pair of trolleys
    Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

  • First Avenue Station

    First Avenue Station

    The distinctive sweeping roofline and steel columns of the First Avenue subway station, with the Try Street Terminal in the background. Below, an inbound rush-hour train of two 4200-series Siemens cars stops at the station.

    Inbound train stops at First Avenue Station
    Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

  • Boarding the Silver Line at Gateway Station

    Silver line car arrives at Gateway
    Silver Line car at Gateway

  • Gateway Abstractions

    Three Gateway Center from Gateway station

    The Gateway subway station religiously avoids right angles, making it an irresistible target for abstract photography.

    Stairway in Gateway subway station
    Gateway subway station

  • Christmas in the Subway

    Interior of a trolley decorated for Christmas

    CAF car no. 4322 in the subway between Gateway and Wood Street. Someone put a lot of effort into decorating it: all the interior lights were replaced with alternating red and green, all the poles and grip rods were covered with spirals of electrical tape, and stick-on Christmas decorations were all over the windows. Whoever is responsible should get a raise and a promotion. In fact, whoever is responsible should be in charge of Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

  • Hampshire Stop, Beechview

    A two-car Red Line train stops at the inbound Hampshire safety island on Broadway in Beechview.

  • Fallowfield Station

    Red Line train at Fallowfield

    An inbound two-car Red Line train stops at the Fallowfield station in Beechview. The leading car is in the new chain-of-circles livery; the trailing car is in the older checkerboard livery.

    Fallowfield Station
    Two-car train at Fallowfield

  • Streetcar in Late-Afternoon Sun

    There are some sections of the Red Line through Beechview and Dormont where the streetcars seem to be carefully threading their way through the back yards of the neighborhood.