Father Pitt

Category: Transit

  • Streetcars Still Run in Beechview

    Many Pittsburghers from between the rivers firmly believe that streetcars are extinct in Pittsburgh. They are indeed extinct between the rivers, except where they run underground in the subway; but south of the Mon they still run on the street in Allentown and Beechview, and on their own right-of-way far out into the southern suburbs.

    Above, a Route 42S car rolls outbound up Broadway in Beechview. Below, an inbound car begins its crossing of the viaduct between Fallowfield and Westfield.

  • Before We Get That Subway…

    An editorial cartoon by Jamieson of the Dispatch from 1906, when the need for a subway in Pittsburgh was already obvious and urgent. The subway downtown opened in 1985, seventy-nine years later.

  • Streetcars Passing in Beechview

    Two streetcars pass at the intersection of Beechview Avenue and Broadway. Streetcars of various sorts have run on Broadway for more than a century. This picture was taken a few years ago; these Siemens cars have since been rebuilt and repainted in the new Port Authority livery.

  • Interurban Lines in 1914

    This 1914 map of “Electric Lines of the Pittsburgh District” (click to enlarge) shows the remarkable system of interurban cars that ran through every substantial town in southwestern Pennsylvania. The line that runs almost due south from Pittsburgh is still active as far as Library in the form of the 47L streetcar route.

  • Streetcar in the Snow

    pcc.jpg

    PCC car no. 1711, restored to Pittsburgh Railways red and cream, at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. This car was active on Route 47 until a few years ago, when the PCC cars were finally retired.