Father Pitt

Tag: Stations

  • Steel Plaza

    Steel Plaza from the mezzanine

    Some pictures of Steel Plaza taken on a weekend when it was momentarily almost empty. The largest and most complex of our subway stations, Steel Plaza was built as a transfer station between the main line and a short spur to Penn Station—which, although it is not in regular service, is still kept up for special events and emergency detours. In the picture above, the Penn Station spur is in the foreground.

    Steel Plaza

    Here we see the two lines converging toward their junction in the tunnel beyond the station.

    Steel Plaza
    Lower-level platforms

    To add to the complexity, the station was designed to take the old PCC cars as well, which had only street-level doors. These lower-level platforms have been out of use since 1999, when the last PCC cars were retired, but the space isn’t useful for anything else, so the platforms are still there.

    Lower-level platforms
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  • Potomac Station

    Outbound Red Line car at Potomac station

    An outbound Siemens SD-400 car on the Red Line arrives at Potomac station in Dormont.

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  • Station Square Station

    Blue Line car at Station Square
    Station Square station
    Red Line car at Station Square
    Fujifilm FinePix HS10.
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  • Westfield Stop in 2001 and 2024

    Westfield stop in 2001

    Almost 24 years ago, old Pa Pitt had occasion to wait on the inbound platform of the Westfield stop on what was then the Route 42 streetcar line. The picture above was taken in March of 2001. The other day Father Pitt found himself at the same spot and took a similar picture, with sun instead of snow.

    Westfield stop in 2024

    Not much is different, because Beechview is a neighborhood that changes slowly. A few trees along Rockland Avenue in the background have grown. The automobiles are more recent models. The most obvious difference is the stop itself, where the sodium-vapor lights have been replaced with LEDs and the old brown sign has been replaced with a blue one. The destination no longer mentions Library, because Library cars no longer run on this route (they go through Overbrook instead).

  • Abstract Forms in Gateway Station

    Patterns of light in Gateway subway station

    Is this the oddest subway station in North America? It’s in the race, at least.

    Gateway Center from Gateway station
    Stairway
    Escalator
    Escalator and walkway

  • Potomac Station, Dormont

    Potomac Station on the Red Line
    Kodak Retinette with Kentmere Pan 100 film.

    Potomac gives Red Line riders easy access to the Dormont business district, which is full of odd little shops and restaurants that make it well worth a visit. Some of the houses in streets nearby are architecturally significant, and a walk through the back streets of Dormont is always pleasant.

  • Coraopolis Train Station

    Coraopolis Station

    Built in the late 1890s, this Pittsburgh & Lake Erie commuter station was designed by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, one of at least three firms that claimed to be the successors of the great H. H. Richardson, and perhaps the one with the most direct claim, since Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge were the ones who completed Richardson’s outstanding jobs when he died. It is a temple of locomotion in the high Richardsonian style that may remind you of another Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge building in Pittsburgh, Shadyside Presbyterian Church.

    Tower

    After many years of raising money and praying, the community is working on restoring this landmark to pass down to future generations.

    Coraopolis station
    Coraopolis station and construction equipment
    Coraopolis station and chain-link fences
    Coraopolis station
    Coraopolis station
    Coraopolis station

    Cameras: Kodak EasyShare Z1285; Canon PowerShot SX150 IS. Most of these pictures are stacks of three different exposures, so that detail is preserved in both the highlights and the shadows.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Trolleys at Fallowfield Station

    Two 4300-series CAF cars pass at Fallowfield station in Beechview.