Tag: Stations

  • Wilkinsburg Station

    Wilkinsburg station

    Designed by Walter H. Cookson, this station—one of the grandest of our suburban stations—was built in 1916. The last train left in 1975. After sitting abandoned for decades, the station has finally been restored to very nearly its original appearance.

    Wilkinsburg station
    Wilkinsburg station through a locust tree
    Wilkinsburg station

    The baggage area on the lower level.

    Wilkinsburg station
    Olympus E-20N; Nikon COOLPIX P100.

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  • East Busway at East Liberty Station

    East Busway at East Liberty station, with railroad

    The busways in Pittsburgh are built mostly along old railroad right-of-way, and most of the stations are placed very near where the old commuter-rail stations stood. The Martin Luther King Jr. East Busway is unique in that the railroad still runs next to it; space for the busway came from the abandonment of extra parallel tracks on the busy Pennsylvania Railroad main line. Above, an outbound bus stops at the East Liberty station.

    Pennsylvania Railroad emblem

    These views were taken from the Highland Avenue bridge across the railroad and busway. The bridge bears the Pennsylvania Railroad emblem in concrete.

    East Liberty station
    East Busway at Highland Avenue bridge
    Fujifilm FinePix HS10; Samsung Galaxy A15 5G.

    The use of the old railroad right-of-way, which runs in a series of hollows below the main street level of the neighborhoods it goes through, makes the East Busway a true rapid-transit line, as much grade-separated as a subway.


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  • University Line Stations Downtown

    Market Square Station

    Yesterday we spoke of the busways as bus rapid transit done right. Here we see it done…the other way. The new University Line will be what counts as “bus rapid transit” in most other cities: there will be dedicated lanes for the buses most of the way, but they will have to deal with traffic lights and dozens of at-grade intersections to get from downtown to Oakland.

    Wood Street BRT station
    Fujifilm FinePix HS10.

    Nevertheless, this will be leagues better than what we have now to get from downtown to Oakland, which is stacks of buses tied up in rush-hour traffic. Instead of street corners with little signs sticking out of poles to mark them as bus stops, we’ll have these sharp-looking stations, which will provide some shelter from the rain and a few amenities like farecard vending machines and emergency telephones. (Can you get emergency cat videos on those emergency telephones?) Here are two of the nearly complete stations downtown: Market Square, which is a short block from the Diamond, and Wood Street, which is right across the street from the Wood Street subway station.

    Addendum: A correspondent pointed out what we neglected to mention: that traffic lights at intersections will be synchronized to let buses pass through expeditiously. This is an important detail, and it is certainly true that it will make the system considerably swifter than it would be if the buses had to wait for the usual cycles. We reiterate that this will be much better than what we have now. Father Pitt would prefer a subway, but he doesn’t always get what he wants, and he is grateful for what he does get.


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  • Ingram Station on the West Busway

    Ingram station

    Like the Crafton station, the Ingram station on the West Busway is almost exactly where the old commuter-rail station used to be.

    West Busway from Ingram station

    The busways in Pittsburgh are extraordinary accomplishments that we seldom appreciate. They are true metro lines for buses, making it possible for commuters to rocket through crowded urban neighborhoods at expressway speeds. Father Pitt always thinks rail transit would be better, but Pittsburgh stands out both as the inventor of “bus rapid transit” and as one of the few cities where “bus rapid transit” was done right.

    Ingram station
    Olympus E-20N; Canon PowerShot SX150 IS.

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  • 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

  • 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.