What happened to the trolley system? (Pittsburgh, Washington: houses, school, live in)

[ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

But I don't know the exact story about Pittsburgh. I remember streetcars in the 1960s in Pittsburgh but I'm guessing they were not being well maintained and basically ran until they couldn't run anymore. Lack of spare parts as the trolley makers were no more? I was so afraid of those streetcars as they lumbered along the streets, occasionally producing showers of sparks from the overhead powerline.

I was curious after reading that, and did a little Googling. Surprisingly, the last of the old ones ran until 1999:

Pittsburgh's Last PCC Streetcars (Drake Shuttle)

[BrianTH]

I think it was a mistake swapping all the lines for buses, but if given a bunch of money to spend on transit in Pittsburgh, I now wouldn't spend much of it on streetcars running in mixed traffic.

[MaryS80]

One word : Detroit

[Impala26]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I think it was a mistake swapping all the lines for buses, but if given a bunch of money to spend on transit in Pittsburgh, I now wouldn't spend much of it on streetcars running in mixed traffic.

Electric buses perhaps? I do think that's the strongest negative perception of buses. Some new people might be attracted by a quiet, modern, pollution-free bus.

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by Impala26

Electric buses perhaps? I do think that's the strongest negative perception of buses. Some new people might be attracted by a quiet, modern, pollution-free bus.

Electrified buses, Rapid Bus, aerial gondolas (can't help myself), light rail in dedicated ROW, commuter rail--there are lots of good tools, and I think there aren't enough advantages to streetcars in mixed traffic to make reinvesting in them a priority.

But hand me a working system, and I would use it.

[drescherjm]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

I was curious after reading that, and did a little Googling. Surprisingly, the last of the old ones ran until 1999:

Pittsburgh's Last PCC Streetcars (Drake Shuttle)

These used to still run on part of the T system until they retired them. I believe the reasons for retiring them was one of them caught fire in the mount washington tunnel and parts were hard to find.

[ditchdigger]

Originally Posted by drescherjm

These used to still run on part of the T system until they retired them. I believe the reasons for retiring them was one of them caught fire in the mount washington tunnel and parts were hard to find.

I remember them running on the T line, concurrent with the newer T cars, but couldn't remember how long ago it was. That's why I went looking.

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by I_Like_Spam

Not to me they weren't.

I remember the last streetcar trip I took, back in the late 80s on the 35 line parellel to 51. For some reason I decided to take the streetcar instead of the bus from town to Glenbury St., and those cars really shook and did not provide a very smooth ride compared to a bus.

The principle advantage for streetcars was that many ran on their own right of ways, but the busways can give you that in a more comfortable ride.

That's probably because it was old and Pittsburgh wasn't investing in new streetcars. Streetcars can have smooth rides.

[Copanut]

I loved the street cars, they may have jolted your kidneys, but was a great way to travel.

[Flamingo13]

Originally Posted by ditchdigger

I was curious after reading that, and did a little Googling. Surprisingly, the last of the old ones ran until 1999:

Pittsburgh's Last PCC Streetcars (Drake Shuttle)

Thanks for posting that - I remember riding a trolley when I spent the night at my friends house in Castle Shannon (we left from work in Pgh.) this was probably in the early 80's.