What happened to the trolley system? (Pittsburgh, Allentown: maintenance, live, floors)

[Herodotus]

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.

What happened was that one of the old PCC streetcars lost it's brakes at South Hills Junction. The car didn't stop, and continued on into the tunnel where it quickly picked up speed. At the end of the tunnel, it jumped the tracks, and ran across Carson St. Luckily, no one was killed. I believe the same thing happened about 70 years earlier, resulting in many deaths. This time, the conductor radioed ahead, and the intersection was cleared just in time. After this, PCC's were restricted to the run between Washington Junction, and the Drake loop.

http://articles.latimes.com/1987-10-...sburgh-trolley

[Impala26]

I have a question for those interested: If the city goes ahead with the plans to redevelop the Allegheny Riverfront and build a new trolley system, would you rather see new, modern cars, or refurbished PCC cars? Maybe I should include a newly-designed car in the "style" of old PCC cars on that list as well?

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Impala26

I have a question for those interested: If the city goes ahead with the plans to redevelop the Allegheny Riverfront and build a new trolley system, would you rather see new, modern cars, or refurbished PCC cars? Maybe I should include a newly-designed car in the "style" of old PCC cars on that list as well?

I don't know. Like the retro-look I guess

http://mcnallysrailroadcollectables.com/pittsburgh-railways-4-021.jpg (broken link)
http://mcnallysrailroadcollectables.com/pittsburgh-railways-4-004.jpg (broken link)
http://mcnallysrailroadcollectables.com/pittsburgh-railways-4-012.jpg (broken link)

But it would probably have a modern design. San Francisco kept their classic look cable cars.

Just going by feeling here, but somehow, trolleys seem to be perfect for Pittsburgh.

[Copanut]

The middle photo showing the trolley on a brick street: That's Pittsburgh!!!

[MathmanMathman]

Originally Posted by Copanut

The middle photo showing the trolley on a brick street: That's Pittsburgh!!!

I think that was dated 1967. Pittsburgh had a lot of Belgian Block streets. Maybe they should go back to it. Better traction in winter from what I've heard.

Ah...the good ol'days.

[UKyank]

We could even bring back some double deckers:


Or go really old school:

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by MathmanMathman

I think that was dated 1967. Pittsburgh had a lot of Belgian Block streets. Maybe they should go back to it. Better traction in winter from what I've heard.

Ah...the good ol'days.

Belgian Block is awful in the winter. The stone ices up very quickly. There are still quite a few stretches of Belgian Block streets around, and they are not to be messed with when it starts snowing.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by Impala26

I have a question for those interested: If the city goes ahead with the plans to redevelop the Allegheny Riverfront and build a new trolley system, would you rather see new, modern cars, or refurbished PCC cars? Maybe I should include a newly-designed car in the "style" of old PCC cars on that list as well?

Option three. New cars with that old style look. Many cities have already done this. Some of the new streamlined stuff is awesome. Anything is better than the ugly boxy look of the current cars.

[HopeStreet]

MathmanMathman,

Can you share the location of that middle photo you posted? Those houses are cool. I think it's a great example of how creative developers used to be when building, before the days of minimum lot sizes and parking minimums. Would be great if we returned to that today, might solve some of our housing supply issues where I live in Providence. Thanks.

[BrianTH]

I'll also vote for new cars with an old-school look, what I believe the industry sometimes calls "Vintage", "Heritage", or "Replica" cars. In fact I think you can basically put all-new modern running gear and control systems into an old body, which could be cool for Pittsburgh.