Our Next Program:

Pittsburgh Area Traction

Annual Meeting

Friday, February 27, 2015
1900 hrs / 7:00pm
University Center
525 S State St, Chicago, IL 60605

We will visit and view traction operations in the Pittsburgh area.  Electric traction in Pennsylvania proved to be an enduring institution, with many lines surviving into the 1950s.  Even today, we can still ride electric cars in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas.

Pittsburgh Railways PCC 1467, built in 1941 by St. Louis Car Company, is preserved at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington, PA.

Two DVDs will be shows, with footage transferred from movies.Pittsburgh Railways 16 mm color footage from 1951 to 1963, features interurbans, suburban, and city lines back in a time when it seemed that streetcars could be found everywhere in Pittsburgh.  A combination of PCC cars and older equipment will make this trip back into the past an enjoyable experience.

West Penn Railways features Greensburg to Uniontown main line and the branch to Latrobe.  Tight curves, spectacular bridges, and steep grades were all part of the West Penn experience that made is so memorable.

Our Annual Meeting will take place between showing of the two DVDs.  Three candidates will be elected to the CERA Board of Directors, and administrative reports will be presented.

PS- CERA Bulletin 145, published in 2012, covers the Pittsburgh Railways story in great detail:

Transit in the Triangle Volume 1
A Century Look at Pittsburgh Public Transit
by Blaine S. Hays and James A. Toman

You can purchase a copy here.

Pittsburgh Railways had a very attractive logo, as seen on PCC 1711 at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

West Penn Railways car 739, now preserved at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.