What's New on the PRR Panhandle Division?

[G3750]

George,

I remember this type of scene in Steubenville.I also remember
street cars.I think all of the street car service in the Wheeling-
Steubenville area ended in 1946.

Notice that there are five buses in that short section of street.
As you said they seem to be the Steubenville -Weirton buses.
The buses that ran to Mingo were Co-Operative Transit,I think.
They were also GM [weren't they all?] but were a different paint
scheme using orange and cream [?].

I'm a little too young to remember streetcars (born in 1954). I do not recall ever seeing the Co-Op Transit buses, but I was 6-7-8 when my grandfather would take me to Steubenville.

I recognized the paint scheme (even in black and white) as that of P & W (Pittsburgh & Weirton) Bus Line. This line was owned by industrialist and self-made man Mike Starvaggi. He was a poor Italian immigrant that started as a pushcart vegetable seller, owned Weirton Ice & Coal, and expanded from there.

The P&W buses are featured in the Weirton Area Museum's 2010 Calendar. P&W discontinued service in 1978.

George

[rogruth]

...snip...
Co-Operative Transit,I think.
They were also GM [weren't they all?] but were a different paint
scheme using orange and cream [?].

Yes they were; some ran until the late 70s before being replaced. I have the builder's plate from #108, a TD4007 serial #580 built 06/46, #110, a TDH4008 serial #722 built 10/47, and #131, a TD4008 serial #1297 built 03/48. Another of my hobbies.

Dave,
Do you have some connection to the Steubenville-Weirton-Wheeling area?
Or collect [hated] bus stuff?

[J. S. Bach]

My only real connection with Wheeling (other than a poor joke*) is driving through it on I70 and one time getting off of it to drive across the Roebling bridge. And one time we did go there to look at some used Co-Op buses that were for sale; have you ever tried to move a 20,000 pound vehicle with NO power steering and extremely low velocity? It is not for the faint of heart; I had to literally stand up, brace myself, and tug at the wheel to turn it. Move forward a couple of feet, reverse, tug the wheel all the way around, go back, and then reverse the process several times as the buses were parallel parked. Once on the road and moving they were somewhat better.

And, yes, I collect transit memorabilia (my favorite being destination signs); rail and bus, very little air other that a few old Eastern Airlines schedules that I may still have.

* Is there anything harder than Wheeling, West Virginia?
Yes, Flushing, New York.

Sorry.

[rogruth]

Dave,

I haven't heard the Wheeling joke in @ 50 years.Thanks.


I assume you know that is the oldest bridge of its type in the country.
Originally completed in 1848,I think.I attended the 100 year celebration.

[G3750]

Dave,

I haven't heard the Wheeling joke in @ 50 years.Thanks.


I assume you know that is the oldest bridge of its type in the country.
Originally completed in 1848,I think.I attended the 100 year celebration.

Wow, the things you learn on this forum!

Dave, did you know "Dallas Alice" (off the Dallas Pike)?

George

[J. S. Bach]

Dave, did you know "Dallas Alice" (off the Dallas Pike)?

No, I have not heard of it. The only Google reference is: "Dallas Alice is an Americana, Alternative Country, Greaseball Rock n' Roll band from Louisville, KY.". and a trucking outfit "DALLAS ALICE HOTSHOT Total Trucks: 1 Trucks Owned: 1 Trailer Owned: 1 Total Drivers: 2"; sounds like major competition to J. B. Hunt!

[J. S. Bach]

Dave,
...snip...
I assume you know that is the oldest bridge of its type in the country.
Originally completed in 1848,I think.I attended the 100 year celebration.

I know of three Roebling suspension bridges still around:
Wheeling, Cincinnati, and New York.
I did not know that it was the oldest, only that it pre-dated the Brooklyn Bridge.

[rogruth]

Dave,

I have crossed all three of those.Brooklyn only once,many times for the other two.

[G3750]

Updated 9/30/2013:

Over the past week or so, a number of telephone / utility pole components have arrived. Transformers (Keil Line, Berkshire Valley, Crow River), hardware (Keil Line), and other detail parts (Crow River) have been delivered. I am still waiting on a number of Weaver poles.

Plans for the types of utility poles have been finalized. There are 7 different variations of poles planned for downtown Weirton alone.

The immediate next steps involve a reset of the trainroom and workshop:

• Updating my inventory spreadsheets with the detail parts received.
• Organizing and placing all required parts into project bins (my usual way of keeping things straight).
• Cleaning up the train room.
• Straightening up the workshop (cleaning & tool replacement).

Things have gotten a little out of hand and I want to get some serious layout work going immediately after York.

In the meantime, I am still working on ingots. And I acquired a sweet little kit for a scrap iron magnet (for a crane) from Crow River that's just begging to be assembled and weathered.

George

[G3750]

Updated 10/14/2013:

• After a search of Lowe's and Home Depot, I bought a 0.75"x 11.25" x 8' maple plywood board (about 7 ply) as a replacement for the bridge deck. Had it cut to 7' in length. I am optimistic that this will be final solution to the bridge problem. I located the electrical wiring diagram for the bridge and put it safely into my layout notebook. I will take some additional photos of the current bridge's underside in good light.
• Purchased enough 0.50" square wooden rods to support the track on the bridge floor. These will elevate the track enough to clear the spade connectors I'm using for feeder wires. These will be glued and screwed to the bridge floor and will also provide additional stiffening.
• Came up with a design for anchoring the bridge ends to the benchwork. Bought the wood for it.
• Re-organized the train inventory. Put a number of items up for sale (most sold). Sold items will be delivered at York later this week.
• Got the transformer cart organized - manuals and fuses in place.
• Workshop clean-up continues. Tools are mostly back in place in the workshop.
• New bins have been created to organize their respective mini-project materials.

More soon. There are a number of efforts in progress.

George

[G3750]

Updated 11/17/2013:

• Discussion and e-mails continue with a potential supplier of my PRR double track bridge. Nothing conclusive yet. I have the materials for my wooden bridge deck replacement sitting in the basement, but have been waiting and hoping that an agreement will eliminate the need for the work. Still to be determined.
• Things have been a little slow while I recover from my arthroscopic knee surgery, but I am back on my feet and getting around.
• Did get a chance to work on a fun little project - my Crow River electromagnet. Here's what I got done:
  • Used a pin vise to drill the 3 holes for hooks.
  • Installed the hooks.
  • Painted the electromagnet with Ruddy Brown primer.
  • Slathered it with lots of Grimy Black weathering powder, followed by DullCote.
  • Glued a round magnet into the bottom cavity.
  • Installed some fine black chain using the hooks. Will get a photo posted up soon.

George

[jlong]

George, did you ever get a hold of your K Line street lamps? Or did I miss that.

[G3750]

George, did you ever get a hold of your K Line street lamps? Or did I miss that.

John, I've had no luck on those. I've been out to eBay, several on-line auction sites, and checked a couple of train stores locally, but nothing.

George

[jlong]

Are they the ones made from old Marx tooling?

[christopher2035]

Doesn't Williams make them now, or am I thinking of something else?