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47D Drake

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Pittsburgh Light Rail 47D Drake
PCC 4001 47D Drake shuttle trolley close up
Overview
StatusService discontinued, line exists in derelict condition
OwnerPort Authority of Allegheny County
LocalePittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Termini
Service
TypeLight rail
SystemPittsburgh Light Rail
Operator(s)Port Authority of Allegheny County
Rolling stock12 Port Authority 4000-series PCC trolleys
History
ClosedSeptember 4, 1999
Technical
Track gauge5 ft 2+12 in (1,588 mm)
ElectrificationOverhead line600 V DC
Route map

47D Drake service to Downtown
Pittsburgh (1984-1993)
Gateway
Wood Street
To Penn Station
Steel Plaza
I-376 / US 22 / US 30
(Penn Lincoln Parkway)
PA-837.svg
PA 837
West Carson Street
Station Square
Monongahela Incline South Busway
South Hills Junction
South Busway
LowerRight arrow Overbrook line
Boggs
Bon Air
PA-51.svg
PA 51
Saw Mill Run Blvd.
South Bank
South Busway
McNeilly
Spinning Wheels
Killarney
Cooley
Linden Grove
Memorial Hall Parking
Poplar Avenue
Municipal Building
Castle Shannon loop
47D
Castle Shannon
42C/42S/47D
to South Hills Junction via
Overbrook (served 1984-1993)
Martin Villa
42S/47S/47D/47L
St. Anne's
42S/47S/47L
Smith Road
42S/47S/47D/47L
Washington Junction loop
47D
Washington Junction
42S/47S/47D/47L
 47L  to Library
Mine 3
Casswell
42S/47S/47D
Highland
42S/47S/47D
Santa Barbara
42S/47S/47D
Bethel Village loop
47D
Bethel Village
42S/47S/47D
Dorchester
42S/47S/47D
South Hills Village
42S/47S
Bethel Church
47D
Fort Couch Road
47D
End of surviving electrification
Brookside
47D
Brookside Farms
47D
Walthers
47D
Drake Loop
47D
closed 1953
Key
47D Drake
47L Library
via Overbrook
47S South Hills Village
via Overbrook
47S (former service)
42S South Hills Village
via Beechview
42S (former service)

The 47D Drake (often abbreviated as the 47D) was a PCC trolley line that was part of the Pittsburgh Light Rail system.

History

[edit]

The 47D was the last line in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to use PCC streetcars. It originally was part of an interurban trolley line that ran from Pittsburgh to Washington, Pennsylvania[1] until 1953, when the service was cut back to the Allegheny County border at Drake[2] and all trolleys turned using the newly constructed loop, situated below the trestle.[3][4] The line was designated as 36 Shannon-Drake by Pittsburgh Railways, and with the Stage I reconstruction in 1984 the route was re-designated as 47D Drake via Overbrook.[5] After the 1993 closure of the Overbrook route the service became a shuttle between Castle Shannon and Drake and was renumbered 47D Drake shuttle, and continued to operate as such until closed on September 4, 1999. Port Authority's Stage II reconstruction plan had originally included rebuilding the Drake line as well as the Overbrook and Library lines, however, only the Overbrook and small portions of the Library line have currently been rebuilt, and it remains unknown if or when the Drake line will be rebuilt.

Much of the Drake line, as it was when shut down, still exists, albeit in derelict condition. The stretch of track from the Drake Loop to the "S" curve near the former Walthers stop was removed not long after the line was discontinued in 1999. When Port Authority of Allegheny County took delivery of new LRVs for use on the rebuilt Overbrook line in 2004, the new cars were tested on the Drake line prior to entering revenue service. Power wire beyond Fort Couch Road to the end of the line were removed at some point after,[when?] however the segment between there and Dorchester where the South Hills Village spur joins the Drake Line is still maintained and powered, and the tunnel beneath Fort Couch Road is occasionally used for storing non-revenue rail vehicles.

Fleet

[edit]

During the final years of operation, three PCCs were used with a fourth kept as reserve. Car #4004 was donated to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum where it has become part of a collection of historic streetcars and trolleys from all across the United States and other nations.[6] The San Francisco Municipal Railway (Muni) acquired #4008 and #4009 in an internet auction in 2002[7] for $5,000 each. However, they needed to be re-gauged and differ significantly from other PCCs in that agency's fleet,[8] and were ultimately scrapped in 2019.[9]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Electric Railroads, Number Twenty. Lackawanna Terminal, Hoboken, New Jersey: Electric Railroaders Association, Inc. July 1952. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved June 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Bell, Jon (August 19, 2007). "Pittsburgh's Last PCC Streetcars: The Drake Shuttle (Route 47D)". Archived from the original on July 16, 2008. Retrieved July 23, 2008.
  3. ^ "West Penn trolley crossing the Drake trestle on the way to the trolley museum in Arden". 1953. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  4. ^ "Drake loop under construction". 1953. Retrieved October 3, 2010.
  5. ^ Fisher, Ken (April 12, 1984). "New Center Rolls Out First Trolley". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. PGS-6. Retrieved May 11, 2024 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. ^ "Pennsylvania Trolley Museum - Port Authority Transit Car #4004". October 17, 2007. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
  7. ^ Laubscher, Rick (2007). "Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: PCC past-time". Retrieved March 11, 2008.
  8. ^ Rick Laubscher (August 1, 2008). "Market Street Railway - Sixteen PCCs Out for Renovation Bids". Retrieved August 8, 2009.
  9. ^ "Resolution No. 180619-091" (PDF). San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency. SFMTA Board of Directors. June 19, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2022.