This Bridge Started a War in Pittsburgh
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 เม.ย. 2024
- This is the story of the Wabash-Pittsburgh Terminal Railroad, a last minute entrant into the fight for Pittsburgh's freight. The legacy of that great battle can still be seen in the landscape of Pittsburgh today.
Works Cited
The Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway: The Story of the High and Dry. Howard V. Worley Jr and William N. Poellet Jr. Withers Publishing. 1989.
The Pennsylvania Railroad, Volume I: Building an Empire, 1846-1917. Albert J. Churella. University of Pennsylvania Press. 2013.
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I've been working on this video for months, and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. But as always, I learned something far too late into the editing process to fit it in. Here is some more information about and a good summary of the subject if you want to read it: journals.psu.edu/wph/article/download/2352/2185/2199
I moved to Pittsburgh 2 yrs ago .I grew up on the Oregon coast .My father worked for Southern Pacific so I got to spend a abundance of time at the coos bay train depot and taking engine rides up the coast and much more .My father has been gone a while now and I was just feeling bla about being so far from home.The railroad history has given me something to keep my interest .Thanks for the video
Making sense of Pittsburghs complicated railroad history is no easy task, but you explained it well. I especially liked the scenes from the Seldom Seen Greenway, a place that I enjoy visiting from time to time. Thanks for posting.
Thank you, so tried my best haha. I’d like to do a video in the future about all the various railroads in the city
Railroads have figured in my life in Pittsburgh. There is a story in our family, don't know how true it is, that one of my ancestors fought in the Civil War, came home without a scratch, and was run over by a train in the Strip District. When I was a kid the railroad bulls used to chase us when we tried to cross the tracks to get to the Allegheny to fish. Then I studied chemistry and had a career manufacturing coatings and coal antifreeze for Norfolk Southern. Great video, enjoyed it. Pittsburgh has a fascinating history, I'm looking forward to more.
This is the finest video produced on the Railroads of Pittsburgh . I am 60 years old and have been on or around all of them . My Uncle worked on the Montour Rail most of his life . I have always admired the two Norfolk & Western Bridges crossing the 376 Highway . Absolutely enjoyed your video . I heard a Man bought the Wabash bridge pier for $250.000 ? Please , Do more Railroad History . Thank You ! And yes , We used the Wabash tunnel just about every Weekend to travel from the South Side to Coraopolis . Its pretty neat as how it travels downhill towards Route 51.
Thank you, that means a lot! I believe you’re right about the buyer of the piers. I should have included something about that, since it was pretty recently
2:35
Noles referencing Jay Gould: "His M.O. was basically buy up railroads, turn a profit, do it again and again, and then die-- and that is exactly what he did."
Such an excellent turn of phrase, sir.
Love your videos. I moved here to pitt from colorado last year and it's great to hear about these lesser-know stories in the region's history
I went through the Wabash tunnel 1 time. I thought I was breaking the law because it was HOV for years and I was by myself. Later a friend informed me it was open for all traffic
I enjoy Pittsburgh history very great exploration video
Thanks for watching!
11:51 I'm in frickin' stitches 🤣 I really hope your channel blows up, you deserve it!
Yes, I have driven through the Wabash Tunnel!
Great Pittsburgh history lesson! I was born & raised here and never knew the real story about those piers! You really find some cool places too! Thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for watching!
Well researched and narrated- this is like a "holy grail" for obscure Pittsburgh transportation/railroad history, much of which is quickly becoming just a small footnote in our history (ie West Side Belt Railroad, Little Saw Mill Run RR, Skybus, etc) Good job on bringing much of it to light! Excellent video!
Thank you! My goal is to bring these obscurities back to the light
My family lived in Sheraden, Crafton and Carnegie. Many long-term railroad employees.
We're living in Georgia now but I still love Pittsburgh.
Love Yuns.
Great video, on my mother’s side I have a connection to the Wabash, my Great Grandfather and Grandfather work for the Wabash and the the PWV. I got to go down to Rook and ride the engines around. A good book if you can find it is “The Pittsburgh & West Virginia” The Story of the High and Dry, by Howard V. Worley. jr. and William N. Pellet, Jr.
That was actually my main source of information for this video. It’s a good read!
27:15 great video!! I learned a lot about topics I thought I already knew!
I use the Wabash tunnel all the time. I love it!
Thank You Again from Beaver County!!! Keep em coming son, you are helping a lot of us keep track of our awesomely ecclectic Western Pennsylvania history. If you were ever gonna pick a rail line to hike and walk the annals of history, it would be the old P L and E.
I think a good place to start looking for info on our obscure rail lines would be with the timber and logging industries. I think we have a museum up in the Allegheny mountains. Clearfield county maybe?
I have traveled through the Wabash tunnel many times. Great video!
Lived here all my life and spent a lot of time driving under and over these train tracks without any idea of who built them, what they were built for and where they went. It was the Wabash this entire time. Nice video. For everyone I know their biggest complaint about Pittsburgh was that the public transit system sucked. Who’s to say what would it have been like if the Wabash would have stuck around and would have been added onto the years to follow. I would have liked to see that. But railroad companies weren’t interested in serving the public like that. Shame.
Thank you for this. Never knew that the Beechview Seldom Seen Greenway exist and I live nearby. Going to go see those cool bricks soon.
Great video! I've been through the Wabash a bunch of times. I make a point to go through when it's open just to change things up a bit. And it's convenient for getting to/from the South Side.
Awesome video. I've been through the Wabash once years ago. Pittsburgh has a lot of great history.
I like the content and I have been through the Wabash tunnel about 10 times a year
These videos are great. Thanks!
Excellent, and mostly correct.
Great Stuff... Thank You Sir! My Dad worked for Aliquippa & Southern (J&L Steel/LTV) most of his life... we always heard bits & pieces of Pittsburgh railroad history around the family. Mostly the steel mill short lines in Aliquippa, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Mahoning Valley... but he knew all this history. Wished I'd have appreciated it more at the time... he'd be applauding your efforts on this story & smiling with quiet satisfaction. Maybe a look at those lesser known workhorse lines in the future... if you can find any real information? Subscribed either way. The 'greenway' is right down the road from me... had no idea. Be visiting soon. Cheers!
PS: been through the Wabash Tunnel maybe 3 times. Not always open in my direction... but pretty cool nonetheless. Thanks again.
Aliquippa deserves a few videos of its own! An incredible story and a sad fall from grace. What good memories your dad must have had
Thanks for your acknowledgement of a small but pretty important steel town. Wished there was more info available. It was a great place back in the day... and for surely a tear-jerking decline for those of us who came of age in that immediate area. Your efforts are most appreciated. Maybe more will come if that proud & hard-working little city isn't completely forgotten.... except for football of course lol. Thank you again for the response... excellent!
Keep up the great work! I look forward your work nice job
I've totally driven that tunnel, had family visiting and we wanted to visit one of the restaurants up on mount washington, somehow ended up riding thru it in a roundabout sorta way! was real fun, love your videos btw... if you haven't done anythingab out Jane Grey Swisshelm please do, been living Swissvale, & swisshelm park for decades now and have always wondered about that lady and can barely remember whats on her historical marker on braddock ave
Never heard of her, but I’ll look into it! Thanks for watching and for the suggestion!
Drive the Wabash tunnel frequently, if the South end could be connected to bike infrastructure, would make an awesome bike route!
Very true!
I love your videos anoles!
This pleases my Pittsburgh-oriented autistic special interest
My exact reasoning for starting this channel! Glad you enjoyed!
really ashame that the Wabash building is not still in existence in Pittsburgh. It would be a centerpiece of the downtown architecture
I agree! While I think Renaissance I was maybe the only good urban renewal project in the US, I wish it hadn’t taken the Wabash Depot with it
@@Noles.Explores speaking of trains and buildings...kind of hard to believe they were also going to tear down the Grand Concourse building. thank God it was saved although not nearly as magnificent of an exterior as the Wabash building
Went through that tunnel a few times, actually. It’s pretty cool knowing the history of it, hoped the tunnel was railroad originated with that name. Turns out it is!
So the zebra swallowtail was last sighted in Pittsburgh somewhere a few miles upstream on Sawmill Run. I love learning more context of the area because specific incidents affected the natural world. Railroads allowed faster development that was devastating though it sounds like Gould has a much smaller hand in our area. I can take you out on the rivers in my canoes. There’s a lot to see in that regard that I know that you could make sense of.
I’d like that a lot! We should definitely collaborate soon. Shoot me an email
Having hiked a lot of the cnj, When I was Young, (The Mine HIll area) moving to PGH and discovering seldom seen was a blast, trying to figure out that junction is a trip.. I still need to hike the lower line from seldom seen to the west end viaduct, which I hope they never tear out as it is stunning. The one winter I did hike a bit of the lower line and the rock cuts are breathtaking.
Here's a related side story about the Wabash and Gould. The President of the Wabash and "father" of the WPT was a man named Joseph Ramsey, who ovewrsaw the design and building of the WPT. Ramsey also oversaw the planning of a new Gould line from Wellington, Oh on the WLE to access the new steel mill and the port in Lorain, Ohio on Lake Erie.
In short, Ramsey unsucessfully tried to wrest control of the Wabash from Gould. Ramsey then left the Wabash and started building his own line from Wellington to Lorain, called the Lorain and Ashland, and the great "pi**ing match" between the 2 men was on!
Gould immediately started work on his Lorain and West Virginia line. During 1905 and 06 the 2 railroads were built roughly parallel to each other their entire length, at one point mere feet apart and even crossing at one point. The tales of legal wrangling, shady deals and even sabotage are quite interesting. Both lines were completed to Lorain in 1907, but the Ramsey line sat unused for almost 10 years because he couldnt get a connection with the Big Four/NYC in Wellington nor, of course with the WLE.
Goulds L&WV was quite successful from the start. Ramseys L&A was renamed the Lorain, Ashland and Southern and he eventually connected it to the Pennsylvania near Big Prarie, Oh. in about 1916. (He bought an existing line from Big Prarie to Ashland, Oh then connected it to his LAS in Wellington.)
Goulds LWV still mostly exists today, part of it is a tourist line. Ramseys LAS was abandoned in 1925 and eventually scrapped during WWII.
There's a great book dealing with Joseph Ramsey and the LAS called The Rattlesnake and The Ramsey. You might find it pretty interesting.
Oh wow, thanks for the information! I’ll have to check out that book
Very interesting!
Awesome video and I just subscribed to your channel. I'm a railfan and live in Columbus Ohio. I love Pittsburgh and all the rail lines that lead to and pass thru the city. Lately I've been trying to find a huge/tall cantilever truss type bridge spanning the Monongahela River and used by the Union RR. I've been using Google maps and views and have not found the bridge. Could you possibly help me find this bridge? All the railroad bridges I have found are the conventional truss design using multiple trusses to span the river. Hopefully this bridge still exists. Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
Thanks for watching and subscribing. The only Union RR bridges I can think of off t he too of my head are the two at Port Perry, just east of the Edgar Thomson Works
The Wabash tunnel needs a forced traffic feed in the afternoon. Smithfield bridge is the obvious one but that has its own issues. Fort Pitt would be a massive redirection and probably counterproductive. Maybe take some partial traffic from the Liberty br?
Wabash tunnel is great. I had to go to Greentree from the city at around rush hour. going through Wabash there was no traffic at all
I have MET people who've claimed to have driven through the Wabash Tunnel.
You should do a video on the presidents funeral train that came through Fallston, Pa and killed a couple railroad workers on the PL&E bridge above the outpour of Brady's run into the Beaver river. I think I read the story in 'Rivers of Destiny'
The Wabash bridge pier on the downtown side was sold to an unknown buyer last year for 300k. Not sure what they're planning to do with it.
Cool
This local nerd shit pumps me up.
I've driven through the Wabash tunnel plenty of times. But always when I was just on a whimsical explore of the area. I have never commuted through it, or driven though it because it was the shortest way between 2 points. I suppose it would be useful for people in the south hills trying to get to Station Square. But why would anyone want to go to Station Square? :)
> UPMC
Too real.
audio needs a little fine tuning my guy
Yeahhh that’s been the hardest part for me to get right on these videos. Definitely will work on it
Anyone who says, "eks setera" and then swallows into the microphone should stick to typing.
huhhh
love the long vid! i use the wabash tunnel all the time. its a great shortcut to avoid liberty tunnel traffic
Thanks for watching! I think the Wabash Tunnel would be a better asset if it was two-way traffic, but I know that would be harrowing with how skinny the lanes are