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PITTSBURGH AND WEST VIRGINIA RAILWAY AND WEST SIDE BELT RAILROAD

General Description

The main line of the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway extends from Pittsburgh to Pittsburgh Junction, a distance of 60 miles; and from Longview to Mifffin, 3-1/2 miles. At Pittsburgh Junction connection is made to the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad.

The West Side Belt Railroad extends from the West End district of Pittsburgh (where it connects with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad) to Clairton, a distance of 21 miles. It follows the Saw Mill Run valley for some distance. (See Park Report.)

These two lines, within a radius of 12 miles from Pittsburgh, make connections with every railroad in the District. The many connections with trunk lines make for an exceptionally good service by these lines as a distributing agency.

Traffic

Both these railroad lines are heavily coal producing; and the West Side Belt Railroad carries freight only. At present, traffic over any of the Pittsburg & West Virginia lines is not of sufficient density to warrant any extensive improvements -- at least within the Pittsburgh District. However, the future value of this road can become very great in connection with freight movement to the northwest (particularly the lake region) -- a movement which is increasing at so rapid a rate that many roads are hard driven to keep up with it.

Trackage

The Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railroad is double track for 5 miles between Pittsburgh and Rook, including the tunnel and the bridge over the Monongahela River. Beyond Rook the road is single track, but is arranged for double tracking at a minimum expense. The West Side Belt Railroad is single track, but can be made double track at reasonable cost.

Yards

Rook is the principal yard. Round house and shops are located here.

Avella Yard is used for assembling coal shipments originating in the Pittsburgh Vein District.

West End Yard is in the district of the same name, and is on the West Side Belt Railroad.

Freight Station See Section X, pages 72 and 73.

General

The Buffalo, Rochester & Pittsburgh Railway enters Pittsburgh by "trackage right" over the Baltimore & Ohio line, from Butler Junction. Within Pittsburgh this road operates over the Baltimore & Ohio tracks to the Water Street Station, to Glenwood Yard, and to its own freight terminal located on the north bank of the Allegheny River west of Federal Street. The northern termini of this railroad are Buffalo and Rochester, New York.

Yards

A small terminal yard is located on the North Side just west of Scotland Avenue.

Freight Station

See Section X, page 74.

General

The Union Railroad and the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad are controlled by the United States Steel Corporation. As a single system they serve a most important part of Pittsburgh's industrial area, including Braddock, Duquesne, Homestead and Clairton. The system makes connections with all other roads.

The Union Railroad extends on the south side of the Monongahela River from Streets Run (near Hays Borough) to South Duquesne. A branch recently built (in operation in 1920) diverges at Thompson and leads to Clairton. From this branch, about 2-1/2 miles south of Thompson, there is an extension to Mifflin where connection is made with the Montour Railroad and with the Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway. Northward from Thompson the line leads to North Bessemer, a distance of 9 miles, and joins the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad at the latter place.

The Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad leads northward from North Bessemer, a distance of 153 miles to Erie, with a branch line to Conneaut Harbor.

Traffic

The Union Railroad is wholly an industrial road, and is used to deliver raw materials and to collect finished products in the mill district. The heaviest traffic on the Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad consists of ore from the Lakes, and other raw materials, inbound; and of finished products and coal, outbound. The importance of this system may be estimated somewhat by the fact that during August, 1917, the Union Railroad handled almost 50 per cent of the total number of carloads in and out of Allegheny County. It will therefore be seen that it is of the greatest economic importance to industrial Pittsburgh.

Yards

As may be expected, great yard capacity is necessary for the operation of this system, -- not only for storing and receiving cars for the various mills, but also for assembling cars for interchange with other roads.

The largest yard of the Union Railroad, at North Bessemer, has a capacity of 3,577 cars. There are 26 other yards having a combined capacity of 10,580 cars, making a total capacity of about 14,200 cars within the immediate district.

The Montour Railroad is tributary to the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, and is principally a coal road.

It consists of a main line from Montour to Mifflin Junction, a distance of about 45 miles, and of the Moon Run Branch, 5 miles long. The railroad also operates by trackage right over the Pittsburgh & West Virginia line between Mifflin Junction and Longview. The Montour Railroad and the Union Railroad, connecting at Mifflin Junction, together form a loop about the district and, within a radius of 15 miles from Pittsburgh, they connect with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, the Panhandle Division of the Pennsylvania (P. C. C. & St. L.), the Pittsburgh & West Virginia, and the West Side Belt Railroads.

The Montour Railroad is a single track line. It has no freight terminal facilities in Pittsburgh.

The Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railroad, although operated as a separate company, is jointly owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. It consists of a line from McKees Rocks to Beechmont, a distance of 13 miles, and of the Beadling Branch, about 3 miles long.

This road is used for freight service only. Its functions are to serve as an interchange medium between the two roads by which it is owned, and to handle a portion of the output of the coal district south of Pittsburgh.

An important extension of this railroad, called the Chartiers Extension, is that under construction from about Greer for a distance of 18 miles due southward. It is a line of light curvature and grade, intended principally to tap the coal fields of Greene County. The cost of its construction is borne equally by the Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie, and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroads.

The Monongahela Connecting Railroad operates a total of 42 miles of line. It connects with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad at 25th Street, 32nd Street, and 34th Street; with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad at Laughlin Junction and Marion Junction; and with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Ormsby Junction. It performs switching services among these roads and, through them, with all roads entering Pittsburgh. It also furnishes switching facilities to various mills, furnaces, and other industries, located on its lines upon the north and south sides of the Monongahela River. Public team tracks for carload freight are located on the north side of the Monongahela River at Glenwood and Hazelwood, and on the south side of the river at South 29th Street.

The Allegheny & South Side Railway furnishes switching facilities to certain mills, furnaces, and other industries, located on the south side of the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh. The trackage length is five miles. Connections are made with the Pennsylvania System and Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, and their connections.

The Pittsburgh, Allegheny & McKees Rocks Railroad is owned by the Pressed Steel Car Company (McKees Rocks). It is entirely on the property of this Company, and is used for industrial switching. It makes direct connection at McKees Rocks with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.

The McKeesport Connecting Railroad furnishes terminal facilities to the blast furnaces, steel works, rolling mills, and tube works of the National Tube Company; to the Woods Works of the American Sheet & Tin Plate Company; to the plant of the Keystone Sand & Supply Company; and to various industries located on the south bank of the Monongahela River. The road operates 18 miles of track. It has freight connections at McKeesport with the Pennsylvania System, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.

The McKeesport Terminal Railroad, at McKeesport, is a terminal switching road, one mile in length. It connects with the Pennsylvania System, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, and Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.

The Pittsburgh & Ohio Valley Railway is owned by the U. S. Steel Corporation. It has a total trackage of 2.04 miles. It is an industrial line performing a general freight service on Neville Island. It connects with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad; Pittsburgh, Chartiers & Youghiogheny Railroad; and through the latter, with the Pennsylvania System. There are no facilities for handling merchandise freight.

The Etna & Montrose Railroad is an industrial line, one mile long, extending from Etna to Pine Creek. It serves principally the Spang-Chalfant interests, and connects at Etna with the Pennsylvania System and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

The South Shore Railroad is located at the Clinton Furnace, about one-half mile west of the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie terminal passenger station. It operates two miles of track, and connects with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. This railroad handles freight only.

The Pittsburgh & Allegheny River Railroad is owned by the Crucible Steel Company. There are two miles of track located in the vicinity of the plant at 32nd Street on the Allegheny river.

The Northern Liberties Railway is owned and operated by the American Steel & Wire Company. It has 1.5 miles of track, located between 12th and 16th Streets and Penn and Liberty Avenues. It connects with the Pennsylvania System and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

The Pennsylvania Western & Ohio Connecting Railroad is owned and operated by the Pittsburgh Forge & Iron Company. It has 0.75 miles of track located in the North Side, Pittsburgh. It connects with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

This road is about 27 miles long, and is owned by the Jones & Laughlin Steel Corporation. It connects with the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad, performs switching service with said road, serves mills, furnaces, industries and public team tracks located on its own line.

This road is owned by a subsidiary of the Philadelphia Company. It is a coal hauling road with about 5 miles of main track and nearly two miles additional of sidings, switches and turnouts.

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Last modified: 14-Oct-2001

Source document: Citizens Committee on City Plan of Pittsburgh. "Railroads of the Pittsburgh district : a part of the Pittsburgh plan." p. 19-34. Pittsburgh, Pa : Citizens Committee on City Plan of Pittsburgh, [1923], c1924.