Seeing a need for
public transit in the city, local businessmen
on April 18, 1882, organized a street railway
to provide horse car service. The organizers
received a charter on May 8 of that year,
under the name of the Johnstown Passenger
Railway Co.
The company
had the blessing of the local government and
quickly was granted franchises to use public
streets connecting Franklin Borough,
Woodvale, Cambria City and Morrellville. The
residents of Kernville, across the Stonycreek
from downtown Johnstown, also requested to be
served by the horse cars. However, the
Franklin Street Bridge was owned by the
Johnstown and Benscreek Road Co., who had
held a franchise to use Franklin Street for
many years. The Town Council therefore had to
purchase the bridge and the franchise held by
the road company in order to grant a new
franchise to the horse car company.
Track was
laid during the fall and winter, and a stable
and a barn were erected in Woodvale, at the
upper end of Maple Avenue. By the spring of
1883, the company had completed 8 miles of
track.
The main
line ran along Maple Avenue in Woodvale,
crossed the Conemaugh River on the Woodvale
Bridge and then ran into the city on Railroad
Street and through the city on Main and
Walnut Streets.
lt
recrossed the river on the Walnut Street
Bridge and traveled along Iron Street,
crossing the river again before turning onto
Broad Street in Cambria City and terminating
at the edge of Morrellville.
Two
branches extended from the main line: one for
about a mile into Hornerstown along Baumer
and Bedford Streets; the other along Franklin
Street to Valley Pike, through Kernville.
On April
10, 1883, the first cars went out onto the
line. These cars were widely proclaimed by
the riders. Initially, there were six
two-horse cars servicing the system on a
20-minute head way. By the end of the first
year, more than 500,000 passengers had been
carried at a fare of five cents, and the
company paid the stockholders a 3 percent
dividend. These little horse cars filled the
need for public transit in an era when
residents were accustomed to a slower gait.
On May 31,
1889, the great Flood descended upon the
Conemaugh Valley. After the flood, T. L.
Johnson of the Johnstown Steel Works
purchased what was left of the horse car
company - little more than buried roadbed,
twisted rail, and the franchises. The new
management announced that they were to
rebuild the lines and electrify them.
A power
house was built on Baumer Street. The barns
and offices of the company were erected on
Central Avenue in Moxham. Orders were placed
for 10 motor cars with Short System
electrical equipment and 10 trailers.
The new
tracks followed the route of the horse car
lines, and an extension was added onto the
main line, on Broad Street and A Street in
Morrellville to the Coopersdale Bridge. An
extension also was added onto the Franklin
Street line in order to reach the new car
barn. This addition left Franklin Street and
followed Valley Pike to Central Avenue and
then to the barn. The first regular trip was
made on July 28, 1891
During the
balance of 1891 and into 1892, the demand for
service far exceeded the company's ability,
and additional cars were ordered. On March
11, 1893, disaster struck again when the new
car barn was destroyed by fire. Forty-one
cars and 11 trailers were destroyed or
damaged.
The Company
decided that instead of rebuilding on the
same site, it would purchase a lot further
south on Central Avenue, at Bond Street, to
allow for a larger barn and expansion. An
order for 25 cars was placed with the
Stephenson Car Co. (See Picture 1.)
Picture 1. Car 8 on
"A" Street in Morrellville,
Coopersdale Bridge is shown in background,
1895.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
In 1896,
the Franklin Street line was extended again
through Roxbury to the new Luna Park on
private right-of-way. Crews were also
extending the main line into Franklin
Borough. By 1897, the Hornerstown line
extended out Bedford Street to Dale at Buck
Avenue. Later, Coopersdale was reached when
the main line was extended across the river
to the city line. During 1899 and 1900, 28
more cars were delivered.
On Oct. 15,
1898, a new company was chartered to
construct a line from Johnstown to Somerset.
This new firm was titled the Johnstown &
Somerset Traction Co. It proposed to build
southeast from Johnstown, through Scalp Level
to Windber and then southward through the
coal fields to Somerset.
The
Johnstown Passenger Railway Co. considered
the Johnstown area their private property and
immediately began to fight the new railway,
resulting in the merger of the two firms on
Nov. 4,1899. Plans soon were made to extend
the Moxham line along the banks of the
Stonycreek to Windber, then southward to
Somerset.
The
recently completed lines, having placed a
strain on the old power plant, forced the
railway to erect a new stone power plant next
to the existing plant in 1900. A new line was
constructed through Hornerstown to Moxham by
way of Homer Street. Construction on the
Moxham extension reaching Ferndale began
before the end of the year, and Scalp Level
was reached during 1901. The first car
entered Windber on Jan. 1, 1902.
The transit
company, having spent more than $1 million in
construction costs, decided that extending
the line south to Somerset would be too
costly.
The Windber
cars came into Johnstown through Benscreek
and Ferndale to Moxham. They traveled the
Homer Street line to Main Street, pulling
into a siding in front of the Cambria
Theater.
lt should
be noted that the transit company was correct
when it terminated the line at Windber. The
line showed a profit every year of its
operation, and a later attempt to build
southward ended in failure.
Fire again
entered the history of the company when the
Penn Traffic Department Store caught fire in
1905. The fire companies were plagued by
bursting hoselines and sent out a call for
help to Windber. Windber volunteers loaded
500 feet of hose on a streetcar bound for
Johnstown, resulting in a hair-raising run
along the Stonycreek and through the city.
During the
period from 1900 to 1907, as patronage
flourished, the company ordered a variety of
cars. Besides the nine double truck
Stephenson cars purchased in 1901 for the
Windber line, the company received 36 single
truck closed city cars and 24 open single
truckers for their city routes. (See picture
2.) By the end of 1907, the company operated
slightly more than 31 miles of track and 110
cars.
Picture 2. Builders view of car
130, delivered in 1905.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
For a
number of years, the B&O Railroad
crossing on Valley Pike was the site of near
collisions between the cars and the trains.
The inevitable happened on July 16, 1908,
when Car 104, with an estimated 100
passengers on board, collided with an engine,
resulting in one killed and 40 injured. (See
picture 3.)
Picture 3. Wreck of
car 104, July 16, 1908.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
The
payments to the injured and survivors of the
dead, on top of payments on construction and
car order bonds, caused the company to find
itself in a difficult financial position by
1909. The company could not obtain further
financing to expand to meet ever-increasing
demands for service and so, by the end of
1909, decided to reorganize.
The
Johnstown Traction Co. came into being on
Feb. 23, 1910, to operate, by lease, the
Johnstown Passenger Railway Co. This lease
included all franchises, 31.3 miles of track
and 108 cars.
Under the
new management of the new company, additional
financing was arranged to extend the tracks
and to purchase new cars. A branch off the
Roxbury line was constructed to Southmont in
1911, and track was laid into Morrellville.
For several years, passengers bound for
Morrellville left the Coopersdale car at
Fairfield Avenue and walked across the PRR
tracks to the waiting Morrellville shuttle
car.
Further
improvements were impossible under the
management arrangements. On Dec. 15, 1913,
the two firms were merged, retaining the name
of the Johnstown Traction Co.
In 1915,
the Morrellville line was extended into
Oakhurst and an underpass was built on
Fairfield Avenue at the PRR tracks. Twenty
additional cars were delivered in 1916 and
1917, replacing many of the older single
truck cars. (See picture 4.)
Picture 4. A 221-230 series car,
delivered by St. Louis Car Company in 1917.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
By 1918,
the traction company reported that they
operated 108 cars over 35.7 miles of track.
It should be noted that the number of cars
seems high for the size of the city, but at
that time the company kept summer cars,
winter cars and trailers. Moving along with
transportation improvements, the traction
company formed a subsidiary, the Traction Bus
Co., to operate motor bus lines that would
connect with the streetcar routes. This new
company received its charter on Nov; 15,
1922. The first bus began its run seven days
later from the Dale trolley loop to Windber,
via Geistown.
By 1920,
the traction company wanted to retire its
aging single truck cars. Over the next six
years, it purchased 45 double truck cars. A
number of these were second-hand, coming from
Cleveland and Somerset. They also obtained
three new cars for the Windber line in 1924
and 20 new cars for other routes in 1926 (See
picture 5.)
Picture 5. 353, one of
the twenty cars delivered in 1926.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
With the
acquisition of the second-hand cars, the
company began to paint the cars and buses
Omaha Orange and Panama Sand, with medium
gray roof, black undercarriage and striping.
In 1929, the company expanded its bus routes
with the acquisition of the Southern Cambria
and the Beaverdale and South Fork bus lines
after the Southern Cambria Railway folded.
During
1930, the bridge over the Stonycreek at Point
Stadium was completed, and the city required
the traction company to relocate its
Coopersdale and Morrellville car lines from
the north side of the river. The first car
operated along Point Boulevard (Roosevelt
Boulevard) on Oct. 19, 1930. In November,
1931 the company was placed in receivership
for failure to pay interest on its bonds. The
receivers ran the system for a year, while
refinancing and reorganizing the company on
Dec. 3,1932, retaining the same title.
The
traction company was hardly out of one
trouble when it was hit by another. Rain
combined with melting snows caused flooding
on March 17, 1936, closing all of the
streetcar lines. The Stonycreek washed out
much of the Windber line; the Coopersdale car
house was under five feet of water; and 10
cars were trapped on the city streets.
By the end
of March, the company had four of its lines
operating. However, after surveying the
damaged Windber line, it was declared that
the damage was too extensive to repair, and
the cars were terminated on the Benscreek
side of the Stonycreek. Buses were
substituted over Route 56.
With more
and more bus routes being added, the traction
company, in 1936, saw the need for closer
control. On Jan. 1, 1937, the bus companies
were merged into the parent firm. In 1938,
Westmont residents requested improved
service. The Inclined Plane, which carried
vehicles for many years, was rebuilt to
handle heavier loads, and bus service was
initiated via the Inclined Plane to Westmont
on an hourly basis.
Loss in
patronage in the late 1930's caused the
company to look toward buses to reduce costs
on lightly traveled car lines. Dale was
motorized on Aug. 2,1940, but wartime
shortages and increased patronage postponed
further conversions.
World War
II caused a transit boom. During 1941 and
1942, the company was able to purchase 14
used streetcars and 11 new diesel buses. It
rebuilt much of the Southmont line, using
rail from the old Somerset line, and replaced
rail on the Franklin line.
The Office
of Defense Transportation ordered bus service
cut 20 percent and bus and streetcar lines
combined to save gasoline and tires. In
August 1942, women began training to operate
the buses.
The
American Federation of Labor organized the
operators and shop and maintenance employees
in 1941. They struck twice in 1943, for one
day each, against the War Labor Board's
reduction in wages.
For three
successive years, 1942-44, the company paid a
dividend, the first since several years
before the company's 1932 reorganization. The
year 1943 marked the all-time high for
riders, with 17,047,406.
The
citizens of Johnstown had wondered about the
advisability of purchasing additional used
cars in 1941 and 1942, but soon they were
glad to find space aboard them, as wartime
shortages caused all-time high riding
records. Beginning in 1945, the company
bought all its power from the Pennsylvania
Electric Co. The old power plant was changed
into a substation and two new rectifiers were
installed.
[Here
is an example of the tokens used by the
Johnstown Traction Company, circa 1940-1960.]
After
several profitable years, the company decided
that the streetcars should remain, and it did
not resume conversions. Instead, the company
surprised the transportation industry when it
ignored the second-hand market in March 1945
and placed an order for 17 new trolleys known
as PCCs. (See picture 6.)
Picture 6. PCC 416 in
regular service on Walnut Street heading
south to Ferndale.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
Financing
was arranged for the new cars, as well as 14
buses, loops at Ferndale and Roxbury and two
miles of new track for the Franklin line.
On Jan. 25,
1947, the first of the new cars arrived. They
represented the latest work in public
conveyances. These new cars were the first
"all electric" St. Louis cars, and
Johnstown was the smallest city in the
country to operate them.
In
September 1951, the company began to convert
Homer Street to trackless trolley operations.
The first trackless coaches ran on Nov. 20.
Service on the line was provided by six
48-seat St. Louis Car Co. coaches.
The mid
1950's brought an industrial slowdown, which
reduced service to five PCCs on 30-40 minute
headways. The Franklin line was temporarily
cut back, in 1956, to the west end of the
Franklin Borough Bridge while a new bridge
was being erected. A cross-over was installed
to allow cars to be cut back, and again the
old double-end cars saw service on the line.
Surprisingly, at this late date, new rail was
installed on the new bridge, and the PCC's
resumed service.
Buses were
substituted on the Benscreek line during
1957, and overhead work was begun on the
Roxbury-Morrellville trackage in preparation
for conversion to trackless trolley service.
In June of the same year, the company
purchased 10 second-hand trolley coaches from
Wilmington, DE, and 11 from Covington, KY.
These were reconditioned and painted in the
company shops. Ferndale and Coopersdale were
converted to bus operation on Nov. 25, 1959.
During
1959, the last full year of trolley service,
the company had 38 cars (16 PCCs, 18
Lightweights, 4 work), 27 trolley coaches and
45 buses. It operated 27.04 miles of
streetcar lines and 7.7 miles of trackless
trolley route.
All rail
operations were halted on June 11, 1960, and
buses were substituted. (See Picture 7.) This
conversion, prompted by the city's
institution of a one-way street system,
occurred before the Roxbury-Morrellville line
could be completely converted to use by the
trackless trolley coaches. This service began
on Sept. 26,1960, after the city paved the
center of Roxbury Avenue. Trackless trolley
operations were terminated and converted to
bus service in November 1967.
Picture 7. Car 352
near Point Stadium on its last day of
operation, June 11, 1960.
From Johnstown Traction Company by B. W.
Rohrbeck.
