Kenneth Springirth
Pittsburgh Streamlined Trolleys covers the history of the trolley car
system that once had the third largest fleet of Presidents' Conference
Committee trolley cars in North America. Pittsburgh Railways Company was
very innovative and constantly made design improvements in its trolley
cars. This led to increased ridership, as these streamlined trolleys
were quiet, fast, and had comfortable seating. With the increased use of
automobiles, ridership declined. After the Port Authority of Allegheny
County took over Pittsburgh Railways, most of the trolley routes were
abandoned. However, a number of trolleys were refurbished with paint
schemes that included psychedelic commercial advertising and community
messages. The last runs of these trolleys occurred in 1999, and new
light rail vehicles are now in service.
