Walt Stafa Collection: The Harmony Route

IRM was recently the recipient of historic documents, books, and papers from the estate of the late Walt Stafa. Walt was a friend of many of us and an incredible repository of knowledge about a host of interurban- and railroad-related subjects. His expertise - not to mention his dry wit - is missed, but we're grateful to be able to present a selection of his photos that were donated to IRM. All photos are property of the Illinois Railway Museum.

The Harmony Route: The Pittsburgh, Mars & Butler Railway

North of Pittsburgh was an impressive 118-mile interurban network that extended from that city to the cities of Butler, Evans City, Beaver Falls, and New Castle. The network was known as the "Harmony Route" and originally it was two interurban lines: the Pittsburgh Harmony Butler & Newcastle (PHB&N), known as the Harmony Route, and the Pittsburgh & Butler (P&B), known as the Butler Short Line. The Harmony Route was constructed to run on 1200V DC while the Short Line was originally built to run on high-voltage AC but was later converted to 1200V DC. Both lines ran into downtown Pittsburgh over Pittsburgh Railways tracks after flipping an electrical changeover switch. The Short Line only used pantographs on their own tracks, switching to trolley poles when under Pittsburgh Railways or Butler Passenger Railways trolley wire.

The two lines were united under common ownership, though retaining separate corporate identities, in 1917. The unified system was christened the Pittsburgh Mars & Butler (PM&B). The system went into receivership in April 1931 and the last car ran in August of that year. One car from the system survives: ex-PHB&N 115, a wooden interurban combine built in 1909 by St. Louis, is preserved as a body at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

I should note that I am emphatically not an expert on this system. Additional information and corrections are greatly appreciated. Thanks to Larry Lovejoy for corrections and additions to the above account. Thanks to Bruce Wells and to Bill Fronczak, who is writing a book on the Harmony Route, for sending photo information.

Headline image: PHB&N car 109 is on the impressive bridge near Ellwood City.

Along the Line

The Harmony Route

This photo was labeled New Castle but it's actually Ellwood City.

Bill Fronczek: Ellwood City, and the underpass still exists. The car is one of seven homemade "gun boat cars" numbered 119 to 125.

Bruce Wells: This is the underpass of the B&O at Ellwood City just down the street from the station and the car in the photo below. The arch roof cars were known as "Gunboats" and were built by Dambaugh, a local lumber yard in Evans City. These cars were built for the Beaver Falls extension in 1914.

The Ellwood City station, located on the line to Beaver Falls, which branched off the Evans City-New Castle line at nearby Ellwood Junction. PHB&N 110 is visible; it's hard to tell but for some reason its pole is swung around so the car can back up.

Bruce Wells: The pole is turned around likely because it needed to be backed to the junction with the New Castle branch before the extension to Beaver Falls was built.

Evans City was where the line to New Castle and Beaver Falls split off the main line from Pittsburgh to Butler. Three 101-112 series cars from the 1908 order are arrayed around the Evans City wye.

Bill Fronczek: A three-way meet in Evans City. The car on the right is headed to New Castle via Ellwood City. The one on the left will go to Butler. The center one is headed to Pittsburgh.

Bruce Wells: I believe it shows opening day on the line at Evans City station. The roll of span wire on the pole at the station indicates to me that the wire work was still ongoing.

The Harmony Junction carbarn.

Bruce Wells: This was about halfway between Zelienople and Evans City.

The year is 1916 and a PHB&N combine is on the street in Butler.

A box motor is spotted at the Butler freight station.

PHB&N car 104 at Pine Hill, near Zelienople.

Bill Fronczek: This is Marburger's trestle located just south of Evans City. The car is southbound.

Bruce Wells: Marburger's Farm is still a local dairy in the area north of Pittsburgh.

PHB&N cars 110 and 111 at a passing siding.

Bill Fronczek: The siding is between Zelienople and Ellwood City. Fresh cuts and ballast.

This is described on the back of the photo simply as the "big bridge."

Bill Fronczek: The bridge with curve still under construction is the Renfer Viaduct over Nelson Run in Ross Township just north of the Pittsburgh city line looking north. The viaduct was 1,080 feet long and 140 feet high.

PHB&N car 111 is on the bridge.

Bill Fronczek: The same bridge looking south.

And here's the bridge being taken down in 1936.

The Butler Short Line

P&B car 111 is on the street in Butler.

This shot of P&B combine 108 is marked as being three or four miles south of Butler on the Butler Short Line. The car is lettered "Mars Route" on the side to differentiate it from the Harmony Route.

Bill Fronczek: Car 108 is at Pickle Gate stop just south of Butler near the ARMCO steel plant.

This is the P&B Mars carbarn with three passenger cars and a freight motor visible.

P&B coach 111 is southbound between Mars and Valencia with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the background. Note the car is using its pantograph rather than its poles and that it seems to have heavier-than-typical C80P trucks.

P&B box motor 51 next to a nice little stone waiting shelter.

Bruce Wells: I believe this is the waiting shelter at Butler Country Club.

Location unknown; "siding 15" is written on the back but it's unclear whether that actually indicates the location.

Car 111 at a siding, location unknown

A scene along the Butler Short Line

Bill Fronczek: Southbound car on Mt. Royal Blvd. just north of Etna

P&B is on the Butler Short Line along Mount Royal Blvd, north of Pittsburgh between Etna and Allison Park.

P&B box motor 51 next to a horse-drawn wagon; the photograph says this is Duquesne Way.

Bill Fronczek: Early freight house at Sixth Street and Duquesne Way in Pittsburgh.

It's 1919 and P&B car 101 is stopped in downtown Pittsburgh.

Bill Fronczek: At Sixth Street and Penn Ave. with Rosenbaum's Department Store in background .

The Cars

The Harmony Route

PHB&N cars 101-112 were built by St. Louis Car Company in 1908. Cars 101 and 107 are shown here running MU. Note that they're back-to-back and the second car has its pole reversed.

Bill Fronczek: Some publicity photos show simulated two car trains on both lines. Neither line was equipped for MU operation.

Bruce Wells: This is just west of the car house at Eidenau.

Yes, the photographic print is cropped like this! PHB&N 103 shows off the elaborate lettering these cars wore as built. "Newcastle" is clearly a single word, unlike how the city spells it today ("New Castle"), but then again this was also the era of "Pittsburg."

Car 105 is shown in original condition.

A crowd is gathered alongside car 110, and it's hard to tell but it looks like someone has opened the contactor box cover. That's probably not a good sign.

The "Harmony," shown here at Harmony Junction in Ellwood City, was the PHB&N's attractive parlor car.

Bill Fronczek: The Harmony Party Car was a complete rebuild from an earlier wreck.

And here's the interior of the "Harmony" with its nice monogrammed antimacassars.

The car number is unknown, but we're looking into the back platform of a PHB&N car. Note that a movie projector [not a camera - thanks to Larry Lovejoy for the correction] is hung from the platform ceiling.

Bill Fronczek: Silent motion pictures were shown on charter trips starting in April, 1912.

This photo of car 115 was taken the day after abandonment in 1931. Car 115 became a diner named Clark's Diner and later (likely after the end of prohibition) became the "Dew Drop Inn," [thanks to Bruce Wells for the corrections] and today its body is preserved at PTM.

Larry Lovejoy: My understanding is that the photo of 115 was supposedly taken at the Harmony Jct. Barn several months after abandonment, possibly the day 115 started its transition to becoming a diner. The gent leaning on the front of the car is the late Howard C. Spithaler, an early railfan.

The Butler Short Line

P&B coach 100 leads a second car, both with their pantographs up.

P&B combine 106 is shown at Mars Carbarn [corrected by Bill Fronczek], sporting a wicked-looking snowplow. The lettering on the side of the car reads "The Short Line."

Attractively painted P&B 110 is shown at the Mars carbarn. Note that it's lettered for the Pittsburgh & Butler Street Railway, which operated the Butler Short Line. 

This view shows the interior of P&B 110.

A glamor shot of P&B coach 111, of course with its pantograph up.

The lettering isn't clear but this is presumed to be P&B 51.

Butler Railways

Butler Railways 15 was built by Brill in 1903 for the Butler Passenger Railway. This photo is undated but it's pretty obvious the car is out of service.

Butler Railways 28 was built by American in 1919 and was one of seven Birneys to run in the city. It presumably ran until 1941, when the Butler system was abandoned.

Butler Railways 126 was one of only a handful of double-truck cars on the system. The information I found suggests it was built by Kuhlman in 1900 for Cleveland, later numbered 497 on Cleveland Railway, and sold to Butler in 1916.