Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-28
THE CARS TOO SHORT.
The Predicament in Which the
Squirrel Hill Road is Placed.
NOT WIDE ENOUGH FOR THE GAUGE
No Meeting of the Pittsburg Traction
gF-~sr About Reducing Fares.
SOME RUMORS OF A STOCK MOVEMENT

The Pittsburg and Squirrel Hill Electric
Railway Company is confronted with a
serious problem in regard to its cars.
Although there has been very little done SO
far in the way of track laying. the company
received its cars over month ago. 1t Is
now found that the cars are considerably
shorter than the gauge of track for which
they were intended, and will have to be re-
constructed. This work will probably fall
on the company who built the cars.
The gauge of the cars is feet 8 inches.
The standard gauge of street railways in
Pittsburg and Allegheny is feet inches.
The latter is required by Councils, and every
road in the two cities has adopted the gauge.
The company has seven cars now stored in
the power house of the Pittsburg Traction
Company at Oakland. 1t is probable that
an attempt will be made to change the
trucks under the cars SO as to enable the
wheels to fit the standard track. The wheels
now fit close to the sills o. the car, and if
they are moved very far they will be outside
the sides of the car. The mistake was made
by the builders-the Troy Street Car Com
pany, of Troy, n. Y.
FINISHING THE GRADING.
The last work on the grading of the road
will be completed this week. Che company
now has large gang of men at work on
Murray avenue, and as soon as they are
through the rails will be laid on that
thoroughfare. The engineers of the COM
pany experienced considerable difficulty on
account of the streets over which the road
passed not being graded. They had to es-
tabliSh their own grade, and then make it
in accordance with the grade recorded by
the City Engineer. The company will do
their own paving only on the streets not yet
graded. A considerable portion of the line
passes through the property owned by the
company. Nothing has yet been done about
the injunction restraining the company from
building their line through the Schenley
park. The cars will skirt the outside of the
park on the southwestern extremity.
Nothing has yet been done about the
traffic arrangement between the company
and the Pittsburg Traction Company. The
latter, it is said, are willing to issue transfer
tickets to people along the Squirrel Hill
line. This would make the fare cents
from the city to Squirrel Hill, the transfer
being made at Boquet street-one square
beyond the Oakland power house. Whether
this will ultimately be done or not is not
yet known, but it is the present intention.
NO MEETING HELD.
The meeting Of the stockholders and
Board of Directors OF the Pittsburg Trac-
tion Company, which was to have been held
yesterday, did not take place, owing to the
non-arrival in tim; Of Messrs. P. A. B.
Widener and W. L. Elkins, the principal
owners, in Philadelphia. They will arrive
in the city this evening, and the meeting
will be held tomorrow. 1t was generally
thought by persons in position to know,
that no change in the present fare would be
made. Two gentlemen coming in on Fifth
avenue car yesterday said the cause of the
reduction on the Penn avenue line was due
to stock movement. When this was sug-
gested to an officer of the Pittsburg COM
pany he said their road could stand any
scheme of this kind. He said they built
their road to keep it, and would not be
"flimmed" out of it. The two gentlemen
introduced above, said that the idea seemed
to be to deprecate the stock OF the Pittsburg
company BY withdrawing patronage from
the road. This was denied by the Citizens
line people, who said the reduction was
made to accommodate the public.