Route 54E came into PAT's route
structure from the former Pittsburgh
Railways Company (PRCo) bus route number 234 with the same name and later renumbered
to 51A by PRCo. Prior to that the route was the PRCo trolley route number 32.
Its main
purpose when originally created was to serve as a feeder route for the from the South Side
to the P&LE terminal at the end of the Smithfield Street Bridge as well as connect to
the routes that used the Point Bridge from the West End. As a bus route, the route was
associated with the 51 (PRCo) and 54A (PAT) Arlington Heights and was considered an
extension of the route and numbered 51A under PRCo and 54E under PAT.
Garages assigned to the 54E:
- Brentwood Garage - 03/01/64 - ??/??/68
Destination Signs:
Route ran with window cards only. Above is a
representation of what you may have seen.
Routing:
Routing from 26th Street and Carson Street via Carson Street to Main
Street (West End).
Routing from Main Street (West End) and Carson Street via Carson Street
to 26th Street.
Approximate one way trip time was 12 minutes.
Route Highlights:
Started 03/01/64 (PAT acquisition date of PRCo - Actual route
redesignation from the PRCo route to PAT 54E is not currently known).
Ended ??/??/68 due to low ridership. We are trying to locate the
exact date the route was discontinued.
The 54E ran 7 days a week.
Although the time table for the route was in the schedules issued by
PAT, the route map never was shown on any schedule.
The 54E most likely used 30 and 35 foot coaches to serve the route.
Schedules (Known PAT issued schedules are listed):
The 54E had 2 distinct types of of schedules. The first 2 schedule
groups were issued under the Incline (I-2) and Tunnel Car House (PT-5) designations which
were used to list associated routes. The 54E shared both schedules with the 50 Carson
Street and the 54A Arlington Heights. These were a 2 panel fold out early 60's style
schedule.
Incline issued schedules
- I-2A - ?
Tunnel issued schedules.
- PT-5A - 09/05/65
The schedules issued from Brentwood were folder B-6. The 54E shared a
folder with the 51B, Spencer Avenue, 51C Brentwood Villa, 51D Churchview, 54A Arlington
Heights. The schedules were of the later 60's era design and a 6 panel fold out with the
54E being almost a footnote in the schedule.
- B-6G - ?
- B-6H
- B-6J - 11/27/66 - Corrected to 11/28/66 and 01/03/67
- B-6K - ?
- B-6L - 06/04/67 - Corrected to 07/02/67 and 07/16/67
- B-6M - 09/03/67
- B-6N - 11/05/68
There may have been a folder before I-2A as many early schedules were
reprints from former operator schedules.
Route Disposition:
The 54E was discontinued in early 1968. It did not appear on the next
B-6 schedule effective 3/31/68 but we have not been able to locate a discontinue notice on
the route. With the elimination of the route, direct service between the West End and the
South Side was gone and only could be done by transferring in town to existing service.
Click on images for larger view
One of the time tables for the 54E.
The route map for the 54E needs drawn up and will be added soon. |
