Route 44B came into PAT's route
structure from the acquisition of the Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo). The route can be traced back to
the 106 Sunset Hills feeder route that was running as early as June of 1939. The route was
combined later with the 108 Country Club feeder route to become the 106/108 combined
Sunset Hills - Country Club route. The route was renumbered 11/13/60 by PRCo to route 34
Sunset and dropped the Country Club naming. When PAT acquired the route, it started a long
story of cutbacks, intertwining with other routes and other changes that made it almost
impossible to compare it back to the original PRCo route and still be recognizable.
Garages assigned to the 44B:
- Manchester Garage - 03/01/64 - 03/30/68
- Brentwood Garage - 03/31/68 - 06/28/69
- Collier Division - 06/29/69 - 11/21/82
Destination Signs:
1800 style sign example
AMG style sign example
Neoplan style sign example |
Route ran with both window cards and destination signs.
Above is a representation of what you may have seen on the buses that ran on the route.
Routing:
We are still trying to determine the original and later routings.
Routing information from the early period of PAT for this route is not clear.
Final Routing from Clearview Loop - Clearview Loop at Washington Road
via Washington Road, Castle Shannon Blvd, Anawanda, Broadmoor. Audubon to Country Club
Drive.
Final Routing from Country Club Drive - Country Club Drive to
Kenilworth, Broadmoor, Anawanda, Castle Shannon Blvd, Washington Road to Clearview Loop.
A one way trip on the original routing took approximately 17 minutes
and on post 1969 routing, 9 minutes.
Route Highlights:
Started: 03/01/64 (PAT acquisition date of PRCo)
Ended: 11/21/82 due to low ridership
The 44B ran only Monday through Saturday with no Sunday or holiday
service until 02/20/77 when Saturday service was discontinued.
The 44B originally was a stand-alone route with relatively decent
half hourly service throughout the day. By the end of its existence, the route quite
literally became a short trip of the 49B Linden Grove with only 3 round trips a day during
the mid-day off peak period.
The 49B Linden Grove and 41G Cretstone-Linden Grove extension took
over most of the 44B routing and trips effective 6/29/69 with the 44B trips slowly
dropping, almost each schedule, until there were only 3 round trips daily (M-F).
The intent of the intertwining of the 49B and 41G route with the 44B
was to provide better service to the area, which it did, but it has long been questioned
why the 44B hung around as long as it did considering it was more or less made into the
short trips of the 49B. It had minimal ridership during the times the route ran after the
cutbacks.
The 44B was never considered a redesignated route, even with the
drastic changes to the route, but simply was considered a cut back route.
The main purpose of the route throughout its existence was to serve
as a feeder route to the trolley line at Clearview Loop. As PRCo ran the route it also
served Dormont Junction but by 1966 (earliest PAT schedule information AMCAP currently
has), the Dormont Junction portion was discontinued.
The route appeared to be unceremoniously discontinued on 11/22/82
through a corrected schedule from a 11/21/82 schedule that still showed the route. It is
thought that the route actually was discontinued prior to 11/21/82 but the exact date
currently is unknown. The 11/21/82 schedule had no pending notice of elimination and the
corrected schedule issued the next day listed no reason for the elimination.
30 and 35 foot buses were the equipment used on the line due to the
lower patronage of the route.
Schedules (Known PAT issued schedules are listed):
The 44B had 5 distinct schedule types.
Manchester schedules issued were initially folder PM-28 and were a
schedule card with the 44B only. The 44B was then combined into folder PM-16 with the 41A
Dormont - Sunset and became a part of a plain white multi-panel fold out schedule and
later a 60's era fold out schedule in black.
- PM-28A - 09/04/66
- PM-16? - ?
- PM-16K - 01/02/68
Brentwood schedules were folder B-22 and in the 60's era fold out
schedule in black design. The 44B also continued to share a schedule with the 41A Dormont
- Sunset.
- B-22A - 03/31/68
- B-22B - ?
- B-22C - ?
- B-22D - 02/23/69
Collier Division schedules were folder C-13 and shared a schedule with
the 46B Baldwin Manor, 49B Linden Grove and the 41A Cretstone - Linden Grove Extension.
These schedules were in the 60's era design in black, the MOD era design in black and the
MOD era design for the South Busway in orange. On 11/23/80 the 49B, 44B and 41G were given
their own folder number of C-25 and reverted back to a MOD era design in black.
- C-13A - 06/29/69 - Corrected to 07/05/69
- C-13B - 11/23/69 - Corrected to 02/22/70
- C-13C - ?
- C-13D - 04/18/71
- C-13E - 06/27/71
- C-13F - 01/23/72
- C-13G - 09/03/72
- C-13H - ?
- C-13J - 09/02/73
- C-13K - 01/06/74 - MOD Black schedules start
- C-13L - 02/24/74
- C-13M - 05/12/74
- C-13N - 06/23/74
- C-13P - 11/24/74
- C-13Q - 03/19/75
- C-13R - 03/01/76
- C-13S - 07/04/76
- C-13T - 02/20/77 - Reprinted without correction *
- C-13U - 09/04/77
- C-13V - ?
- C-13W - ?
- C-13X - ? - South Busway orange schedule starts
- C-13Y - 02/25/79
- C-13Z - 09/02/79
- C-13A - 11/18/79
- C-13B - 06/22/80
- C-25A - 11/23/80 - MOD Black schedule
- C-25B - 02/15/81
- C-25C - 11/22/81
- C-25D - 02/21/82
- C-25E - 11/21/82 - Corrected to 11/22/82 (44B dropped from corrected)
Folder numbers did repeat themselves after 24 issues and letters I and
O were not used.
Schedules may have been issued prior to PM-28A and were typically
reprinted former operator schedules.
Route Disposition:
The 44B was discontinued. Service continued on the final routing of the
44B on the 49B Linden Grove although the mid-day trips were not picked up due to low
ridership.
Click on images for larger view
The route map for the 44B showing the final routing as highlighted. |
