Route 54D came into PAT's route
structure from the former Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo) bus route number 52 with the
same name. Prior to that the route could trace its roots back to the 224 Bon Air feeder
route which started February 8, 1950 to replace the Bon Air Shuttle double end car
streetcar line. Its main purpose when created was to serve as a feeder route for
the PRCo trolley lines along Brownsville Road.
Garages assigned to the 54D:
- Manchester Garage 03/01/64 -02/01/68
- Brentwood Garage - 02/02/68 - 02/08/70
Destination Signs:
Route ran with window cards and destination signs. The
destination signs were included on the 1800 coaches and an order of full size signs from
1968-69.
We are still investigating the readings for the signs but the above are
representative of what you would have seen for the route.
Routing:
Routing from Drycove at Conniston via Conniston to Bon Air, Alice,
McKinley Road, Brownsville Road, Ormsby, Hays to Brownsville Road.
Routing from Hays at Brownsville Road via Brownsville Road, McKinley
Road, Alice, Bon Air, Camfield, Drycove to Conniston.
A one way trip on the regular routing took approximately 12 minutes.
Route Highlights:
Started 03/01/64 (PAT acquisition date of PRCo - Actual route
redesignation from PRCo 52 to PAT 54D is not currently known).
Ended 02/08/70 due to low ridership.
The 54D ran only Monday through Saturday with no Sunday or holiday
service.
The only change to the route occurred effective 03/31/68 when 2 trips
were shorted to McKinley and Brownsville and then to the garage instead of completing the
route.
The routing of the 54D was identical to that of the former PRCo 52
route. The schedule times of the 54D in between 1968 and 1970 were also identical with
very few exceptions to the 52 route in 1963. The exceptions were only a few minutes
different.
Originally when the line was discontinued, it was to become a
deviation on the 51C Carrick but was reassigned to the 54C due to the 54C running 35 foot
coaches.
The 54D used 30 and 35 coaches to serve the route.
Schedules (Known PAT issued schedules are listed):
The 54D had 3 distinct schedule styles issued.
The schedules from Manchester garage were initially combined with the
47 Carrick via Tunnel schedule in a 2 panel fold out schedule. When the 47 schedule was
transferred to Tunnel Car House, the 54D ran with a schedule card.
- PM-15A - 11/22/64
- PM-15B - ?
- PM-15C - ?
- PM-15D - ?
- PM-15E - ?
The schedules from Brentwood Garage were a combined schedule with the
51F Homestead and the 51G Mt. Oliver routes under folder B-15 and was a 3 panel fold out
schedule in the late 60's era design.
- B-15H - 01/15/68 (54D added to this folder)
- B-15J - 03/31/68 - Corrected to 04/21/68
- B-15K - 06/30/68
- B-15L - 09/01/68 - Reissued without change *
- B-15M - 01/01/69
- B-15N - 06/29/69
There may have been schedules issued prior to PM-15A under a different
folder number.
Route Disposition:
The 54D was discontinued on 02/08/70 with the Drycove-Conniston portion
of the 54D routing becoming part of the 54C North Side - Oakland - South Side route as the
Bon Air deviation and was run out of the Craft Avenue facility. The Ormsby - Hays portion
was abandoned but that section was within walking distance of Brownsville Road and the
passenger traffic was absorbed into the already existing lines on Brownsville Road.
Click on images for larger view
 
The route map for the 54D, an example of one of the schedules and one of
the time tables for the route. |
