Local Transportation in Altoona, Pennsylvania

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Map of Blair County

The transport in Altoona was closely related to the development of the city Altoona , Pennsylvania in the United States linked.

history

The horse tram and the electrical operation

After a horse-drawn tram was set up in the city, which was emerging as a result of the railway, in 1882 , the length of which was 3.25 miles when it opened, the network grew rapidly. Electrification took place on July 4, 1891. Both the urban tram (in the original: City Passenger Railway Company ) and the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway were extended with the rapid growth of the city, for example in a southerly direction to Hollidaysburg and the suburbs of Juniata, Blair Furnace and Bellwood.

The Altoona Municipal Tram extended its lines to Lakemont Park. With the acquisition of additional vehicles, the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway had 15 railcars in 1894, and the municipal tram had 19 vehicles.

On August 5, 1903, the Altoona and Logan Valley Electric Railway , the Municipal Tram and the Tyrone Electric Railway Company were merged to form the Altoona & Logan Valley Company (A&LV) . By 1910, the network grew to a total length of over 50 kilometers and was connected to the tram of the municipality of Tyrone . For this route, another series of four-axle railcars (No. 169 to 172) were purchased from the manufacturer Brill in Philadelphia , which had a higher engine output than the previous vehicles . The route of this overland route essentially followed the Juniata River and ended at the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) station in Tyrone. The tram fleet comprised 77 multiple units and 7 trailer cars, as well as 8 work cars and 3 snow plows .

Tram and bus operations from 1923

It was not until June 29, 1923 that the first public transport company for the operation of buses in Altoona, the Logan Valley Bus Company (LVBC), was founded, which operated lines in districts that had not yet been reached by trams. The LVBC was a subsidiary of the Tyrone Electric Railway Company . The district of Hileman Hights, where the first bus line called Pleasent Valley Line , which began operating on July 9, 1923 , also belonged to the districts not yet developed . The operation started with five buses from the manufacturer Garford and two Graham buses. In the same year, two more lines started operating, shortly before the end of 1923 a fourth line called the Juniata Gap Line . In order to meet the vehicle requirements, six more buses were bought by 1924, three of the already existing Garford type and three buses from the Reo Motor Car Company . In the same year a line was set up to Greenwood .

Between 1925 and 1928 extensive repairs were carried out in the tram network and the route length reached its greatest extent of 58 miles. In August 1929 five modern trams were delivered to Altoona, which were almost identical to the vehicles used in the city of Scranton . This delivery marked the last purchase of new vehicles for the Altoona & Logan Valley Company . LVBC bought a total of 24 Beaver buses between 1934 and 1942.

In places there was parallel traffic between bus and tram. An example of this was the course of the Fairview bus line between 1928 and 1940, which was identical to the tram line that also ran. Up to 1950 there were frequent changes in the LVBC network, whereby the feeder lines to the tram or the lines that had already been converted from tram to bus remained in place.

In 1940 there were five A&LV tram lines and ten LVBC bus lines. In the same year school traffic through the LVBC began. Also due to the shortage of petrol during the Second World War , both bus and tram routes set a record for passenger numbers. At the end of the war, the Beaver buses were gradually said goodbye and from then on they bought vehicles from General Motors .

The setting of the tram

With the conversion of many tram lines to bus operation, the length of the route network rapidly decreased. In 1950 there were only two tram lines to Hollidaysburg and Juanita-Eldorado, which were still characterized by high passenger numbers. LVBC buses were only used here for night traffic. The main locomotive workshops of the Pennsylvanian Railroad initially ensured the continued existence of the tram. During the company holidays in the summer of 1953, the tram lines to Juniata were switched over for two weeks. In the year 1954 the operation was stopped again in the summer, but it was decided not to start again. This decision was also made by the new General Motors buses that had recently been occupied. On August 7, 1954, the Altoona & Logan Valley Company's tram service ceased. No tram was left for posterity.

Municipal transport company

In 1957, it was proposed that the city of Altoona should operate its own local transportation, creating the first municipal transportation operation in Pennsylvania. This practice had previously been tried and tested in many other US states. In 1977 the Altoona & Logan Valley Company was renamed Amtran (for Altoona Metro Transit ).

In 2009 the following lines were served:

line course Tact
Crosstown Medical Center ↔ Martin's Bellmeade every 30 min.
Eldorado Broad Avenue Extension ↔ Amtran Office every 60 min.
Broad Amtran Office ↔ 20th Ave & 13th St. every 60 min.
West Plank Express Walmart ↔ Logan Valley Mall every 60 min.
Logan Town Express Logan Town, Center ↔ Logan Valley Mall every 60 min.
Pleasent Valley Transit Center ↔ Pleasent Valley, Shopping Center every 60 min.
East end Transit Center ↔ Walton Ave & Kettle St every 60 min.
Juniata Transit Center ↔ N. 4th Ave & 18th St every 60 min.
Fairview Transit Center ↔ Penn State Altoona every 60 min.
Flash Transit Center ↔ Martin's Chestnut Ave every 30 min.
Duncansville Transit Center ↔ Hollidaysburg , Keystone & Rt 36 every 120 min.
Downtown loop Hawthorn, Bus Shelter ↔ Transit Center every 60 minutes (evening and late night traffic only)

Many lines are looped in order to reach different streets depending on the direction of travel. Interestingly, most lines do not start operating until after 7 a.m. and close (with the exception of the Downtown Loop line) around 5 p.m.

There is currently no continuous local transport connection between Altoona and Tyrone. However, Amtran is making efforts to interest potential passengers in a future resumption of traffic. A passenger volume is expected, among other things, from employees of Penn State College from Tyrone and Altoona .

See also

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