Back by popular demand, speaker John Makar will give his talk and slideshow on the Harmony Line on February 10th. Officially known as the Pittsburgh Harmony Butler & New Castle Railway, the Harmony Line was an electric trolley that ran from New Castle to Pittsburgh from 1908 to 1931 but most importantly it ran through the mid to northeastern side of Cranberry Township. There were 6 stops in Cranberry that included from north to south, West, Plains Church, Franklin Road, Rowan Road, Criders Corners and Dutilh. Express trolleys would travel up to 75 mph and within 45 minutes you could be in downtown Pittsburgh.
One can only think if the line survived to today, the park and ride lot next to the Burger King would need to be a whole lot larger as that was a popular stop when Meeders store existed, workers of Westinghouse would have a short 3/4 mile walk to get to the Crider station, the Fox Run plan homeowners could sell their cars, and local farmers such as the Crofts could still use the freight cars to haul their corn.
John, a longtime member of the Historical society is an authority of trolleys in the Pittsburgh area. He has been used as a reference on several books written on the subject. John also collects any trolley memorabilia he can acquire.
Find out what's happening in Cranberryfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Please come and learn more about this old mode of transportation. The program is free to the public, so bring a friend. Audience participation is encouraged. Mark your calendar for February 10th at 2:00 pm. The talk will be in the Senior/Teen Center in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center. Light refreshments will be served, but they probably won’t taste as good as the treats served on the Harmony’s party car. Any questions, please call Tom Cully at (724) 776-6551. See you there! All Aboard!
