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It was once the most divisive word
in Pittsburgh transit and political circles, conjuring up images of scrapped
trolleys, excessive spending, political fights and resignations. Skybus
polarized both Democrats and Republicans in the fight to either support or
oppose the project. In the end, it became a lost opportunity for the city
of Pittsburgh to become the model for future transit systems to follow.
Skybus was a futuristic, fully
automated rubber-wheeled rapid transit solution proposed by Westinghouse
Electric Corporation and fully supported by the Port Authority of Allegheny
County in the early 1970s. Skybus was the backbone of the Port Authority's
master transportation plan, known as the Early Action Program, for improving
transit service in Allegheny County. The Early Action Program included Skybus,
two busways and improvements in a network of main corridor roadways.
The official name for Skybus was the
Transit Expressway Revenue Line, or TERL. Skybus was a nickname that the
media coined for the project. Developed in the early 1960s by Westinghouse
engineers, Skybus found a willing sponsor with the Port Authority. PAT was
looking for a futuristic mode of transit to begin building a system of countywide
transit improvements. The Port Authority was approached in 1962 regarding the
new concept which was still on the drawing board. After months of discussions,
an agreement was reached on June 21, 1963 to build and test the new concept at
Allegheny County's South Park.
Installing a length of the overhead
guideway above Corrigan Avenue in South Park.
The South Park location was chosen for
several reasons. First, it was within the county and and only 11 miles from
downtown Pittsburgh, yet far enough from the city that population levels were low.
Second, it offered a variety of terrains in a compact area that was free of
interfering structures. This option significantly reduced costs. Third, the
Allegheny County Fair was held yearly at South Park and this would easily
provide the numbers of people needed to test the project in a real-time
environment.
The South Park test site was a temporary
structure, and not part of PAT's proposed Skybus system. The actual Skybus
line to the Southern suburbs was to follow the present-day light rail line. The
South Park Skybus line was designed only for testing purposes. Although Port
Authority and other public monies were invested in the test loop and the cars
carried the PAAC lettering, the Skybus cars and the test guideway were wholly
owned by Westinghouse.
Construction of the 9,340 foot guideway
began on July 7, 1964. Bethlehem Steel built the structural guideway. Two
stations were placed along the test route. The South Station was an elevated
loading platform at the Fairgrounds. The North Station was a ground level
maintenance and control facility. The guideway was initially designed for both
low speed and high speed curves, a long straight stretch and a transfer table. Of
the 9,340 foot length, 8.800 feet were elevated from 15 to 35 feet above ground.
Later modifications included a switch and a 1,000 foot long spur line slightly
graded to test operations on a hill. The spur line and switch were located at
the North Station control facility.
The 1000 foot spur line used for testing
operations on a 10% grade.
Prior to the roadway construction, an order
was awarded to the St. Louis Car Company on March 4, 1964 to build three Skybus
vehicles. The car was designed so that it was a fully automated and self-propelled
vehicle that was capable of being coupled together with other cars to form a train.
Each car was 30.5 feet long, 102 inches wide and seated 28 passengers with room for
26 additional standing comfortably. The maximum capacity per car was seventy.
The cars were air conditioned (a novelty at the time), rode on sets of dual rubber
tires, had air suspension and air brakes.
The Skybus cars were powered by two
60-horsepower DC traction motors. Top speed was approximately 50 mph. The
traction motors were coupled to two traditional automotive style differential
axles through a drive shaft. The cars were secured to the guideway by a complex
system of horizontal rubber tires that attached the vehicle on either side of a
center I-beam. The guideway structure that the four sets of dual tires rode on
was a concrete road formed on top of outer I-beams.
The cars were originally to be a brushed
aluminum finish. A problem developed due to the specifications that all rivets
were to be ground down flush with the body surface. This resulted in a marred
finish that St. Louis Car Company tried unsuccessfully several times to repair.
A decision was then made to paint the cars in the Westinghouse blue and white
colors. The three Skybus cars were delivered to Westinghouse between March 15,
1965 and May 24, 1965.
There was one other Skybus car manufactured.
It was a full sized mock-up with the ends painted like the production cars but the
brushed aluminum finish on the sides was as originally specified in the contract.
This mock-up car had noticable differences from the production cars, and it is
assumed that it was built in-shop by Westinghouse itself.
The first Skybus vehicle was a prototype
built at Westinghouse
designed with the originally specified brushed-aluminum finish.
Initial operations of Skybus were performed
under manual operation with the first complete round trip being make on August 4,
1965. The first public operation was at the 1965 Allegheny Couty Fair between
September 2 and September 5. These were also performed under manual control.
During these initial tests, Skybus operated in a two-car or single car
configuration. The first fully automated trial did not occur until later that
year.
While the initial testing was underway,
growing resistance to the project was already brewing. This resistance was
primarily due to the fact that the Skybus line PAT was proposing was to be
fully automated with no driver or attendant. Safety and security concerns
that were addressed through talk of security cameras and phones did little to
reassure people that the line would be safe.
The high costs to build Skybus
also drove opposition to the project. Skybus was one of the most expensive
demonstration projects of its kind in the United States during the 1960s. Even
with the concerns and opposition, the test line at South Park was a very popular
attraction during the County Fairs from 1965 through 1971. More than 30,000
people paid 10 cents each to take a ride.
 
An artist's conception of the South Park
North and South Station loading platforms.
During 1965 and the initial testing
during the County Fair, questionnaires were passed out and collected, asking
several questions regarding Skybus. Overall the responses were positive, but
critics argued that the carnival atmosphere during the fair invalidated the
responses. The majority of riders during the 1965 test were mothers that had
their children in tow.
Long lines of parents and children await
a ride on Skybus at the County Fair.
Extremely long lines with one to three
hours waiting to ride were common during the fair and indications suggested that
the children were the main reason the parents waited in line. Opponents suggested
that although the questionaire results were positive, a normal sample of opinions
did not occur and therefore the results were invalid. Even Westinghouse and
PAT officials eventually, but unofficially, conceded that the County Fair
operation was not a true cross sector of the public.
Skybus questionaire distributed at the
1965 Allegheny County Fair.
The initial testing of Skybus was completed
on June 7, 1966. There were some problems with the line that needed corrected and
questions still needed to be answered. Work continued on the project by
Westinghouse engineers to solve technical issues and PAT worked with the Department
of Transportation to provide additional funding to continue further testing and
development under what became known as Phase II.
Phase II added some new items that earlier
testing could not answer. Items such as a spur line at a 10% grade to test hill
climbing abilities, a track switch and emergency walkway to help calm concerns
of becoming stranded if a train broke down. These were some of the concerns
shared by Westinghouse engineers, PAT officials and the opponents alike. Also,
much of the automatic train control circuitry was upgraded to then current
standards.
Prior to Phase II, disabled cars were
retrieved by an ordinary farm tractor that was modified to run on the Skybus
guideway. It was an odd signal and not very reassuring to the general public.
The emergency walkways installed during Phase II worked to relieve some of the
concerns about being trapped on a disabled car but the tractor remained the only
recovery vehicle. If Skybus had made it to production, there would have most
likely been a specialized recovery vehicle designed that was a bit more
substantial than the old farm tractor. Another odd sight along the line was
the converted 1950s style enclosed telephone booth that was used for the transfer
table control facility.
The farm tractor used to retrieve
disabled cars sits at the North Station.
Most of the problems from Phase I were
corrected and many of the unanswered questions had been answered when Phase II
testing was completed on November 2, 1971. There were still some issues which
resulted from pushing the technological limit of the era. Issues such as having
the car stop precisely as the same spot each time was extremely difficult as
the automatic train controls of the day were much harder to program than the
contemporary versions used today. One report indicated that the cars were
stopping short 1/8" to 1/4" each loop and eventually would miss the platform
completely unless they were manually moved up every few trips around the
track.
Opponents of Skybus found any reason,
real of fictional, to try to support their arguments against Skybus. Weather
was one such issue that was factual but also bordered on fictional. The initial
testing proved that Skybus could operate in any weather condition and Phase II
proved again that Skybus could "go in the snow" with no problems. Initial fears
were that Skybus would become stranded in the winter and Phase I disproved this.
Opponents then suggested that Skybus would become stranded in the the snow having
to go up grades. Phase II disproved this. Another fear involved accidents from
faulty automatic train controls yet not one vehicle collision occured during the
testing. During the over 125,000 miles of hard testing, Skybus and the technology
proved itself time and again to be safe.
Although there were many opponents of
Skybus, the real fight on Skybus began heating up on the political side by 1968.
Technical, economic as well as security issues inflamed the anti-Skybus side and
PAT's arrogance in its desire to have Skybus be the focal point of its Early
Action Plan didn't help matters. PAT's intention to eliminate the last of the
trolley lines in Pittsburgh and replace them with the new and still unproven in
the real world technology led to a complete polarization of both the citizens
and politicians.
The County Commissioners were split on
Skybus, politicians throughout the county were split and citizens were also split.
PAT, however, was fully behind the line even though questions and problems with
the testing remained. PAT went on an all out effort to promote the new technology
and the entire rapid transit plan by holding many meetings, having operating
dioramas showing what it would look like and passing out literature promoting
the positives. The opposition was also busy holding meetings and passing out
information that questioned why PAT was pushing Skybus when it still had technical
problems and questionable safety precautions.
A 1969 model showing one of the
proposed Skybus boarding stations.
Lawsuits began to be filed in an attempt
to block PAT from building Skybus and to save the remaining private right-of-way
trolleys during the late-1960s. An agreement was reached in part where PAT would
rehabilitate the trolley lines and keep the Library line once Skybus was built.
The push against Skybus was strong even after the agreement and resulted in
continued delays in implementing the first stage of PAT's Early Action Program.
The situation got to the point that the Urban Mass Transit Administration
threatened to pull funding for the project due to the constant bickering that
was occuring.
The important focus points of the
opposition against Skybus involved the troubles and the costs of Skybus.
A very sound and logical argument was presented as to why replace a popular,
reliable and time tested technology with an unproven technology at a much
greater price. Allegheny County Commissioner Ron Hunt, who was a leading
critic of Skybus, characterized the project by saying that "Skybus technology
has an awesome capability for swallowing vast sums of money and producing very
little in the way of a better, safer or more usable product."
The important focus points for the
proponents were that Skybus involved the future of mass transit in the county
and the money already spent on the project had created a way to achieve that
future. Persuasive arguments were made as to why Skybus was needed as the focal
point of the Early Action Program. Using items such as a long list showing the
dwindling ridership numbers on both PAT and Pittsburgh Railways under the trolley
system and highlighting the long lines of people wanting to ride the demonstration
loop at the County Fair and various reports showing the project would work,
proponents could prove the critics wrong on many points and show people did
want Skybus. Proponents also pointed out, correctly or not, that those opposed
to Skybus were opposed to any forward progress in public transportation.
In 1972 construction work began.
A lot which is now occupied by the Castle Shannon "T" station was acquired and
graded for the Skybus station. Additional property was acquired and graded at
the site of the current South Hills Village Car Shop which was to be used for
the Skybus storage and maintenance facility. The old Wabash Tunnel was also
extensively rehabilitated to be the Skybus gateway to the downtown area. These
three items were the only physical construction done on PAT's Skybus
route.
The Castle Shannon light rail stop was
originally designed as a Skybus transit station.
1974 was the critical year for Skybus.
UMTA ordered the re-evaluation of the entire proposal based on the strong
opposition to the project. The project's outside consultant, MPC Corporation,
which was affiliated with the Carnegie Mellon University, reviewed every aspect
and determined that the technology was in fact feasible and had matured to the
point that it was no longer unsafe and untested. Undetered by this positive
appraisal, opponents simply stepped up their efforts to kill the Skybus
initiative.
In October of 1974, with the
re-evaluation complete and a favorable result achieved, UMTA added one
important provision to their support of the project. A decision had to be
reached within 120 days of the report or all funding would be cut off. Even
the newspapers finally sided with PAT and urged opponents to back down or risk
losing everything. The opposition, however, did not back down. A consensus
between the two sides was finally reached within the 120 days time frame where
yet another outside consultant would review other possible alternatives to
Skybus. UMTA, tired of the squabbles, also agreed to having all options reviewed
in hopes of finally getting both sides to agree to something.
The DeLeuw Cather Report issued in
late 1975 spelled the end to Skybus. The report cited costs, environmental
factors and the availability of the long proven light rail technology as
factors for dropping Skybus. PAT reluctantly agreed. Had the Port Authority
not agreed, they risked losing millions of dollars in future funding for the
South and East Busways. Just like that, Skybus was dropped from their plans
and the "T" light rail system was inserted in its place. Skybus was now
officially a dead issue and would never be built in Pittsburgh as a mass
transit mode.
Looking back at Skybus, it was ahead
of its time in most all respects. Although the technology matured as the
testing progressed, it was still a relatively unproven technology when combined
together into a single package. Although it used much of the same technology
as the Bay Area Rapid Transit trains in San Francisco which ran on rails,
Skybus was a unique mode of transportation that required new
technology.
The final years of Skybus were
relatively uneventful after PAT dropped it from the transportation plan.
The original Skybus test facility sat virtually unused from 1973 through
the mid-1980s. The three Skybus cars, one single and one two-car train,
sat at the North Station, badly faded but appearing ready to roll on another
test. Power transformers for the line also still hummed indicating that power
was still available right up until the line was dismantled. The guideway
structure was torn down in the mid-1980s.
A modern version of a Skybus train
operated by the Tampa Airport Authority.
Skybus is still alive and well under
a new name in many locations. Now called a People-Mover, the original Skybus
evolved into a means of moving people in from the terminal and boarding areas
at airports and as a tourist attraction at Busch Gardens. Tampa, Florida
became the first city to use Skybus technology in a true public application.
Although Skybus polarized the entire area, it did help PAT achieve its goal
of improving public transit in Allegheny County as the "T" and downtown subway,
as well as the busways, may never have been built if it weren't for Skybus
and the Early Action Plan.
Pittsburgh finally did get Skybus
in the 1990s. The People-Mover at the Pittsburgh International Airport is
a current version of what PAT's Skybus would have looked like. Although at
ground level. in a tunnel and traveling a short distance, it moves people who
had never ridden Skybus during the South Park testing or got a chance to see
what almost became PAT's ultimate mode of rapid transit.
Interestingly, controversy over rapid
transit seems to have a home here in Pittsburgh. During the first decade of
the 21st century, the Maglev proposal for a line between downtown and Oakland,
and the extension of the subway system under the Allegheny River to the North
Shore has opponents and proponents chomping at the bit. The Maglev system
seems to have been buried by the opposition, but the subway extension looks
like it will become a reality. Tunnels have been bored under the river and
it looks like Pirate and Steeler fans will be able to ride in comfort directly
to the gates of their prefered sports stadium on game days.
* Copied mostly from
an Antique Motor Coaches Association of Pennsylvania article * |
