Where in the world is Monaca, PA?

Nice photos, I love seeing ironwork like that.

Love it - I used to live in Monaca!  (Emphasis on the “na”)! Great action on the bridges, and a short drive to Conway.  Lots of rail action in New  Brighton and Beaver Falls too!

You should have gone over to Rochester at the old bowling alley - lots more action coming and going into and from West Conway on the Ft. Wayne line and Youngstown Line of NS. It's about 1000 feet east of the old P&LE bridge you photographed.

See you there sometime.

Tuscan Jim posted:

Nice photos, I love seeing ironwork like that.

It is impressive, isn't it?  That bridge is probably (I haven't researched it) close to 100 years old and it will still be here another 100 years into the future if it is adequately maintained.  Built to last.

George

Freight Train Jim posted:

You should have gone over to Rochester at the old bowling alley - lots more action coming and going into and from West Conway on the Ft. Wayne line and Youngstown Line of NS. It's about 1000 feet east of the old P&LE bridge you photographed.

See you there sometime.

Ah, it's an old P&LE bridge!  Cool.  I'll have to go there next time.  My wife wanted to stop at the Beaver Valley Mall.  I kinda found the boat access area by accident.

George

jhz563 posted:

Love it - I used to live in Monaca!  (Emphasis on the “na”)! Great action on the bridges, and a short drive to Conway.  Lots of rail action in New  Brighton and Beaver Falls too!

We were in New Brighton and Beaver Falls this summer.  Beaver Falls is a neat little town.

We stopped in New Brighton at Hanks;  awesome soft-serve custard and a view of mainline railroading!  Doesn't get much better than that! 

George

I have the P&LE Book, Little Giant, but it is packed away in a closet under the basement stairs behind all my locomotive and rolling stock boxes.  So I looked it up on Wikipedia.  The bridge was designed by Albert Lucius and built by McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburgh  between March 1908 and May 1910.  There are a lot of neat under construction photographs in the book.

Mark Boyce posted:

I have the P&LE Book, Little Giant, but it is packed away in a closet under the basement stairs behind all my locomotive and rolling stock boxes.  So I looked it up on Wikipedia.  The bridge was designed by Albert Lucius and built by McClintic-Marshall Company of Pittsburgh  between March 1908 and May 1910.  There are a lot of neat under construction photographs in the book.

Wow, thanks for the additional info, Mark.

Gee, so there are other railroads besides the Pennsy? 

Who knew?  LOL

George

My favorite RR bridge!  The University of Pittsburgh historical web site has some great photos of this bridge under construction.

Funny side note:  One of the MTH station stops says Monica.  I can't remember what engine it is.

Dave

I was working summer 2017, new Vets center, the old Kaufman Bldg./Giant Eagle, Rochester, Pa. Photos, I took from the roof of the Kaufman bldg.  Left end of the bridge, Monaca, PA. Right end is Beaver, PA

I remember replacement of this R18/Rt51 bridge Rochester/Monaca.  Rochester left, Monaca right.

Smaller bridge is Old PRR.  Rochester left, Bridgewater/Beaver right across the mouth of the Beaver River as it enters the Ohio River.

This bridge connects Rochester to Bridgewater/Beaver along with the concrete deck bridges already pictured.  Beaver river pictured.  Right of picture upstream, New Brighton, PA and then Beaver Falls.

Beaver River Valley, north from my viewpoint.   Giant Eagle parking area.

I apologize for the pictures, would probably have done much better with early morning sun light. Point and Shoot Canon SD 630. 

Pictures says it all. great rail fan area, lots of trains, boats & more. Have shot hundreds of photos & video in that area.

Those are some excellent photographs, Mike!!  Thank you for posting!!

That is a beautiful bridge, celebrated its 100 th birthday a few years ago. CSX gave it a fix up too.  Can't get too close to the end on the Monaca side but you can catch CSX freights headed west on the Beaver side.

My Mom and Dad were from Beaver Falls. Next time in the area stop at Jerry's Curb Service for the best hamburger, and then next door to Bruster's for the best ice cream, and you can see NS tracks and CSX on either side.

David Minarik posted:

My favorite RR bridge!  The University of Pittsburgh historical web site has some great photos of this bridge under construction.

Funny side note:  One of the MTH station stops says Monica.  I can't remember what engine it is.

Dave

Dave-That would be the MTH RK and Premier P&LE commuter trains' Passenger Station Announcement.  P&LE GP7s 1500 and 1501 were the latter year power for those trains.  The P&LE train ran from Station Square to "College" station adjacent to Geneva college in Beaver Falls until the summer of 1985.  Monaca was one of the towns served by those trains. 

George- Glad you found some good rail-fanning spots!

A photo I took a few years ago from Rochester Riverfront park facing the Ohio River.

On Closer inspection, the train on the bridge was actually a B&P empty coal train headed for the Mon valley.

The bowling alley and riverfront park area in Rochester across the river from the P&LE bridge is also a great place to watch trains on the NS Fort Wayne, Cleveland, and Youngstown lines.

Westward signals at the still-active CP Rochester.  A new interlocking, CP Bright was constructed about a mile west of here in New Brighton, right next to "Hanks frozen custard" that George mentioned, but even though the new interlocking has been cut-in, CP Rochester is still active as an interlocking.

Former site of Rochester Tower ~ 100 yards west of the prior photo.

You guys are making me homesick.  But in a good way.  👍

Curt

You could draw a circle centered on Rochester of a couple mile radius and you could have all the rail fanning you could handle plus barges going up & down the river. great place. Miss it more than I thought I would.

Where Carmen San Diego built her hideout

Photo courtesey of Google Images and board 8 wiki

I've lots of family from that whole area but I've only been to Beaver Falls once to fish as a kid.  Thanks for posting the great photos.  With all that RR action, I've definitely got to plan a trip someday.

Tomlinson Run Railroad

The Beaver Falls  College Hill P&LE station recently burned.  I believe Geneva College owns the property.  One of several arson fires in an older community.

Something very new in the Valley.   Shell Oil Cracker Plant.  I 376 north just before you cross the big blue bridge across the Ohio River, look to your left.    Ethane (natural gas) to Ethylene (Polyethylene, plastics) First of may be three cracker plants, Pittsburgh, PA  region.  The old Michael Baker engineering office, Brighton Twp., is to be part of the new office complex for the facility.

Located behind this bridge, was the old Keystone Bakery, which became part of Schailble's  Bakery.  I believe MTH had done a Keystone Bakery model.  The building did become and upscale bar/restaurant, not sure if it is still open.  A fair amount of money spent on this river-front area. IMO.

Yes, the College Station building was torched last year. My Dad went to Geneva for awhile and could take the train and a trolley home to see his girlfriend(my mother). I have Wayne Cole's book on that area and the whole place was criss crossed with trolley lines and bridges. Up until recently you could still see the trolley tracks. They ran from the Ohio/West Virginia area all the way to Pittsburgh. Except a break in Sewickly, they didn't want noisy trolleys  A friend has told me they are building some nice apartments in the are of the old Keystone Bakery. A lot of boating in that area. They eagles now too.

I attended a seminar at Geneva College way back in the early '80s, and during some down time a gang of us walked down the hill to the tracks and looked over the station.  It looked great then.  I was so sad to see arsons burned it a while back.

Mike, I was not aware of the Keystone bakery.  On the same trip, a group of us walked over the bridge from Beaver Falls to a little church in Eastvale for services.  In the late '00s I drove across taking each of our daughters to check out the college.  I was kind of looking forward to seeing some trains while on trips to pick them up, but they both chose other great schools. 

jim pastorius posted:

Yes, the College Station building was torched last year. My Dad went to Geneva for awhile and could take the train and a trolley home to see his girlfriend(my mother). I have Wayne Cole's book on that area and the whole place was criss crossed with trolley lines and bridges. Up until recently you could still see the trolley tracks. They ran from the Ohio/West Virginia area all the way to Pittsburgh. Except a break in Sewickly, they didn't want noisy trolleys  A friend has told me they are building some nice apartments in the are of the old Keystone Bakery. A lot of boating in that area. They eagles now too.

I have most of Wayne Cole's books also, Jim.  He really digs into local railroad history!!!

You could smell the bread from the Keystone Bakery when you came over the bridge into Bridgewater.

Lots of great memories of this area in Beaver County. My grandfather was a PRR conductor, my G grandfather was yardmaster at Conway Yards....my Dad graduated from Freedom High, and Geneva College      commuting via street car. Dad worked at several steel mills before and right after WWII....mostly at J&L in Aliquippa.......loved going to Conway Yards to watch trains being made up...."Largest Pushbutton Railyard in America"....

100 yr old P&LE bridge, Conway Yard, Ya, me homesick too!! I have that GP7, Monica, lol! Me homesick too! (Don't miss the cold though!) Great thread!!

I would,and have handled the cold.  One winter evening I stood on the Monaca bridge photographing the old P&LE bridge with a  setting sun behind it. I was so cold and shaking from the cold I could hardly use my camera. Got the pictures though !!