Ivyside was a park where the current Penn State Campus of Altoona is located. It was known for its huge swimming pool and at the end of the A&LV street car line. Also there was Bland Park on the A&LV st car line to Tyrone. Bland Park operates today similar to the what Ivyside and Lakemont did. Thus one had a choice to ride the old trolley to either of those parks on a hot evening sitting by open window.

Homer Benton
LaVerne, California

Those trolleys were a beautiful bright orange with brown trim and black roofs. The company had a paint shop at 5th Ave and about 32nd St. and they ran the cars regularly through the paint shop. I used to look in the windows and watch the painters hand painting the cars and affixing the insignia and numbers. The car insignia on each side of the car at center was a brown belt in a circle and buckled with name inside.

Homer Benton
LaVerne, California

No changing of leaf color here - just dropping of heat and then cool breeze. I know little about those old RR passenger cars off 6th Ave but only have faint recollection. That was an area I did not often explore. More excitement at the trolley car barn. We used to play in the old trolleys parked out in the open between the old big car barn and the football field. I still remember the days, before W.W.II, when they got rid of the old ones by tipping them over on their side on the road outside the front of the car barn tracks and burning them in big blaze - one at a time. They then collected the scrap metal and sold it to junk dealers.

Reichard's Gas Station (It was old - old time) was well known to me. I used to go there at 6am on weekday and Sat mornings to get my Altoona Tribune papers to deliver them out to So Altoona area, on my trusty bike. I tell you it was rough in the winter - that is one reason I am retired here in the sunny warmth of the desert.

Did you get my message asking if you knew of Bob Walter a former announcer at WVAM?

Homer Benton
LaVerne, California

On your trolley tale by Frank it is a good description of the line near its end. I grab only one item to comment on at this time. (Frank Lamca) said, " ...the street cars did not go to Fairview, because of the hills. Apparently they did not have enough power for that." Probably true in his day but the street cars did go to Fairview and they did traverse those hills.

Birney car at the end of the line 4th St. and 22nd Avenue (Fairview School in background)
Homer Benton Photo

The line began at 11th Avenue and 12th St. and went up 12th St., past Penn Alto Hotel and City Hall, to 14th Ave and turned around the church for one block to 11th St. and then turned on 11th St. for a slow crawl up the hill and down to 22nd Avenue where it turned and went out to 4th St. The terminal was cut back to here from earlier times. They used a unique St car for this line. One that did not run on other lines. It was called a Birney car. They were very much smaller than the other cars and cute as a doodle bug. One could ride in the back of the car and if enough of your friends gathered there it would cause the car to tip and jump. Then the motorman would turn around and demand a distribution of passengers so he could climb the hill. I do not know when the line was built but it stopped operations and a bus was substituted in April 1940 and the cars disposed of.

Till later,
Homer G. Benton
LaVerne, California

Phil,
I was talking to my mother about the old station at Lakemont Park. She said that they used to put special open air cars 1 on in the summer time. That way people could enjoy the breeze as the trolley rode along to the park.

When I was in Jr. High, the prepaid student tickets that your cousin talks about were 15 Cents. I used to get the tickets from my mother, sell them at school and use the money to buy milk in the cafeteria.

Then I would hitch hike a ride back to south Altoona to get back and forth from school. Sometimes, your brother would stop and pick us up. Didn't David have a green Volvo or something? Anyway, it was fun.

Frank
Disney World, Florida

Phil,

You are absolutely incrediable! The layout and photos are prima! I am most impressed.

Do you realize who used to live in the stone house with the sign on it? The house used to belong to Dick Lower's family.

Dick attended Baker for a short while and then his parents put him in that Catholic School in Lakemont. The same one that Susan Clear's parents put her in after second grade. Dick Lower's parents ran a furniture store in St. Mary's, PA. I can still remember when the got a brand new 1957 Oldsmobile. Thought that had to be the biggest car in the entire world. Dick had an older brother, but I do not remember his name. We used to sit on the enclosed back porch, (I was never allowed in the main part of the house) and listened to Little Richard sing " I hear you knocken, but you can't come in..." Dick was good friend with John Corrio who I believe married Pattie Chamberland? who lived on 2nd Avenue and 21st. Street. One of those houses that set up high and require climbing several cement steps to get to the front door. The front door was really on the side of the enclosed front porch. The foundation was stone with the enlcose porch painte yellow. They had a garage at the back of the house that accessed from the steep alley. Pattie's younger sister used to work at Boyer Candy and married a real nice guy who works as a salesman for VanMelle Candy and they live in Pittsburgh. A most superb couple.

My friend, you have done well.

Frank

Hello again Philip; ... (Regarding Frank Lamca's story) I noticed one sentence indicating that the trolley did not apparently go to Fairview.

Actually, at one time it did, but was discontinued, I think, in the 40's. I attended Fairview School at 22nd Avenue and 4th St. The old trolley line ended at that interesection. I do recall that along about 4th grade (for me) we were to go to the Jaffa Mosque, as a class, for the circus. The Fairview Trolley had been discontinued by then and we had to walk down the hill on 4th St. from 22nd Avenue to Howard Avenue to get a "streetcar" to the Jaffa Mosque. I will guess the year to be 1947.

The Fairview Line used a small (short) car rather than the larger standard sizes on other routes, because of the grade. The Fairview Line went north on 12th Street (downtown) to 14th Avenue; right to 11th Street; North on 11th Street to 22nd Avenue; right on 22nd Avenue to 9th Street (where there was a dog-leg) to continue out 22nd Avenue to end of line at 4th Street.

Dave Seidel
Fairview Section
Altoona, Penna.

... the old theatre on 11th Street that showed silent films, ... I believe it was known as the Orpheum; and immediately to the left ..., across the alley, would have been the Altoona & Logan Valley Electric Co. trolley office. It seems to me the Altoona Tribune was in the same bldg 0 also but could be mistaken.

Also: The Llyswen trolley office is still there; I believe it is an office for Dean Allison Insurance. But it looks the same, complete with the Llyswen sign.

David Seidel
Fairview Section
Altoona, Penna.

David Seidel Image

Period photo of the Altoona Tribune Offices on 11th St at 12th Avenue, Altoona, circa 1914. This same building in later years also housed the ticket offices of the Altoona & Logan Valley Electric Railway.

Dave Seidel
Altoona, Penna.

ALTOONA: Another disappointment. Altoona & Logan Valley Elect Ry’s last two streetcar lines do not run on Sundays

THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TRACTION REVIEW
The East thru Western Eyes - 11:

"Altoona trolleys began a two-week vacation on July 4, while the PRR shops were on vacation. There is no need at all for streetcars if the shops are closed. For the Juniata line the vacation is permanent. When trolley service resumes on July 20 this line will end at the PRR shops."

http://www.erha.org/timepoints/v6n6.htm