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| West Penn Railway, Light Rail System, Hecla Junction: |
| During the 1920's Hecla (Southwest P.O.)
reached its peak as a bustling little coal mining patch town. The West
Penn Railway Light Rail Trolley System ran through Hecla Junction, with
connecting lines to Youngwood and Greensburg to the north and Mt.Pleasant,
Scottdale, Connellsville, and Uniontown to the south. Hecla Junction was
also the southern junction point of the West Penn Railway Branch Line running
east through Mt. Pleasant Township and Unity Township through the coal patch
towns to Youngstown and to its terminial in Latrobe. The Latrobe branch line
made connections with the main line at Hecla Junction.
Before the days of the school buses the trolley line transported many of the Mt. Pleasant Township Hurst High School pupils to and from school during the school term. |
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| The trolleys also carried freight, the Sunday newspapers alone yielded a carload. A heavy user of this service was the Union Supply Company stores, its business was especially valuable to the freight operation, because this was the "Company Store" of the H.C. Frick Coke Company. The Union Supply Company was probably the largest retailer in the region, with dozens of stores serving the coal patch populations, along with the local residents. |
| WEST PENN RAILWAYS HECLA JUNCTION ca.1939 |
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| Mike Kaputa, was the owner and operated
the little confectionary store in the West Penn "WYE" at Hecla for many years.
This was at the Rail Junction where the Street Cars from the Connellsville
- Greensburg Line met the Street Cars from the Youngstown - Latrobe Line. Hecla Junction was a major center of activity on the West Penn Railways network. This ca.1939 view shows a southbound main line car, a Latrobe car and a freight car in the "wye track." The truck was sent out by the company to escort the photographer on his tour of the West Penn Railways system. (Photo courtesy of Robert G. Lewis and the Westmoreland County Historical Society, Greensburg.) |
| West Penn Railways Excursion
A trolley load of students before boarding a special West
Penn Railways summer car excursion trolley from Hecla to Greensburg and then
to Oakford Park, ca.1903. |
 (Photo courtesy of the collections of John G. King, Photo Studio and Railroading Historian, Belpre, OH) |
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| Hecla Junction was a major transfer point
on the West Penn Railways Greensburg - Uniontown Line, where passengers could
change cars for Latrobe. The community of hecla was a coal company
patch town, with the attendant smoke from the coke ovens, coal company store
and mine waste dump. The photographer stood just north of Hecla Junction
to photograph this approaching trolley car in March 1951. (Photo courtesy of Ara Mesrobian.) |
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| West Penn Railways car approaching Hecla
Junction. (Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Washington, PA.) |
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| West Penn Railways Car on the bridge at Hecla Junction,
Southwest, PA. (Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Washington, PA.) |
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| Hecla Junction at Hecla "Southwest", Mt. Pleasant Twp.,
Westmoreland Co., PA (Photo courtesy of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Washington, PA.) |
| To Select another Index to Westmoreland County Coal Mines Click on the Larry cars for Index Page or on a Letter below |
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| Select another Index to the Coal Mines
of Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania [Click on a letter to take you to that Index]
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