The Montour Railroad closed back in the 1980s and was turned into bicycle trail . But apparently some of the workers did not get the message.

They say the land  and objects around us retains a memory .. Any truth to it? Well some times this seems to be the case when it comes to old Railroads . Like the long gone Plum Railroad below where I live where people claim to have seen it still operate.

This also seems to be the case with the Montour Railroad a Mighty but small railroad which hauled coal from the mines of the south hills to the main rail lines of the P&LE   which was absorbed by CSX Rail .

https://www.montourrr.com/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montour_Railroad

 Starting in the 1800s the line extended 27 miles and linked up with several mines along its path thru the south hills and also included passenger service at one time .

There was an extensive shop area right along the Parkway West  I-376 right at the Montour exit which is now an office park . Over the years almost the entire length of the railroad has been turned into a bicycle path where much history is to be seen as you pass thru the many small mining towns .

https://montourtrail.org/

However it appears some of the railroad workers are still busy at it hooking up coal cars for there trips to market. I have heard from couple people who use the trail about seeing what looks like a railroad workers lantern lighted  along the trail and one gentleman even wrote about it in a Facebook Post

on the Montour Railroad Historical Society Page which I have included below . 

Authored by Gene P. Scheaffer

Even though the last train on the Montour R.R. operated some 35 years ago, most mornings at aroud 6:30 A.M., still under the night time darkness, while passing through Thompsonville on my way to work, just across the creek from Valleybrook Road, a single trainman's lantern glows in ghostly reminder of those coal runs working Thompsonville siding of long ago. This morning the dim light was spotted up at the Turkey Farm crossing as daylight neared. Most ...but not every morning for the past several months, even in the winters snow & cold, I reflect back when Roy...or Dan...Desko or French...were setting off empty B&LE hoppers at Thompsonville upon returning from Mifflin Junction...or...maybe it was Jones or Ceyrolles, coming west from Montour #10, leaving that #10 coal at Thompsonville so as to work Montour #4, taking light engines out to Boyce to pull in another 100 off the P-Company, then filling out at #4 to a 3 or 4 unit train for Champion. Months ago, when I first noticed that flicker of light through the bare trees there at Thompsonville I thought maybe a reflection of some type off the creek below, but morning after morning, at different locations along Thompsonville siding, there it was. Moving east or moving west I could not discern. Looking back into the early 1970's when winter time meant added operational problms for the railroad, Thompsonville was used to store empty hoppers as well as coal from Montour 4 when Champion backed up with stop off coal, when the sidings of the Montour R.R. were used to store stop off coal account no room at Champion or Boggs. As I eased through Thompsonville these mornings when that ghostly trainmans lantern appeared, I found myself straining for a glimpse of three or four cab lights from a consist of SW-9's ready for that hand signal to make that next move at Thompsonville.
If your passing through Thompsonville at 6:15 A.M. or 6:30 A.M., look closely, you'll see the ghost.

I have also seen strange lights reflecting along this trail as well is it a natural phenomena or is it the ghost of railroad workers past.  I invite you to travel to and check out this area and make your own conclusions.  Also Check out the Montour Railroad Historical Society  Facebook page and see some more history and fascinating photos of this once vital railroad.

An interesting Archway Shelter along Island Ave in Mckeesrocks which has unique story to it.

Every Time I ride down Island ave near the Mckeesrocks Bridge I pass this interesting archway and shelter between 2 very old apartment buildings I knew there had to be some story to it and I was correct .

This archway was built as a reminder of what was once a very unique Incline

The story on this interesting piece of engineering  is written below for the


The Mckeesrocks Historical Society  found on its face book Page  thank you MHS

OK you asked for it...you got it...Norwood Incline history.
The Norwood Incline by
John Makar
Pittsburgh was at one time known as the “Incline Capital of the World.” Between 1870 and 1905, at least 17 incline planes were built in the Pittsburgh area and another 20 were in the planning stages, but were never built. The people who lived on the many hills of the city needed the hillside railroads to travel to work or to visit the downtown area, both near river level.
One of the few inclines located in the suburban Pittsburgh was the Norwood Incline of McKees Rocks. It accommodated the residents of the Norwood and West Park sections of Stowe Township who would otherwise have had to travel over the elevated sections by foot or via McCoy Road or Broadway Avenue, two longer, roundabout routes.
The incline’s lower station was located on Island Avenue in McKees Rocks, across the street from the former Norwood Pharmacy. The upper station and power house were on Park Way (now Desiderio Avenue) in the Norwood Place section of Stowe, near the old Ohio Valley General Hospital. This is now the site of Mother of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church, of the St. John of God Parish. Thus, the funicular was cut in two by the border line between the two municipalities.
Norwood Incline was an idea of Charles Wesley Robison, General Manager of the Greater Pittsburgh Improvement Company, creating an access route to the Norwood Plan of Lots, which was being developed by Robison’s company. The original idea was to establish a trolley line along the planned right of way. In fact, the Bird’s Eye View of McKees Rocks, published early in 1901 by Thaddeus M. Fowler, clearly shows a trolley climbing from Island Avenue to Norwood. Shortly afterward, the decision was made to build an incline, instead. The designer and engineer of the incline are lost to history.
Once it finally began operation on September 7, 1901, the incline was a major factor in the rapid growth of the hilltop areas of McKees Rocks and Stowe during the “boom” of1901-1906. The homes build in Norwood itself were offered on the “easy monthly payment plan,” the first time such an offer was made to buyers.
Originally, no fare was paid on the incline and it was advertised as “the only free incline in the world.” By 1903, however, the operator was forced, because of operating expenses, to charge patrons of the transportation system one cent during peak hours, which gave the landmark its nickname, the “Penny Incline.” Within a short period, the little incline was showing a comfortable profit.
An early notice in one of the cars read:
“Everyone must pay fare
One cent each way until 8PM
Two cents each way after 8PM
Monthly tickets 30 cents (includes man and wife)
Good ‘til 8PM
School children of Norwood free during day.”
Trips were made whenever there was a passenger. No one had to wait very long for a car.
The little yellow cars of the incline, nicknamed “Becky Jane” and ‘Becky Reis” ran on tracks of 42 inch gauge, very tiny when compared to the six-to-ten-foot gauges of most of Pittsburgh’s hill climbers. They were built on three rail automatic turn-out system which was also unusual, considering that all the other local inclined planes operated on a four-rail system, two rails for cars traveling in each direction. This caused strangers to the area who traveled on the incline to fear a mid-hill collision. By a deftly devised curve, however, the cars would suddenly switch out and pass each other. No one has ever counted the number of hear attacks which might have occurred on the hillside….
The cars were attached to the ends of a double cable which was wound around a steel drum operated by a powerful steam engine at the upper station. The cables enabled the cars to ascend or descend the hill without slipping and the drum prevented the cars from moving too quickly on their journey.
The man in the powerhouse who operated the cars also collected the fare and, in the early days, fired the boilers. He was, in fact, the entire operation. Harry D. Kirkland, a Norwood resident and Stowe School Director, was an early manager-operator of the incline and later, so was his son, Ed. But the best known of the operators was Bert Noble, who took over the power house in 1907 and kept the system in good working order for a number of years, until the system deteriorated so badly that no one could help it.
But progress caught up with the operation of the Norwood Incline. In 1914, a government inspector condemned the funicular’s old boiler. Within a short time, electricity was installed and the basic operations became completely automatic. The system could now experience the joys and sorrows of “living electrically.”
In its last years, the incline had its share of problems. Frequent malfunctions of the large steel drum and in the power station caused extensive repairs. In August 1919, a Highland Avenue resident was injured slightly when he tried to close, by hand, the stubborn automatic doors of one of the cars. The doors suddenly came loose and he was caught between them.
The aging landmark was also losing patronage due to the trolley lines firmly established by 1910 on Island Avenue and in West Park and the popularity of the automobile, which led to the construction of the original Stowe Tunnel between the two sections in 1908-09.
These factors, combined with the increasingly decrepit condition of the cars and right-of-way, caused the abandonment of the Norwood Incline in 1921, after nearly a quarter century of service.
After the old landmark was dismantled, its remnants removed (and some relics buried on site), a number of plans were considered for its replacement. Since the right-of-way was not on a very steep gradient, one plan called for a simple pathway down the hillside. It took a number of years for a final decision to be reached, because McKees Rocks and Stowe officials spent much of the time feuding over who would be responsible for the maintenance of the completed structure. In 1930, after years of controversy, wooden steps were finally built on the old right-of-way. They were finally replaced by concrete steps by the 1950s.
By the mid-1970s, the Norwood Steps were beginning to show their age. Cracks and holes were showing up over the whole length of the passageway. The metal railing was rusting. The land next to it was eroding with the waste water constantly running down the hill. It also resembled a large refuse dump, with garbage strewn all over. Once again, the two municipalities could not agree to a regular maintenance schedule. Each feared that they would eventually be saddled with most of the costs. By the 1980s, noting that most residents were finding other ways of getting up and down the hill, both municipalities quietly agreed to abandon the steps.
Today, there is little left to show that there was once a thriving transportation system climbing the hill of Island Avenue. The right-of-way is completely overgrown. The concrete has crumbled to dust. All that is left is the little shelter on Island Avenue next to Boni’s Floral Shop with the two engraved “N”s on each side. Few remember that this was the site of a unique transportation system.

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I am a different type of Paranormal Investigator and I have been doing it for over 40 years.

My fascination with the Paranormal starts all the way back to Kolchack the Night Stalker TV Show in 1974 I became interested in things the normal world does not understand or wants to acknowledge.

One of my first truly paranormal experiences happened in summer of 1977 at long closed BSA Camp Semiconon in Butler county which I have written several articles on and I now believe was possible Big foot incident.
Stan Gordon was even called into the area at the time  by State Police due to high number of incidents that summer. 

That being said in 1978 my true investigation of the strange and unusual  began in 1978 while attending Connely Skill Center I started working as a Security Guard for Burns International Detective Agency.
My first assignment was the AM American Forge in the Mckeesrocks Industrial Park . unknown to me at the time this was once the Pressed Steel Car company where it was said a man a day died due to harsh working conditions and a massive strike which killed several workers nearby.

I worked a 12hr shift from 8 am to 8 PM  being relived by a guard who did the over nite shift which I only did twice while there.

Now knowing the history of this site which I did not at the time know its full history and working in a huge industrial site all by myself  except for a roving guard I saw every once in a while when checking outside of building. There was plenty of strange noises and bangs and booms and you name it to scare you.

However during this whole 6 months I worked there nothing ever happened I could call paranormal.
What I did discover is what was causing these noises and such going on. It was all naturally occurring due to expansion and contraction or rodents and animals.  In fact whole time I worked as a guard  for several company's who treated you like a number and walked around in deserted old office buildings ,Old  Mills  Like Hepenstall Steel walking alone thru 8 blocks of structures , Dravo Corp.Yards   Etc. never once had a paranormal experience.
whole 6 years I did that type of work I was always able to figure out what was going on. What was making the noise.Plus what might be causing a shadow.. Plus now add 40+ years of working in the trades and learning all abut construction of buildings and what goes on in them and noises etc they make I can pretty much rule out paranormal activity in many cases .

So other than what happened to me at Semiconon it seemed 99% of the time I could always figure out it was Birds a squirrel or rats making noises or steel expanding and contracting , water soaking in and dripping down walls or in the case of strong radio stations nearby sending out radio waves causing issues. or strong magnetic fields being sent out from motors and generators. Even strong deposits of iron ore in the ground .

But then and again there was always that 1% you could not easily explain away thats when the real investigation begins when you have an anomaly you can not explain.

Like hearing doors open and close at Hill View yet nothing moved when you look yet sit by the door you do not hear the door making the noise. Same with the chairs shuffling noise in the lobby. while some noises there like down in the  really old boiler room which is slowly deteriorating and it makes all kind of natural occurring noises , you can get spikes on EMI meters which as yet I can not explain.  This is the spot where one of the residents froze to death after a nights drinking illegally.
There is also all the strange anomaly you see when reviewing Security Camera Footage especially at night . When there is a sudden flash of light for no reason or misty shadows.

One incident I checked out for  customer had there guards all concerned because of misty shadows they would occasionally see in a large refrigerated dock area on cameras during one particularly hot summer .
I was able to prove that an interior garage door normally closed for weekend was left open and the heavy plastic freeze curtain one drives a forklift thru was allowing the hot air from dry side of warehouse into the refrigerated section which normally did not happen when the garage door was closed.

So you might call me a Paranormal Skeptic .But I am not one because I  know and have experienced things I can not fully explain and hope to one day say yes it really is an anomaly , it really was a ghost etc. with hard core evidence that can not be dismissed by science.

A most unusual tactic of cutting all the phone lines going into a town to burglarize a store in Western Pa.

You would never know it today but if you visit the Lowes Home Improvement Center along Baptist Road in Bethel Park Pa.
 It was once a Shopping plaza with now defunct Hills Dept store and a Grocery store which was leveled to build the Lowes  .
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hills_(store)

When it was a Shopping Plaza and Hills Dept Stores where still in business there was an infamous unsolved Burglary which happened  in early 80s where thieves  cut the phone lines to the alarm at the Hills and made off with a boat load of stolen items.

Thieves cutting phone lines to disable alarms no big deal you say?  Yes this was a favorite tactic of burglars after Digital Phone and Tape dialers came out in 70's as they replaced Leased Phone lines which used reverse Polarity technology and where harder to beat   and Radio systems where in their beginning stages .Thieves knew all they had to do was cut the phone line and signal would not be sent  at most a line monitor would sense no phone line and local sirens would come on and hopefully some one would hear them and call police.

However the tactics taken by this crew of burglars was rather unique.

Knowing the Hills which was protected by the defunct Firm Security company which was sold to another alarm company after its owner was killed flying his personnel aircraft  .  The thieves considered  they might still be using the old style reverse polarity which utilized a line security feature  if added or McCullough Loop technology which also could utilize line security add on   or Hills  could be  using
the new digital technology  easily defeated  they still had to get around the sirens and such. but how?
 Plus being able to surveillance the Hills or Bethel Park Police station and not arouse suspicion  at the same time. 

Well this crew of burglars cut not only Hills phone lines but every phone line going into that area of Bethel Park and no one could make a phone call even if they heard the sirens . They managed to figure out exactly where to cut the phone lines so maximum damage was done and they did it in a way that damage was not readily apparent so it looked like a massive Bell Atlantic outage as Verizon was then known then ,and since  there where no cell phones only 2 way radio phones and they where very rare indeed to see.

At the time this happened it was thought some one with extensive phone knowledge was involved 

This tactic was also used in a couple other communities as well in the Tri- State area.

So now you have a phone outage and are completely blind  to what is going on in your community and since it seems like just a random outage and not a deliberate attempt  the police will take every action to check on all the businesses but as big as Bethel Park is  the cops could not be everywhere
despite valiant efforts to check on high value targets which you would not think Hills was but they did have a large jewelry section which is what the thieves went after and got clean away that day.

Eventually some gang members where caught and the practice of cutting all the lines into a town went away with new VHF and UHF  radio technology being used along with cellular technology and Internet  it made breaking in all that much harder which unfortunately burglars changed tactics and started daylight armed robbery's of places because its easier to get the cash or what ever your after

In the mean time the amount of people whose lives where put at risk because you could not  call for emergency services  for a heart attack or Fire  was totally and completely unconscionable of these burglars .

Of course this is not the first time the Bethel Park area was the scene of well thought out master criminal attack it was also the Community where the First Armored Car Robbery took place

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/community-eyewitness/2011/10/30/Eyewitness-1927-Bethel-Park-Brinks-robber-included-man-who-d-kill-cop/stories/201110300258

 While it was transporting a payroll for miners . But in that case the Jawaorski Gang was caught and paid the price for it.