A Forgotten West Penn Trolley Accident that killed 5 near Mckeesport Pa.

 West Penn trolleys at one time went everywhere you could travel 3 states and multiple county's One of the popular routes Scottsdale Haven  Division line  took you from Mckeesport  thru Westmoreland county  down into Fayette county along some of the most spectacular hills and valleys , across death defying bridges with spectacular views  that took you across  one particular precipice high up a hill side near Coultersville Pa. at 1165 ft one of highest in county

 But on a bitter Cold February 6th 1912 That would one day lead to a Horrific accident when a trolley would roll over and down a hillside almost 100 feet near the Mt Vernon Cemetery and nearby Country Club approx 5 miles from McKeesport with 20 aboard

 

 

The Trolley car  would land against a large tree

splitting apart and sending the dead and dying all over.

It was a horrific site 

Residents from Coulter 1 mile across the Youghiogheny River  where first to arrive to render aid.

and come across the devastating scene made all the worst by the freezing weather .

The Conductor James Miller miraculously survived and ran to a nearby home for help where the injured where taken and most severe eventually transferred to the hospital in McKeesport.

The Neat Geodesic Dome Home in East Liberty Section of Pittsburgh is it the reason so many UFO reports come from that area?

 I grew up in East Liberty in 60s before moving to Carrick and their where a lot of Italians at one point and many where contractors and Home builders so it just makes sense they would build some unique homes well one went beyond unique to totally out there like UFO type out there. 

Built in 1969 by Joseph Yacoboni  it sits down the end of a long dead end road.and has been getting stares and visitors for many years.

Its now a AirBnB you can rent .

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4203475?source_impression_id=p3_1651168389_oBA4f3oAnDJFA6Yh

It was designed to resist extreme storms like Hurricanes  and even Earth Quakes  was even mentioned in Popular Science magazine in 75  and recently in Pittsburgh Magazine  

https://www.pittsburghmagazine.com/dome-away-from-home/

 But while it is a fun place one has to wonder.

There have been many UFO type sightings in the Sky all around that part of East Liberty  and 

could this UFO home be attracting them? like a Homing Beacon.

One never knows but if your looking for some unique place to stay or just visit look them up.

Martians landed in Calvary Cemetery in Pittsburgh in 1950's .Apparently alot of people belived it.

 While I can find no Media account of it apparently a bunch of young boys and girls where scared to death after rumors of Martians landing in Calvary Cemetery in Hazelwood Section of Pittsburgh and where hiding on top of the nearby Water Tower .

http://www.interment.net/data/us/pa/allegheny/calvary-cemetery/index.htm

 

 Apparently a bunch of strange lights where seen in the cemetery one evening in 1950's during the Cold War Scare when many where on edge and supposedly some boys went and investigated and saw the Martians and spread it all over the neighborhood. 

As far as I can tell there is nothing to it a bunch of active imaginations .

surly if there was anything to it press or post gazette would have picked it up. 

But given the times yes a school kid would have been very scared to hear Martians had landed 

But look how the Green man story took off . But there was some truth to that one .

Why Did So many fires happen at the Old Trolley Amusement Parks in Pa and WV. ?

 When you look at the Historical Record of Trolley Parks which there where over 30 in Tri-State  it seems that many meet their demise due to Fires and Accidents and in some cases Floods .

Luna Park - Fire and Accident

Oxford Park - Flood 

Rock Springs - Fire 

 

Fatal Rock Springs Fire Chester WV

While others like Kennywood and Lakemont Survived Fires  because they where better spread out and financed .

 

But Why.

One of the problems back in the day was Smoking 

Yes poorly discarded cigarettes started a lot of fires not just in Trolley Parks but many buildings .

But in the case of trolley parks many where mostly all wood based add in the highly flammable scenery in attractions and no sprinkler protection and you have a disaster in the making.

One simply discarded cigarette could take down an entire parks fairway .

 

Introduction of Electricity  

Yes many early rides also had newly designed electrical systems  which where still in their infancy and problems developed when wiring got abraded and damaged and caused a spark to fall into wooden ares some times covered with grease used to keep ride lubricated and operated. 

Poor Maintenance and,Financing 

Many Parks sprung up and disaperared with less than 5 years use 

like Southern Park in Carrick and Wonderland in Wilkinsburg 

Cheaply built not properly maintained rides breaking down and then following  the Depression of 1930s' many could not survive  with the introduction of automobiles trolleys disappeared and so did much of their funding as they where started by trolley company's and the automobile all but sealed their fate. 

In some cases it is highly believed that Arson was involved as parks started failing hoping to collect a fat insurance check.

Yes there where many complicating issues why some survived some died  but I am glad many did across the state and its fun researching and reminiscing about those that no longer do.

New 3rd Event from Fayete County Bigfoot Research Group

 

New Book by Gregory Nicholas Old School Psychic Medium

Check out the new book by Gregory Nicholas Old school medium 

Available on Amazon 

 

Strange case of a Dirigible Crashing Near Point Pleasant WV. Yet no trace ever found or one reported missing . So what was it a UFO? Nazis?

 One of the strangest cases of aerial activity above West Virginia happened near Point Pleasant  on October 10 ,1931 when around 2:50 PM a local doctor Charles E. Holzer  observed a Dirigible  about 300 ft up in the air go over his Hospital . 

 

Several others also observed it  and then witnessed as it broke in 2 and burst into flames and crash into the Ohio River  near an area known as Galopolis Ferry ,

Several people reported seeing what they thought was parachutes opening and 3 survivors  floating to the ground. 

 

https://themothman.fandom.com/wiki/Unidentified_Dirigible_Reported_Down_In_Blaze_In_West_Virginia

 

https://anomalien.com/the-ghost-in-the-sky-mystery-of-the-ghost-blimp/

 

At first they thought it was the USS Akron because it had been requested for a foot ball championship   but it was not and no trace of the craft or people who parachuted out was ever found .

Of course search technology back then was very limited compared to today. 

and Army Air Corp reported all blimps accounted for.

So what was it a UFO disguised as a blimp?

Maybe it was Nazis conducting secret surveillance  after all it caught fire and Germany used Hydrogen in their blimps to keep costs down compared to Hydrogen. and their where already regularly scheduled flights coming from Germany. We don't know what weather was like but they could have easily snuck thru during the night and stormy skies 

But what about the jumpers ?  well if they where on a secret mission and they successfully landed on shore they would have hidden their chutes and just disappeared into the community. Hit the icy cold river they would not have survived and been dragged down quickly

Since dirigibles are made of Duralunimum and canvas  not much would have been left to find and floated down the river . an Ice Cold River probably flowing high and fast since it was late fall.

 

So what do you think it was?