Pennsylvania Turnpike page 7

Pennsylvania Turnpike Page 7

E-Mail from first drivers of the turnpike

Joe:

I was 16 years old in Oct. 1940 and had just gotten my first driver's license. My Dad, who happened to be blind, wanted the experience of riding on the "new turnpike".
We struggled through eastbound from Ohio through Pittsburgh and finally to the turnpike. I was driving my Dad's 1940 DeSoto. When we hit the turnpike it was "a new world" of driving!
I recall that at that time THERE WERE NO SPEED LIMITS on the turnpike. You could drive as fast as the old family sedan would go. I distinctly remember quite a number of "family sedans" sitting on the side on the road smoking and steaming or with tire troubles because a lot of guys "wanted to see what the old bus would do".
They found out alright! It was quite a highway! ADOLPH HITLER DID NOT INVENT THE TURNPIKE - WE DID!!! Nice web site!
Tunnel Information e-mail from Mitch Dakelman ( Mr. Transportation )
I have a few pixs that show the tunnel lights on in the old tunnels. I have two pictures one of Sideling Hill and Rays Hill after they were closed. Photographed in 1970 the tunnel guards were there during the day and the tunnel lights on, but a sign placed on the roadway saying "Tunnel Closed." So sad they should have never had done that. The the tunnel guards came no more, the electricity was disconnected and that was that. You see what they did in that 1973 film I sent you.

Beginning in 1973 I began to visit the tunnels and each year they got a little worse until 1988 when Rays Hill was restriped and the wooden boards taken down. They now even keep the median mowed which was a lot more than they were doing in the early 1980s when the whole thing was a real mess.

That's a great shot. It's the west portal of Kittitinny. I have a similar photo taken on the east side so I could check the date on the slide. The Turnpike had several drawers of slides of the tunnel construction of 1966. I copied a few of them, so I can check the dates.
The picture says september 18 1966 i like the fact that you can see the tunnel lights on in the old tunnel

E-mail from pike fan...Dear Sir:
I have enjoyed most of this day enjoying past memories of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I grew up in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania and we often went to see my grandparents in Joliet, Illinois. My experiences began at Fort Littleton to the Ohio Line. You want a story, I could write a book. The tunnels are the most exciting, my last trip through the western four was in 1963. At that time they were working on taking out Laurel Hill. As I kid I always thought of Laurel and Hardy when passing through here. In 1966 when I made the trip Laurel Hill was gone but it was my last trip through Ray's Hill and Sidling Hill. I was very disappointed in 1971, when the three were gone. In 1957 we went to Joliet for Christmas. On the way home we got into a snow storm on the turnpike in our '57 Ford. They quickly changed the speed limit signs to white letters on red reading 35 M.P.H. I don't think I was ever so scared in my life, I was nine at the time. In 1963 I remember coming east bound out of the Midway Service Plaza. At the bottom of the hill was a white Volkswagen Beetle just totaled. I remember a man's arm sticking out from under a blanket. What I really remember is the was the watch on the arm. The wrecks were of big part of traveling the turnpike, there always seem to be at least one.
When my parents were dating, my mother told how my dad would drive them up there on weekends, just to see how things were going. If you want more stories, let me know. This sight has made me nostalgic as I want to make a trip to see the old turnpike. Could you tell me if it illegal to enter it or not? By auto it is illeagle bu on foot or pedal bike you are safe to visit sites. Fact is at the present time I am writing a novel. I got on these sights to review some of my facts.
As you know by now the Pennsylvania Turnpike made an impression on all of our family. When my parents were young they owned a '38 Ford. We still had the car when my dad passed away in 1976 and in 1986 I inherited it as it was in storage in Pennsylvania and I am in Missouri. My mother came for a visit and we went for a ride. The dash on the old Ford was kind of a painted imitation wood grain. There was a big bare spot on the dash on the passenger side. Without warning my mother said one day, "You know how that bare spot got there?" She laughed. "That's from me hanging on when your dad took me out the Pennsylvania Turnpike at 100 miles an hour." OK you got me going, cause this story goes with the first one. In the early 80's my brother Dean got stopped for speeding westbound down Allegheny Mountain. He said his first thought when he got pulled over is why didn't you ever get my dad when he came down that hill at 100. I think the 100 might have been a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea a little about the road, flat-head Ford and mechanical brakes. You also have to remember that at the beginning there was no speed limit. By the way my dad worked at a Ford Garage.

One place that sticks in my mind is the Allegheny Tunnel area. My mother used to say, "The weather is always different on the other side of Allegany Tunnel. Westbound it seemed such a climb, which if I remember right about ten miles of curving highway. The first memory is the church at New Baltimore at the beginning of the westbound climb. I don't know if it still there or not but there used to be a walkway where westbounders could cross the turnpike and go to the Catholic Church. There were times I wondered if it wasn't a bad idea to stop and pray before going up the mountain or if eastbound to stop and pray in thanksgiving. One time in the mid 50's. (remember all my stories are before the rebuilding of the highway) my dad heading east got stuck through Allegany Tunnel between two semis. My brother Dean and I were in the back seat and the trucker behind us I think in a cab-over was trying to read something in our car, he was that close. Dean and I would hunker down and get up and make faces at him, partly to just be funny, but partly because we were a little scared. We were so happy when we came out my dad, who of course was frustrated being stuck in that situation, stepped on the gas in our Ford and left the two trucks behind. I remember looking out the window going down the mountain making sure that trucker was trying to catch us. Such is the mind of a boy about that time seven years old.

E-Mail Mitch i talked last weekend withg a lady who has been serving hot meals for 60 years at the Jean Bonnet Inn in Bedford. Her first job was Midway service plaza on the brand new turnpike. The first thing she said......we were the only plaza on the pike that served full meals. then she told us about her and her dad sneaking on before it was done for fun rides!

Pike e-mail Joe, this is a great web site. I lived in Ohio when I was a kid and used to travel the Penna. Turnpike about a half-dozen times a year to see my grandparents, one set in the Poconoes and the others in South Jersey. The highlight was always the tunnels. I remember when they bypassed the three "hills"- it was a big dissapointment.
I can still hear the slow roar of the semis coming in the opposite direction and the big roar they made when they passed by, fading-off again. My mom always called them "dungeons" but to me it was great..... Since 1972.... I have lived in Tennessee and have not travelled the original turnpike in that time. I thought I was the only person who cared where the old abandoned road was, but since viewing your site I am glad to find out that I am not alone. The pictures brought back a lot of memories. We used to stay at New Stanton or Breezewood ("the town of motels").... when we couldn't make it all in one day so I'm still somewhat familiar with the area.
I like the idea of the museum at Ray's Hill and restoring the old section to the 1940 look.... Someday I'm going to come back with or without a restoration now that I know the areas are accessible.
One thing I'd like to know is are there any old movies/videos or books available about the turnpike and if so where could I find them.Once again you've got a great site and thanks for the all the effort you put into it. I will visit it often. Pete@utm.edu Bukeavich

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