Private Dicks

Molesburg is an industrial city about 60 miles NE of Pittsburgh and 60 miles NW of Johnstown, taking about 2.5 hours to drive to either city, 2 hours by train, or 3.5 hours by bus. It is laid out on a square grid 3 miles by 3 miles and divided into 9 Wards, each 1 mile by 1 mile. The Allegheny River lies to the West, the Pittsburgh Pike to the SW and the Johnstown Road to the East. The P&J Railroad line runs along the Southern border of town. There are somewhere around 80,000 people in the city and it serves as the seat of Westspire County. The areas North and East of town are mountainous and South and West flatter.

The city is run by a Mayor elected by the city at large and a City Council which is composed of nine councilman, one elected from each of the wards. There is a City Treasurer,

The city serves as the county seat of Westspire county which is overseen by a board of 3 County Commissioners. Other county officials are the Sheriff, District Attorney, 3 Judges, Clerk of Courts, Prothonotary, Recorder of Deeds, Register of Wills, and the Coroner, all of which are directly elected by the county at large. All county offices are located in the County Courthouse, which is also in Ward 5. The County Jail and the Couty Morgue are located in Ward 3.

There are a few State facilities–The State Hospital for the Criminally Insane is in Ward 4 and there is a State Police Barracks in the borough of Finley. There is a small federal office in the courthouse, which is used by visiting FBI, Secret Service and IRS agents that have come up from Pittsburgh.

The city has 8 major roads which establish the boundaries of the wards. The 4 that go North/South are called the Boulevards and the 4 that go East/West are called Avenues. The Avenues (top to bottom on the map) are Mountain Avenue, Johnstown Avenue, Pittsburgh Avenue and Railroad Avenue. The Boulevards (left to right on the map) are West Boulevard, Molesburg Boulevard, City Boulevard and East Boulevard.

While the Boulevards and Avenues mark the outer edges of each ward, within the ward there are 3 N/S and 3 E/W smaller Streets, dividing each ward into 16 blocks. The same Streets stretch across the wards, with there being 9 going N/S and 9 going E/W across town. The N/S streets are numbered, from the left to right 1st street, 2nd street, etc., up to 9th street. The E/W streets are lettered, from top to bottom, A Street, B Street, etc., up to I Street. Most blocks have an Alley or two cutting across them, usually called an “Alley” or “Way”.

There are two major State Highways. The first is The Pittsburgh Pike, which extends from Pittsburgh Avenue to the Southwest, all the way to Pittsburgh. It takes about 2.5 hours to drive from Molesburg to Pittsburgh along the Pike. The second is the Johnstown Road, which extends from Johnstown Avenue to the East, all the way to Johnstown. It takes about 2.5 hours to drive to from Molesburg to Johnstown along the Road.

There are 3 nasty county roads: Finster Road (to the borough of Finsterville), Farm Road (to Finley Borough) and Locust Road (to Biggens Borough). If you really have to go to the boroughs, that's how you go. The roads eventually connect to the wider world to the North, South and Southeast.

Along the southern edge of the city lies the P&J Railroad, which extends from Pittsburgh, through Molesburg, to Johnstown. It has a passenger station in Ward 8, Downtown and a freight station in Ward 9, the Factory District. At train trip from Molesburg to either Pittsburgh or Johnstown takes 2 hours. A train ticket to either city is $2.

The Speedy Cab Company is headquartered in Ward 3. It runs cabs all across town. The cabs can be hailed along the street or found at cab stands near City Hall, the Courthouse, the 2 train stations and the bus station. The cabs all have dispatch radios and the dispatch office can be reached by telephone, the phone number being plastered at nearly every payphone and hotel in the city. A cab ride costs 10 cents for each ward you've been within during the trip (e.g. if you start in Ward 1 and go to Ward 2, it's 20 cents).

The City Streetcar Company is headquartered in Ward 6. It runs electric trolleys up and down the Avenues and Boulevards. Each ticket is 5 cents and you can stay on the car going up and back along the same Avenue or Boulevard until the driver's shift is over.

The Bus Station is in Ward 7. There are some local buses that run around the edge of the city and up and down City Avenue (5 cents), but also regular service to Pittsburgh or Johnstown at $1 which takes 3 hours.