[From nobody Mon Jan 14 08:17:41 2013 Received: from mta3.snfc21.pbi.net (mta3.snfc21.pbi.net [206.13.28.141]) by mail-sf1.pacbell.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA01315 for <pghpcc@chumash.snfc21.pbi.net>; Tue, 27 Jul 1999 14:53:48 -0700 (PDT) Received: from osage.gate.net (osage.gate.net [198.206.134.25]) by mta3.snfc21.pbi.net (8.9.3/8.9.3) with ESMTP id OAA13412 for <pghpcc@pacbell.net>; Tue, 27 Jul 1999 14:53:42 -0700 (PDT) Received: from bill (tsmia2-271.gate.net [207.36.184.17]) by osage.gate.net (8.8.6/8.6.12) with SMTP id RAA127488; Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:52:34 -0400 Message-ID: <00a701bed879$18c8ae40$11b824cf@bill> Reply-To: "Bill Volkmer" <herzog@icanect.net> From: "Bill Volkmer" <herzog1@gate.net> To: "list trolley" <trolley@railspot.com> Cc: "Alan Fishel" <afishel@interurbans.com>, "Ashok Joshi" <ajoshi43@aol.com>, "Bruce Elfreth" <BElfreth@aol.com>, "David Mewhinney" <captvdeo@prairienet.com>, "Donald R. Ross" <don0731@gte.net>, "Frank Dibugnara" <A0944@trhwy.dot.state.az.us>, "Frank Tatnall" <nrhs@compuserve.com>, "Frederick D. Cheney, Jr." <alcoiowa@aol.com>, "J. Andrew Sack" <drew.sack@worldnet.att.net>, "James B. Holland" <pghpcc@pacbell.net>, "Joseph P. Saitta" <MegaCalndr@aol.com>, "Justin Oates" <Tr324@aol.com>, "Karl F. Groh" <Webster1214@webtv.net>, "Kenneth L Douglas" <kdoug@earthlink.net>, "Matthew R. Barry" <mrb190@pop.pitt.edu>, "Peter Carsten. Weiglin" <omnibus@datatamers.com>, "Philip Tripician" <trip7687@gate.net>, "Robert P. Townley" <townley@mlode.com> Subject: Fw: Pennsylvania Trolleys Vol 111 by Bill Volkmer Date: Tue, 27 Jul 1999 17:43:32 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 4.72.3110.5 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 X-UIDL: 5dcc86ff4ceccf4781cf45a9cb5ed0b7 X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 I received this interesting critique of my new book from the person probably most responsible for saving the PCC cars in Pittsburgh. I would like to share it with the list if I may. Enjoy. Bill -----Original Message----- From: Harold Geissenheimer <transitmgr@worldnet.att.net> To: herzog1@gate.net <herzog1@gate.net>; twg@pulsenet.com <twg@pulsenet.com>; arthuls@nauticom.net <arthuls@nauticom.net>; chuckb@vh.net <chuckb@vh.net>; webster1214@webtv.net <webster1214@webtv.net>; wilkins@intrepid.net <wilkins@intrepid.net>; sbecker@pa-trolley.org <sbecker@pa-trolley.org>; transitmgr@worldnet.att.net <transitmgr@worldnet.att.net> Date: Monday, July 26, 1999 8:03 PM Subject: Pennsylvania Trolleys Vol 111 by Bill Volkmer >To Bill Volkmer > >Also Ed Lybarger, Art Ellis, Chuck Benjamin, Karl Groh,Van Wilkins, >Scott Becker > >Congratulations on Vol 111 covering West Penn, Johnstown and >Pittsburgh. An excellent publication. > >Some additional background: > >Edward S Miller photo of bus and car 294 at Connellsville (8/9/52). The bus was part of a full circle of transit history. To start, the West Penn 800 series cars were used on the Allegheny Valley Division house at Tarentum. Upon abandonment there, they were sent to Connellsville. Car 832 served almost to the end there. When the West Penn motorized the first lines in the early 1950's, they purchased a group of old look GMC model TDH3612 buses painted orange with a green stripe. When the West Penn and parent Potomac Edison decided to go out of transportation, they sold some of these buses to David Brown, formerly of Blue Ridge Lines, who was establishing Community Transit Service on the former Blue Ridge Pittsburgh, Bridgeville, Hickory line. Ten years later, when Community acquired the former Harmony Short Line routes in the Allegheny Valley, several of these buses were transferred to Tarentum and garaged in the old West Penn car barn used by Harmony and then Community. Thus they returned to the same depot that once housed car 832, going full circle! >In turn, this building became a Port Authority Garage. The location was my office from 1961 to 64 when I was Community's manager. > >My first visit to West Penn and Pittsburgh was an ERA/Joint Railfan >weekend in 1947 arranged by Charles Dengler. I rode an American >Buslines overnight bus from New York to Highway route 30 in Irwin and walked into town. Then rode the fantrip over the West Penn, ending with a Monongahela RR train ride to the Pittsburgh Railways Charleroi interurban into Pittsburgh. Quite a trip. > >I moved to Pittsburgh on Lincoln's Birthday in 1950 to work at Montour Motor Coach. I joined the Harmony Short Line in 195l, Community Transit in 196l, and the Port Authority in 1964. I went to the Chicago Transit Authority in March 1976. I first lived in Dormont midway between the 38 and 42 lines! > >Ken Douglas' photo of rebuilt car 1784 (nee 1603). There were two PCC cars given an LRV type front end. There was also a new look bus given large signs and other improvements. Ken Hussong was my Maintenance Manager at PAT and was active in the entire PCC rehab program. A newly hired graduate of Carnegie Mellon took over the rebuilding of the PCC cars including the ones with LRV fronts and the cars completly rebuilt. His name was Phil Castellana and he is now President of Lea+Elliott consultants. All this work was done at South Hills. > >Ken Douglas' photo of PCC 1734. The "white band" color style was developed by the firm of Peter Muller Monk (Wilber Smith Associates). Originally there were three base colors, orange, yellow and red. The Spirit of 1776 was the first car to combine colors (red, white and blue) Others followed and the concept was applied to 70 new buses in 1975. Green and white was sold to the Parkvale Savings and Loan for both buses and rail cars. The Jolly Trolley responded to some reference torail fans as trolley Jolleys. > >Car 1794 (riverboat) was done after I left as were some other >advertising designs such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and the US Army. The Pitsburgh Railways Co. always had special paint jobs on the 22 Crosstown. I believe that Charles Dengler photographed all of these. > >Car 1730 (mod trolley) photo by Bill Volkmer. This sunburst grew out of a crayon drawing by a child of one of the Peter Muller Monk designers. Close examination of photos of car 1730 will show that the car was repainted several times, with and without the word trolley. The problem was the pastel paints which faded badly. (Editor's Note: Peter Muller Monk was the same firm that designed the Boston and Muni Boeing LRV cars). >One unusual event was a wedding held on the 42-38 line in 1975. The judge was Silvestri Silvestri who many years later ruled on a PAT labor case. > >Credit should be given to John Mauro, PAT Executive Director in the early 1970's who supported my rehab and repainting of the PCC cars. The previous Executive Director, John Dameron from St Louis, accepted the drab gray and white paint with a red stripe as on car 1605's photo by Bill Volkmer. As I stated above, Ken Hussong, a bus maintenance man from Intercity Lines in New Jersey, really carried out this program for many years. Ken worked until he was about 70 and retired from SEPTA as Manager of their Wyoming shops. He lives in Plano, Texas. > >All in all, the book is an interesting review of traction history. Keep >up the good work. > > Harold H. Geissenheimer > Apt 1-I, 7 Hamilton Road > Morristown NJ 07960 > 973 292 2916 > Email: >transitmgr@worldnet.att.net > > > > ]