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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Fred (Bruhn, not FWS III)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Your big chance - overpriced, especially since its
from a Canadian seller not known for his low starting bids. Last time I
saw a pair atr a show they went for US$175 within 2 minutes of
opening.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
href="http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1115067823">http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1115067823</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best regards,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>John Bromley</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:Fredbruhn@aol.com"
title=Fredbruhn@aol.com>Fredbruhn@aol.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
href="mailto:pittsburgh-railways@dementia.org"
title=pittsburgh-railways@dementia.org>pittsburgh-railways@dementia.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, February 25, 2001 1:31
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Trolley Freaks on eBay</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>Ed - <BR><BR>I have
bought a few over the past few years at $10 - $15 not on e bay. Also
<BR>from e bay for an average of $15. but in none of these purchases was I
<BR>helping PTM or any other preservation group. Knowing where the
revenue is <BR>going it would seem like <BR>$20. would be a fair price.
<BR><BR>I have participated in a lot of e bay auctions mostly with West Penn.
Some <BR>photos I can seem to win for little more than the asking price,
while others <BR>I either lose or bid my socks off to get. One recent
example was a shot of a <BR>passing siding near Youngstown on the Latrobe line
that ended up at about <BR>$55. It wasn't worth that to me. <BR><BR>One
other photo that I bid on was on the Brownsville line that was up early
<BR>last year. <BR>I have a real interest in the Brownsville line and this
shot was at New Salem <BR>behind <BR>the store where loading took place, with
a large gob pile behind the car and <BR>just an excellent shot. One
other person was bidding against me and we were <BR>at the 50 cent increase
level for 5 days, and when it hit $26 I got real <BR>interested. I e
mailed the chap in Richmond Va and he was from New Salem and <BR>believed it
was he as a child in the picture. I quit bidding right away and
<BR>appologized for running it up. It ended up we corresponded and he
sent me a <BR>quality xerox copy of the shot plus some notes on where it was
taken. While <BR>he was not a railfan, I sent him the PRMA West Penn
booklet for his trouble <BR>and he promises me he will take his children to
Arden on his next trip back <BR>to experience what a trolley is. <BR><BR>There
has been a few real eye opening stories on this group recently about e <BR>bay
bids. I have purchased back some books I sold years ago, and if patient
<BR>you can usually do OK, but it is hard to steal anything on e bay.
I have <BR>watched CERA 110 on West Penn sell for
$20 and for $120. Since I already <BR>have 2 copies I didn't feel
I needed any more and have passed, but most of <BR>the out of print dealers
are still asking $65 - 85 for that book. <BR><BR>Probably the most interesing
one is Joe Saitta's Traction Extra #2, The <BR>Presidents'
<BR>Car. He lists one copy a week, obviously from the stock he has left
(my copy <BR>is #83 from 1986). He always starts at $65 which rings a
bell that says we <BR>paid that it if was purchased new at that time.
But the bidding takes it up <BR>to $80 - 90 - 120 quickly and as soon as
a winner is declared up pops another <BR>copy. <BR><BR>Parkinson's book on
Pittsburgh I picked up on e bay for $8.00 and I was <BR>tickled pink.
<BR><BR>E bay takes a lot of time which can be better spent doing research on
<BR>Pittsburgh Railways or our other favorites. And I do have a question
for the <BR>group and a need. <BR><BR>Was the South Greensburg (Huff)
barn facing away from Greensburg towards <BR>Youngwood. i.e, as I look
at photos looking into the barn, am I also looking <BR>towards Greensburg so
that cars pulling in for storage would go past the <BR>barn, manually
<BR>set the switches, and pull into the appropriate track. Did the old
line to <BR>Youngwood stop after a few cars beyond the yard lead into Huff in
later years? <BR><BR>I am looking for Interurban Special 58 and 59, Mac Sabree
and Paul Ward's <BR>books on the Trolley Coach in North America. Any
leads will be most <BR>appreciated. <BR><BR>Since we include Wheeling in this
group, and it was a dinner discussion topic <BR>on our fall West Penn
Excursion (Ed, Fred, Fred III, Derrick), I got a long <BR>letter from Fred
<BR>Maloney of Boston and Seashore. I was under the misconception that
when they <BR>published a photo of the car all painted up about 25 years ago
that <BR>restoration was well under way. Not true at all. I'm not
sure exactly how <BR>they fund their projects, but obviously must carry their
own weight to get <BR>money. The car has had substantial <BR>roof work
done, a new headliner, some insulation on the sides, one ex Chicago <BR>4000
door motor restored for a rebuilt door, seats available but not rebuilt
<BR>from a 4000, a set of type 5 Boston trucks available but in need of much
<BR>work, end platform castings needed, the whole body scraped and repainted,
I <BR>presume all new windows. <BR>They are going to restore it as Wgh
Traction 639, which I think might have <BR>been dark red in color. When
Co-Op took over during the depression, they <BR>dropped the first digit on the
curved side cars and 639 became 39. I would <BR>guess that the car is 3
- 5 years from being done. They have salvaged some <BR>orig. wood, the
original wire window glass for the bottom panels of the <BR>doors, and not
much else. Whatever their philosophy on restoration which I <BR>read as
restore it as you got it, with the 39, there is so little left of the <BR>car
they decided it would be "ok" to take it back to the 639. <BR><BR>If we
exclude the CA&E cars from Cinn. are their any other of the curved
<BR>sided Cinn. builts left beside 832 at PTM and 39 at Seashore? I
don't think <BR>so. Fred, what is left of York and Lancaster, and were
they Cinn. built? </FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>