PCC speed

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

	Do you have any pictures of this *young lady?*  What's her status today
- is she unattached and available?  From the spell she held over you,
she has probably discovered the fountain of youth and will eternally be
a knock-out!  I have been lost *head-over-heels* over some women, but I
absolutely, totally, 100% envy the experience you had with this
woman!!!!!!!!!!!!!

	As you mentioned, Ardmore inbound is all uphill.  I am sorry, but there
is absolutely  N-O  W-A-Y  that car was even doing 45 mph when it
crested the hill.

	Fred Schneider, on this list, has written a couple excellent books
about PCCs (*PCC - The Car That Fought Back* details construction,
mechanics, and electrical systems for the PCC and covers speed; *PCC
>From Coast to Coast* is a photo essay of PCCs in North America with some
photos from overseas.)  Please check the first book concerning operating
characteristics - the balancing speed for a PCC on the level is 42 mph
but it might take a couple miles to achieve that.  The electrical
control in those days did not compensate for loads uphill so the car
slowed down - 25-30 mph TOPS up a 6% grade.

	Russell Jackson, who provided the posts today about PCC speed, is
employed by Septa, I believe.  At any rate, he has extensive hands-on
experience in transit with three generations of vehicles - pre-PCC
equipment, PCCs, and modern LRVs.  Certainly the style and tone of his
letter reveal that he is writing from a well educated experience with
this equipment.

	Did you  e-v-e-r  ride PRCo streetcars?  Did you ever ride the Ardmore
line?  Are you aware of how the tracks swerved around the streetcar
islands on this center-of-the-highway prw on Ardmore Blvd?

	Bill Vigrass, who forwarded my comments about PCC speed to Russell
Jackson, is also on this list.  He is a native of Cleveland and in 1946
he went to Pittsburgh to ride PRCo and West Penn.  This ride was written
up in the Sept-Oct 1984 ERA *Headlights.*  I quote:::::::
	". . . our PCC car entered Ardmore Boulevard . . . We had heard about
this line, and anticipated a rapid transit type ride.  However, we were
disappointed.  The track was awful, and at each stop, the track jogged
to provide room for a safety zone for waiting passengers.  This outbound
car in the morning peak made few stops, but swung and swayed through
each of these jogs.  because of the poor track, the motorman often had
to slow down.  The ride was anything but comfortable."

	Ira Swett was in the Army at the same time and rode the Charleroi
interurban.  He published *Interurban Newsletters* (INL - which later
became Interurbans Press, a big publisher of Traction books and the
publisher of the two PCC books by Schneider.)  Swett said the same
thinhg about PRCo track - it was abysmal.

	I have always said that the worst track here in San Francisco was PRCo
absolute premium best track!  And PRCo was on its downhill slide at this
point - even in 1946.  While new equipment arrived in 1949, the war-time
patronage which prompted the order of these PCCs had already evaporated
when they were placed into service.  PRCo did nothing to upgrade the prw
on the system beyond routine maintenance.

	I am a native of Pgh.; PRCo is *my* system and there is nothing to
compare with it, but I have to face the facts - the track was terrible
at best and there is NO PCC in Pittsburgh that ever travelled over 50
mph - probably not even the 1700 series car that lost its brakes inbound
in the Mt. Washington tunnel some 10-20 years ago!

	Dave - if you remember this young lady's name, will you please email me
privately!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dave Rotthoff wrote:

> When I was a senior in Wilkinsburg High ['57-'58 school year],
> I had occasion to drive a young lady home
> very late one night from a play rehearsal. . . I was heading
> back inbound on the Ardmore. . . I caught up with the trolley past the west end 
> of Forest Hills . . . When we crested the hill leading down toward where
> the private right-of-way ended, that PCC was doing between 85 and 90 MPH. I
> had visions of it not being able to slow down to make the left turn leading in
> toward Swissvale Ave., but it did.

James B. Holland
------- -- ---------
        Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo), June of 1949 -- June of 1953
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