Low Floor Cars

[Fred Schneider]

1.  There were four motorized trailers not simply A-217 ... all were
originally built with a center door on one side only (all the trailers
A200-A424 were single ended).  The four experimental cars eventually had
single stream front exit doors added.

2.  Cars 4200-4399, 4700-4939 were built with single stream front exit
doors.  Most if not all of the single end cars were rebuilt with double
stream front doors.  Most of the 4250-4349 were scrapped without any
door changes as were some of the early 4200s.

3.  Get with it Jim.  Cars 4000-4079 and 4100-4149 were not (REPEAT NOT)
low-floor cars.  Trying climbing into one of them with arthritic knees
and you'll understand how high they are.  The reason Jones converted
four trailers experimentally was his knowledge that the low-foor
trailers could be loaded and doors closed while people would still be
stumbling up the stairs into the 4000 series towing motor cars.  

4.  Only the trailers had 22" wheels.  The Westinghouse 514 motor (and
the comparable GE machine) could not be reduced sufficiently to fit with
wheels that small.  The motor cars had ... if memory serves ... 25 inch
wheels which might wear to 23 inches.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Jim Holland [mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net]
Sent: Monday, November 29, 1999 1:23 AM
To: PRCo -- WP -- JTC -- The Big *3*
Subject: Low Floor Cars


Greetings!

	I have an article from Traction Heritage #38 Vol 7 #2 an article
entitled "The Pittsburgh Low-Floor Car" (don't know where this was
originally published but it was apparently published in 1912.)

	What really caught my attention was the fact that the cars had
center
only doors!  These cars were originally built as trailers with 22"
wheels and there was a desire to motorize them.  The industry was
extremely skeptical about making such a small motor but under the
direction of "F. R. Phillips, superintendent of equipment, and
P. N. Jones, general superintendent . . ." the motor was developed and
placed on a truck having 24" wheels.
	This car, with only center doors, was used as the lead car of a
two-car
train!  While the motors were only 30 horsepower each, it was able to do
its job.  Apparently this experimental car was numbered *A217* and
weighed in at 33,750 pounds with couplers and everything!
	From information gleaned from Tom's articles published in
*Modern
Tramway* and jointly reprinted by *Light Railway Transport League* and
*PRMA* the trailer cars had letter prefixes A or B or C which denoted
various fittings - trolley poles, two motors, etc.  Some trailer-only
equipment had two motors and could be operated around the shops but
could not be used as a lead car in a train.  But some, like A217, were
capable of being the lead car.

	While this experiment was performed on A217 in 1912, the
trailers were
mostly ordered 1910-1917.  The first *real motorized* low-floor cars
were 4000-4149 built 1909-1911 with a total of 200 hp. to be used to
pull the trailers.  All the rest of the regular low floor cars were 150
hp total unless they were upgraded lafter delivery.

	Was the center door only design something that was limited to
only the
trailers or did some regular motor cars have it as well.

	Some of the regular low-floor cars came with a single front door
and
double center doors while others had the standard double front and
double center doors.  Did any of the single-front door cars get
converted to double front door?

	According to this article, the body style for A217 was patented
by P.
N. Jones.

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