Johnstown PCC Scans & a Pittsburgh Fantasy

[Charles Brown]

Thanks, Jim, for reminding me of a question that I forgot to post in
regards to the rails on the Overbrook line.  In one or more of the video
segments that you sent me it showed some sections with 4 rails where
there wouldn't be any need for guard rails nor were they the right
spacing for such.  The narrated segment (with the "noisy PCC's")
mentioned that they were the original rails of the narrow-gauge railway
(was it always steam or had they converted it to electric?) and I wanted
to confirm that with you.  It seemed like they used awfully wide ties
for the narrow-gauge railway for them to simply lay your bizarre wide
gauge tracks alongside of them.  

As for getting some narrow-gauge cars to run on them, there are still
some LA P-1 PCC's around in Egypt, plus a couple of the wide ones (P-3)
in Chile I think.  Not to mention a couple still floating around (3101
in Colorado Springs and 3087 somewhere in the California desert).  Not
to mention a couple of "H" class cars around.  Not to mention..., well,
this is getting w-a-y off topic.

Don mentioned the fact that Cincinnati used the Pennsy wide gauge on
their system.  Cincinnati was a bit weird anyway.  They didn't know how
many wires to stick overhead and while they got the correct number of
trolley poles on the cars (2), they stuck them both at one end!  Did any
other system use the wide gauge (5'2") outside of Pennsylvania?  And
thanks, Jim (and Ed), for answering my question about the origins of it.
Now if you guys could only explain where the heck Baltimore got their
gauge from... (I know, it's off topic, plus I have the books on
Baltimore but it would mean getting off of the couch to get them and
then looking thru them for the answer, ah, too much work).

BTW, I'll be out of town next week so no fair talking about anything
interesting until I get back.  

Charlie

Charlesebrown at webtv.net