Pittsburgh High Floor Cars

[Fred Schneider]

To whom is your reply addressed?  Those remarks in the PCC book probably
came from a conversation I had with Dick Boker back in the late 1970s or
early 1980s.  Note that, for the most part, the low-speed cars were
concentrated in Manchester carbarn ... I have adequate photo evidence to
document those route assignments.  The number 148 may be the actual
count of low-floor cars remaining on the property at that time, which
included either 99 or 100 of the 5100s (5149 was, at some time in the
early 1940s, rebuilt as a high speed car using hardware from a wrecked
car.).  Perhaps half of the 4700 were never rebuilt as HS cars.  I'm
writing from memory here.  

-----Original Message-----
From: HRBran99 at aol.com [mailto:HRBran99 at aol.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 23, 1999 2:02 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: Re: Pittsburgh High Floor Cars


In a message dated 11/23/1999 9:48:08 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
fschneider at dli.state.pa.us writes:

<< The delivery of PCC 100 in 1936, 1000-1099 in 1937, and 1100-1199 by
 1938 were more than adequate to replace not only all of the high floor
 cars but some low-floor cars as well. >>

"As the nation's involvement in W.W.II continued, PRC faced both spare
parts 
procurement problems and insufficient modern cars for all routes. To
rectify 
this situation, most barns had cars from three or fewer series, e.g., 
Millvale eventually housed only 1100s and 1600s with GE apparatus and
Herron 
Hill had only Westinghouse 1400s. The car shortage resulted in the 
restoration to base service of many of the 148 low-speed, single end
cars, 
which had been idle since 1938. Routes 1, 4, 7, 50, and 96 lost their
PCCs 
about 1943, while Route 87 had a mixture of anything on wheels. Low
speeds 
also returned as trippers on routes 6, 8, 18, 19, 20, and 47."

The above is quoted from PCC From Coast to Coast (Pgh Section, Pg. 165).

Could the 148 low speed, single end cars mentioned be the ones you
mentioned 
in your post?

Herb Brannon