Westinghouse PCCs on Route 21

[Robert E. Rathke]

This subject of PCCs on 21 Fineview became too interesting, so I made a
complete review of photos I took on Fineview in the months the trolleys
operated out of Tunnel Car House from 9/5/65 to 4/30/66 (or very early in
the morning of 5/1/66, to be precise).

Here are the cars I photographed (dozens of times for some) in that
period: 1637, 1676, 1678, 1681, 1683, 1684, 1686, 1687, 1689, 1690, 1693,
1695, 1696 and 1697.

1637 ran on Fineview on Easter weekend, 1966.  I rode it and took
interior and exterior
         night photos.
1678 was on Fineview a lot in April, 1966, and it was the last car on the
line on 4/30/66.
         The second-last photo I took of this car was around Midnight on
4/30/66 - it shows 
         John Dameron at the front door directing passengers off the car!
 My last photo of          1678 was at 12:10 AM at 9th and Liberty as the
car (with a Car House sign) 
         headed back to Tunnel.  Then we all ran down the street to catch
the last 6/14 
         trolley (PCC 1799) to Avalon.
1697 ran on Fineview a LOT in the first four months of 1966.  It was the
second-last car 
         on the line on 4/30/66.

Bob 10/3

On Sat, 02 Oct 1999 21:59:24 +0000 Kenneth and Tracie Josephson
<kjosephson at sprintmail.com> writes:
>> > I recently reviewed my route 21 photos, and don't recall having a 
>single
>> > photo of a 1700 series car on Fineview.  Years ago I remember 
>reading
>> > that trolleys used on Fineview had special gearing.  True?
>> 
>> I read that, too. It was in Harold A. Smith's book. But since the 
>cars
>> of the 1776-1799 group had similar controls for hilly operation 
>(though perhaps not the special
>> gearing) and were used on Route 8, I "supposed" (as in speculated) 
>that
>> a GE 1700 could have been used on Route 21. But 1502?!? Unless there 
>was
>> something special about that particular car (modifications), I can't
>> imagine why it was "up there" on Route 21. But I have a half dozen 
>shots
>> from the early '60's showing it on Route 21. Go figure. :-) Ken J.
>
>>From CuZin Bruce:
>
>The GE cars were preferred because Keating carhouse was 98% GE and the
>21 ran out of
>Keating.  The photos you have of 1502 I would bet is from a 1964 PRMA
>(now PTM) fantrip.
>I have recently seen pictures of 1641 running on 21 but this was after
>Keating closed and
>it was running out of Tunnel.  Tunnel did keep 1678 and 1697 running
>until the line quit
>April 30, 1966 and they were the cars run on the last day.
>
>The feature of Fineview cars that made them special was a gang switch 
>to
>turn on
>the rail brakes to hold the car on the hill if needed.  The WABCo car
>1467 (at PA Trolley
>Museum has such a switch.  Fineview cars also carried a coal bucket 
>full
>of extra sand
>under the motorman's seat.
>
>Legend has it that all electric cars were not used as a rule because 
>the
>shaft brakes were
>spring applied and electrically released and didn't have holding power
>on hills if
>slightly out of adjustment.   We rolled back a lot at photo stops on
>Arlington Avenue on
>the last day of the 48 (1968) when we decided that we should use a GE
>1700 (1780) and the
>shaft brakes didn't want to hold.
>
>CuZ

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