PCC Front Windows -- Ends

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

	Because of my mail problems yesterday, I did not receive the 
following - don't know if you did.  BUT  it is updated with more 
information:

raymond at nauticom.net wrote:

> Also when did PRCo begin to paint around the front windshields black?

        The front windows on PRCo air cars are mounted in stainless steel
or aluminum frames.  This gives a brighter look to the front end.  But
even the 14s and 15s with the 24 degree layback *Butterfly Windows* the
area around the front windows was painted dark - black!
        With the sealed windows on the 17s which were mounted in rubber, 
the front windows were glazed in the same way (the Baby Ten series in San 
Francisco arrived with stainless steel on the front windows - as possible 
on other systems - but SF eventually mounted them in rubber.)
        Scholes photos PGH-1162 & PGH-1163 are in the yard at SHJ about
1960 showing several cars, one of them 1705 after painted in the
*Half-n'-a-Half-n-a* paint scheme and the front window area is clearly
black.
        Car 1740 in the same photo is still in the original paint scheme
with dash lights and wings and the right side of the front windows is
clearly fading to cream with the center post completely faded.
        The belt rail on all PRCo PCC cars was cream until the advent of
the *Half-n'-a-Half-n-a* paint scheme.  (The belt rail is easily 
identified on *most* PCC cars - it is several inches wide with trim 
molding on its upper and lower edges.  It also runs around the middle of 
the car where the greatest *bulge* is - the PCC car tapers inward above 
and below this point!)  With the advent of the *Half-n'-a-Half-n-a* paint 
scheme, then the belt rail and everything below it was red - everything 
above cream.
	But on the front windows of the 17s there was a small amount of 
framing for the windows above the belt rail and this part is cream (for 
cars painted in the *Half-n'-a-Half-n-a* paint scheme) as well as the 
inverted "V" formation at the bottom of the windows which was also cream. 
 But the center post and the rest of the front window area is clearly 
black!
        Another interesting point is that both molding lines - on top and
below the belt rail - got chernak green or black paint on cars with the
*Half-n'-a-Half-n-a* paint scheme whereas only the lower molding at the
belt rail was dark before.

	Ray also found an exception to the above: on the inside back 
cover of *Pittsburgh Trolley Pictorial* published by PTM is a photo of 
The 1700 as delivered at Millvale.  The center post in the front window 
is cream.  Additionally, the area below the window and above the molding 
on the top edge of the belt rail (about one inch) is also cream.  On all 
other 1700s delivered, this area between the belt rail and bottom edge of 
the front windows and the center post was black.

	Also, Scholes Photo PGH-0235 shows 1763 on a flat car being 
delivered; the front end of 1765 is clearly visible behind it - both of 
these cars are painted black around the front windows including the 
center post and one-inch area between the bottom of the front windows and 
the top molding of the belt rail.

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