Trolley Pole Wheels

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

	Ohio Brass offered trolley pole wheels with three different groove
formations:

	1)--U-groove with 7/16" radius.
	2)--A.T.A. groove with 3/8" radius.
	3)--V-groove with a 5/16" radius at the bottom of the V.

	This is not trivia - I am actually searching for an answer - which did
PRCo use?

	Other interesting info quoting from Ohio Brass Catalog #25:::::::

	"While the Form-6 Trolley Wheel and Harp is designed primarily for high
speed city service, it is being used successfully on all types of city
cars.  Basically this wheel differs from former O-B wheels only in the
fact that the size of the axle has been reduced from 1-5/8 to 1-1/4
inches."

	"This smaller axle makes possible increased mileage with much less wear
on axle and bore of wheel.  Due to the fact that there is a definite
relationship between the diameter of the axle and the diameter of the
wheel which is particularly effective at high speeds, the wheel size for
all types of service is limited to 5-3/4 inches."

	". . . The fact that it is unnecessary to oil this wheel after it has
once been installed accounts for much of its present popularity.  As
illustrated in Figure 2, the axle is constructed so that lubrication is
accomplished by three force-feed graphite plugs.  The axle is hardened
and ground to insure minimum friction and long service life."

	". . . So that this device will have ample current carrying capacity it
is provided with two side current collecting contact washers which are
held in constant contact with the hub of the wheel by phosphor bronze
springs, see Figure 1.  This provides a direct and excellent current
path from wheel to harp."

	". . . Trolley wheels are cast from high-grade bronze developed for
this particular service and made only from new metal."

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