Car Life

[Bob Rathke]

Since Ken asked for my reaction :-) ...

The 757 is better than the DC-3 in that it carries more passengers and flies higher,
faster and longer distances.  The DC3, however, operates out of small airports, can be
fixed with a hammer and screwdriver, and has long been paid for.  The 757 is built to
current standards, and  as much as we may like the DC3, no one would realistically
suggest modifying a 1930's aircraft to meet year 2000 standards.  They both have a
place.

I kind of like the 757, mainly because it reminds me of one of my early jet favorites,
the DC8.  The most comfortable 757s can be found on American Airlines where the seats
have a generous pitch.

Thanks for asking, Ken!

Bob 12/27

---------------------------

Kenneth Josephson wrote:

> Derrick J Brashear wrote:
>
> > But, just because it had longevity, don't assume it was necessarily "better" than
> > today.
>
> True. You may have noticed several prominent coach manufacturers were left out of
> my little rant. A Boeing 757 is certainly "better" than a DC-3 though the latter is
> well known for its longevity. (This last statement is guaranteed to get a reaction
> from Bob Rathke or Ed Lybarger.) Anything can be made to last for decades if one
> throws enough money at it. But Marmon, Brill and postwar Pullman trolley coaches
> were noted for their longevity as well as providing generally trouble free service
> for over three decades when given the chance. While our favorite traction system is
> well known for being a predominently Westinghouse equipped system, most long term
> trolley coach operators seemed to prefer GE equipped trolley coaches over
> Westinghouse equipped units when all other things were equal. There were several
> notable cases where the Westinghouse equipped half of a GE/Westinghouse split order
> of identical trolley coaches were retired or sold off  before the GE units.
>
> My point is that a guaranteed subsidy to a fat and sassy public agency will not
> inspire the same call for longevity and serviceability that the private transit
> industry and its suppliers needed when the PCC concept was born.
>
> I heard a rumor that people living between Mattapan and Ashmont were more worried
> about the possibility of receiving hand-me-down Boeings from the Green line than
> losing their PCCs to bustitution or a Red Line heavy rail extension. Ken J.