Carhouses, Dave's, Etc.

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Ed admits there are many people to blame ... but that will never change were
Arden to be around a thousand years from now.  There will always be differences
of opinion on what to save and what not to save.  Car M-11, nee 100, may have
been the first PCC to actually hit the streets in revenue service but it would
not really have been a good museum car.  It was an instruction car.  In order to
make it suitable for operation, the accelerator would have to be moved back
under floor, the floor would have needed to be replaced.  I imagine there were a
host of wiring changes in the tens and elevens as a result of problems with
100.  Certainly there were a pile of changes with the Brooklyn GE cars.  So you
would never really restore it to Day 1 condition.  And whatever work would be
done would not truly be cost effective considering that the public doesn't give
a rat's ass about the mechanical history of a car.  They are a lot like
railfans.  They're out there looking to restore memories.  A PCC is a PCC to
them.  The public is no different than a railfan wanting to preserve a car on
which he rode, and ignoring thousands of others perhaps even more eligible for
preservation on engineering or evolutionary standards.

If I had my druthers, and had I been there at the time with money, I would have
preserved one of the low 4200s with the single doors.  There may actually have
been some Jones control cars I could have kept at the end of the war.  And would
not a matched set of 5000s be great for train operation (Allegheny Power would
love me).  Oh, yes, a 4000 with a reconstructed steel trailer to go with it.
And most of you would like to see a West Penn 700 in the collection.  Coming
from Lancaster, one of the 1918 MU steel cars would be nice.  How bout a Hershey
semi-convertible or a Reading 800 or a Philly Nearside.

But let's get back to realism.  Some members ... Bob Brown, Harry Bartley, and
so forth, did have a willingness to save something.  What we have is a lot of
fun to work with.  The public enjoys it.  And that's what its all about, isn't
is....

Sorry for pontificating.

"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:

> Car 100 was scrapped by PRCo in 1967.  It was in bad condition, and in those
> days the definition of a restorable car was different from what it is today.
> The fan types in charge then were selecting them on the basis of paint
> condition, or whether or not they ran the car on a fantrip, or if it was the
> first car the ran, etc. ad nauseum.  There was plenty of "blame" to go
> around.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> [mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Kenneth and
> Tracie Josephson
> Sent: Sunday, July 02, 2000 3:40 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: Carhouses, Dave's, Etc.
>
> There are two more carhouse images at Dave's:
>
> http://davesrailpix.railfan.net/pitts/rhp.htm
>
> I found some images of M-283 being used in the process of scrapping some
> PCCs
> during the 1960's. I also found more shots of sweepers and other work cars
> on
> the dead line at SHJ. I probably won't be able to scan any of these for
> awhile. Our daughter joined her maternal grandparents for a two week trip to
> Rochester, New York. Now Tracie and I can go full bore at finishing the
> unpacking of stuff we boxed up before our recent remodelling project. Plus I
> am installing a new A/C system in my truck, wrapping up some eBay auctions
> (Ms. Hill's diesel bus shots are selling for more than her streetcar
> images!!!!) and getting ready for the Kenosha fantrip later this month.
>
> Other pix I hope to get posted on Dave's include the removal of rails on
> Route
> 87, a disabled car being towed by a line truck(!), street trackage repair,
> More SHJ images from various vantage points (how did she get into those
> areas
> the rest of us were chased out of?), some of my December 1979 shots
> (including
> what I believe was a ride with Herb- he wore a full uniform and blew two
> longs
> a short and a long at all the grade crossings on the Library line) and
> perhaps
> some Pittsburgh Official Guide pages from 1948.)
>
> Since Dave is literally up to his eyeballs in Pittsburgh PCCs, I will be
> sending him more Midwestern and museum stuff for now. I will continue to
> send
> him Pittsburgh work car images.
>
> I have a shot of a forlorn M-11 with broken windows. The photo is dated
> 1966.
> Did this car really survive that long? If so, who do I send my daughter to
> kick in the shins for allowing it to be scrapped? :-)
>
> Ken J.