Great tidbits!

[Jim Holland]

Greetings!

Fred W. Schneider III wrote:

> Pittsburgh Railways did not push
> cars if they could avoid it.  If a car had to be taken long distances, it was
> pulled. . . I'm sure Holland will remind us that
> Muni used one of the Iron Monsters as a tow car in the days when he was a
> motorman.

	This is certainly true - if it was a planned tow.  But when it breaks
down on the road you do the best you can.  Remember, it takes time to
get the official tow car to the scene and it has to be able to maneuver
to get behind (not likely since other trolleycars will pile up behind
first) or in front.  We didn't examine all the possibilities for any
particular tow job but if it is possible to get the BO car into a short
turn area not generally used then it is possible to wait for the tow
car.
	Here on Muni if a car broke down the next car along got it out of the
way which usually meant pushing it to 11th/Market which was used as a
turn around.  Here the BO car could be jockeyed to get a car in front. 
Don't ever remember them sending out an official tow car to pull it in -
one of the pull-in PCCs would get that job.  But if it is outbound of
11th/Market, then usually the car got pushed all the way to the barn.
	Even lrvs are pushed but since they are double ended they can take the
first available xover to change directions which puts the pusher in
front of the pushee!!!

> "Dietrich, Robert J." wrote:

> > It was one of those
> > "nod-nod-, wink-wink, " statements.

> >  -----Original Message-----
> > From:   mrb190 [mailto:mrb190+ at pitt.edu]
> > Sent:   Tuesday, May 09, 2000 9:41 AM
> > To:     pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > Subject:        Re: Great tidbits!

> > SUPER ILLUSTRATION of this topic!  Doesn't get any better!
> > What a task, though, to shove a car over like that?  Are you serious?
> > Wow.  I didn't know it was possible.  (or is this one of those
> > "nod-nod-, wink-wink, know what I mean?" statements?)\

> > I guess I envisioned a motorized repair truck coming out with crossover
> > tracks and the car was then pushed & pulled over to the other track.

> > Matt

> > Dietrich, Robert J. wrote:

> > > Then again sometimes they would just shove the broken car over to the
> > > inbound track just as an inbound car was passing :).
> > > http://www.voicenet.com/~dietrich/SHJ/outback.htm  I'll bet doing that
> > > gouged out the street making it rough for those buses.

> > > Bob

> > >  -----Original Message-----
> > > From:   Jim Holland [mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net]
> > > Sent:   Tuesday, May 09, 2000 6:38 AM
> > > To:     pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> > > Subject:        Re: Great tidbits!

> > > Greetings!

> > > mrb190 wrote:

> > > > . . . OR tell me folks, was it a common thing to
> > > > have a car coming up behind to push a disabled car to a car house?
> > > > Maybe that
> > > > was the most efficient way to correct such a situation?

> > > Jim Holland wrote:

> > >         Yes - that was / is extremely common.  Rarely anything in front of a
> > > broken down car to pull so the one coming up behind has to push.  If
> > > there is ever a possibility of turning another car to come in front of
> > > the broken down car, that can be done and has been done.  Either way it
> > > is a strain, esp on hills.

James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1940  --  1950
    To e-mail privately, please click here: mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.mcs.net:80/~weyand/nmra/