Feeder Brackets and Pittsburgh Articles

[Kenneth Josephson]

mrb190 wrote:

> I still see several of those brackets on the way up to Munhall on West Street
> in Homestead.   I think it might attract a lot of attention if I were to climb
> up the pole and try to pry one of those tough-guys off.   Imagine, most of
> those brackets have probably been there since the turn of the century!

I just weighed one of mine. Each half weighs forty pounds! So imagine being near a
substation where there were up to three pairs per pole, two to four feeders per
pair plus the weight of the span wires and the feeders themselves.

If you could  free those rusty bolts, you'd have to grab forty pounds of rusty
steel in each hand and hope no one is below you in case one of them slips...

BTW, I received the articles. Thanks. I wonder if the public indifference to the
East End lines closing was for real, or just anti-trolley bias on the part of the
press? That letter to the editor on how the PAT buses didn't do as well as the
streetcars they replaced during icy weather was interesting.

Of course, some people in Philadelphia stated they'd rather ride an air
conditioned bus than in a streetcar without air conditioning during August.

British Columbia Transit trolley coach operator Dale Laird stated that one time he
had to use a diesel coach in place of a trolley coach due to a construction
project. The diesel was quite a bit older than the trolleys he usually operated,
but at least one passenger stated it felt good to ride in a "modern" vehicle.

It seems to be entrenched in the public's minds that electric traction is old
fashion, internal combustion is modern.

Let's see, Frank Sprague brought it all together for practical electric transit
during 1887-88. Damilier produced a practical gasoline engine around the same
time. The diesel was made practical during the 1890s. If you count steam,
reciprocating engines date back close to two hundred years. But a 1970s GMC
Fishbowl is still more modern than a 1985 Siemens LRV. Makes perfect sense to me!
Ken J.