[PRCo] Trolley Pole Dewirements

[Jim Holland]

Rich Wagner of  *Wagner Car Company*  and  *Trolley Talk*  always said
that the flanged wheel and trolley pole//harp are the symbols of the
traction community.

	I was always fascinated with both as well and the symmetry of the
overhead and the way the trolleypole tracked always fascinated me! 
Dewirements were a fascination as well but seemed very few and far
between!

	Don't remember any dewirements on Drake except possibly outbound thru
the turnout at Wash. Jct once.  Drake used directional frogs at the
sidings.  And only one dewirement on Library inbound leaving Simmons
loop.

	And NO dewirements between Wash. Jct and Castle Shannon as well as NO
dewirements on the single track gauntlet wire on Overbrook.

	Remember one dewirement inbound near Poplar with an operator in
training.  Also one inbound near Overbrook Blvd. or Inglewood inbound,
South Park special with mostly *foreign* riders coming home from the
Fair who only rode the interurban on this occasion.  It was at night and
Walther was operating the car; people got dead quiet when the lights
went out.  One other time in the daytime Walther was operating about the
same location and we had a dewirement; John Swindler took a movie of me
replacing the pole!

	And I only remember 2-dewirements outbound on Overbrook, both the same
day, both the same trip, and obviously the same car - 1710.  Pole spring
might have been weak and trolley retriever was bad as Charlie (who
else?!(:=>))  had a terrible time resetting it!  The pole dewired
crossing the Elwyn trestle at just average speed - we had taken it much
faster before - and we coasted to the grade crossing at Cretestone to
replace the pole.  Then as we crossed CS Blvd into Castle Shannon the
pole came off again.

	Don't remember any dewirements at SHJ - absolutely amazing considering
the web of overhead.  Charlie dewired once entering a yard track, but
that is it!

	Never saw nor experienced any dewirements at Smithfield and Carson but
the interurban inbound turning from the bridge onto the ramp was going
thru a spiral easement which is a tricky location for the pole to follow
correctly and remember a dewirement or two here.  NEVER  saw a
dewirement from Grant to Liberty nor Liberty to Wood nor Wood to Water
and the cars used to whip thru the latter turn!

	Those are the only dewirements I remember on the interurbans and I was
on them as often or more than my hometown 42-Dormont!

	And on my hometown line, dewirements were extremely few.  If the spring
switch failed and a car backed out of the 42-line wye the wrong way the
pole would dewire.  Also, outbound, the frog leading into the wye saw
tremendous use and the runners wore to that direction and sometimes
caused the owl going straight thru to MtLebanon at 1.25-AM to dewire -
the flashing could be seen from my window!
	Outbound between Hillsdale and Alabama was a gentle banked curve to the
left.  At one point the banking leveled out and the wire was out of
alignment so it caused a sharp angle in the overhead and would sometimes
throw poles.  The line car was out one day and I mentioned where I saw
the pole dewire; they then tapped that hanger toward the inside of the
curve to remove the angle and it was fine after that.
	And outbound where the 42 split from the 38//39 was a shallow angle
turnout where my father and I experienced a dewirement on 1454 coming
home from a baseball game.  Remember the number because it was the
number of the house across the street from ours!
	And inbound thru the yard once, possibly on the 38-line, a hanger was
broken with the ear perpendicular to and below the contact wire which
caused us to dewire.  Isadore Reichert didn't believe me but when we
were heading outbound an inbound 39-line car hit that at tremendous
speed and went about 5-6 car lengths before getting his car stopped. 
Izzy saw the hanger then and called it in!
	Saw a dewirement at Clearview loop - wire seemed higher here and this
might have contributed and we dewired outbound once on a city 17 with
mushy springs at the 38//39 junction.
	Never experienced a dewirement downtown on the 38//39//42 lines -
Never!

	There was a trailing turnout from Stanwix at Fort Duquesne (connection
from the West End lines) and only 1000--series cars would dewire thru
this frog - no others!  Watched it for several hours!
	And inbound on Federal passing thru the underpass of the RR on a
17-city car the pole dewired 3-times - probably a badly worn wheel with
a groove which could snag the wire!
	Saw an 88-line dewire outbound on Liberty thru the first turn after
Butler - too fast around the turn!

	Don't remember any dewirements on 56-McKeesport, very popular
Sunday--pass ride; none on 87, don't remember any in East Liberty near
where grandparents lived!  And off-hand, don't remember any others.

	Quite amazing for the amount of riding I did there!

-- 
James B. Holland

        Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
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