[PRCo] Re: [Fwd: Pittsburgh's Pre-PCC Interurbans]

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Lets amplify Jim's comments a bit.  Number one, they did know that the
end was in sight.  The management may have been hardheaded at times but
fools they weren't.  They had at least one earlier experience with an
oversize service car, and it lasted about four years. 

1.  The city cars measured no longer than 46'-5 3/8".  The low floor
cars were 45 feet long.  The traffic paint car sprayed clearance lines
on the streets for cars of that length, not 53-foot former interurban
cars.  Therefore, if you didn't wish to be forever fighting the problem
of automobiles parked to close at curves, the only practical use for
these cars would be on the same routes they came from.  

2.  The only common uses for a closed bodied work car would be a) a sand
car, b) a tow car, c) a rail grinder, d) a pay car, e) a traffic paint
car, and f) a line car.  By 1950, all the active cars had sand hoppers
on them so there was no longer need to run around when the leaves are
falling, like New Orleans still does, and dump sand everywhere.   The
high-floor, low-speed gutsy beasts of burden made much better tow cars
(and they had one of those and only needed one, and, as we later saw,
there were really extra snow scrapers that could be converted to tow
cars).  Rail grinders? They had just built two of them that were
featherweight and could be delivered by truck to any point on the system
(R55 and R59).  All the older grinders were scrapped.  They were paying
by check by this time and didn't need a pay car.  For a traffic paint
car, one needs a shorter car that matches the typical city car; again
there was a huge surplus of city low-floor cars.  And finally, a line
car ... Pittsburgh was using trucks much earlier than many systems and
only needed line cars to work private rights-of-way.  M210 and M212
based at Tunnel were adequate for the north end of the interurbans and
the city lines.  They also had a former 3400 as a line car and emergency
car at Charleroi and another one at Tylerdale.  There would have been no
need for another, especially in view of declining traffic.

3.  They did convert a 3600 to a utility car, and based it at Castle
Shannon, but it was scrapped about 1932 ... something like four years
after 3800s replaced them in passenger service.  Perhaps there were
still enough people around in 1950 who could veto trying to convert
another long car to work status.  

4.  Oh, yes the F6 to F9 that were still around in work service?  They
were converted to snow scrapers.  How often do we have a snow deep
enough that it needs to be scraped off open track?  Snow scrapers and
sweepers, if kept under roof, don't wear out because they are seldom
used more than a few days a year up north and, in warmer climes like
Baltimore, they may go five years or more between jobs. They had one big
storm in November 1950.  We all remember it because they were so
infrequent.  In the 12 or so years that I've been involved at Arden, I
think there was a need to run the sweepers about twice.  Ed can correct
me on that issue.   

Jim Holland wrote:
> 
> Greetings!!
> 
>         Very interesting thought, Ken!!
> 
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