WP -- 204 -- 212

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Glad you gave me one more opportunity to jump right in.

After I wrote the first note, I was struck by the realization that the
whole story seems like the tale that would result when a railfan asks
top management why it was renumbered, and the manager, in a vain attempt
to field what he felt was a "stupid question," answers, "Guess we
scrapped the wrong car." 
A great way to bet someone out of your office and go on to more
important matters like how can we pay our operators, or which men do we
transfer to the power company and which do we keep.  

I guess we should jump in and remind people that the schedules came no
where near accounting for all the cars they ran on a daily basis. 

"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:
> 
> A couple points here...McKeesport was still running in 1936, so all the 280s
> were still in daily service in January 1936.  They fixed 2nd 212 because
> they needed it badly!
> 
> 1st 212 was repaired after that Dickerson Run incident.  It was done in on
> October 27, 1914 while on charter to a political rally group who, it seems,
> set off some of the fireworks a bit prematurely near Pennsville and burned
> the car up.
> 
> 204 was probably re-trucked straightaway upon its return to Connellsville,
> rather than regauged as we see it from the museum perspective.
> 
> But I never heard anything remotely official about scrapping the wrong car.
> West Penn didn't do that...they did, however, renumber cars on a whim to
> coincide with those listed on their insurance certificate!
> 
> Ed
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> [mailto:owner-pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org]On Behalf Of Fred W.
> Schneider III
> Sent: Thursday, February 22, 2001 11:18 AM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: Re: WP -- 204 -- 212
> 
> Huh?  Sounds like a railfan story to me.
> 
> The 212 at Uniontown in 1949 was second number 212.  Its wheels were
> paper thin.  Connellsville Shops contained one other one-man 200 type
> car ... air brake equipped 204.  Doesn't it make a lot more sense to
> believe that 212 was retired because it was much more cost effective to
> take a little orange and a little black paint and a stencil and renumber
> 204 to 3rd 212 than it would have been to replace eight wheels on 2nd
> 212?  Remember, that wood car was only being used as an extra car on
> Saturdays.  At the most, 3rd 212 might have run a dozen Saturdays until
> it too was retired.
> 
> Why did 2nd 212 last as long as it did?  Remember the 1936 accident?
> You don't.  Ah, too young to remember. 2nd 212 came down Main Street in
> Mount Pleasant riding on snow and ice and failed to make the turn into
> the main line at the foot of the hill.  It and the rails parted company
> and the car broadsided the hotel at the bottom of the hill. Now that was
> 1936.  All of the available 200s were still in service.  The 280s were
> out of service while West Penn futilely searched for a buyer (most were
> later retrucked with 27Es from scrapped low 200s).  Cars 701-706,
> 716-720 were also out of service (mostly out of service) because they
> were two-man cars.  West Penn needed all the wooden low 200s.  They were
> still running them on McKeesport-Trafford (2 cars), Greensburg-Irwin (4
> cars ... perhaps six with Oakford Park trippers in July and August), Mt
> Pleasant - Hunker (1 car), Greensburg-Youngwood extra cars (1 car),
> Leechburg-Apollo (4 cars) and Kittanning-Ford City (about 6 cars)plus
> requisite spares.  So 2nd 212 was rebuilt after the accident.  Of
> course, by 1939, there was no real need for the 200s and once the 280s
> went back in service, the 200s were retired.  All but 212 probably
> because it had new wheels, and the better part of a new body just three
> years earlier.  Car 204 had been at Leechburg and was the only car out
> on the line above flood waters in 1936 ... so it came back home to
> Connellsville and was regauged and ran in South Connerllsville local
> service along with the 610 series ex Derry cars until 294-295 were
> rebuilt.
> 
> What happened to 1st 212?  We have a very nice picture of it split wide
> open against a concrete pier at Dickerson Run before it was 20 years
> old.
> 
> What I find interesting is how many extra list men could handle 3rd 212
> during those last months.  Remember, it was the only straight air car
> that had been assigned to Uniontown since the 830s came off Fairchance
> about eight years earlier.  I know that the Phillips line was the last
> rural line to use the 830s but I think they worked out of
> Connellsville.
> 
> Any way, Jim, I don't believe the story.
> 
> Jim Holland wrote:
> >
> > Greetings!
> >
> > WP    --    204    --    212
> >
> >         "West Penn had two old cars (with wooden sides and railroad type
> roofs)
> > the 204 and 212.   Ordered to scrap 204, a slip was made resulting in
> > 212 being scrapped instead.   Undaunted, West Penn just renumbered the
> > 204 making it 212, so now 212 is gone--or is it?
> >
> > P.E.R.C.   *Trolley Fare*, Bulletin #1, First Quarter 1950.
> > [Actually,   11.06.1955}
> > =========================================
> >
> > James B. Holland
> >
> >         Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  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/