M454?

[Fred W. Schneider III]

You're right....  We've already got the next carbarn filled, and we
haven't even broken ground yet.  I'm really happy, Ken, that we don't
have anyone arguing over M-454's priority in the next building, after
reading 70+ e-mail messages in the last week on the subject of what goes
in the new building next year. 

Kenneth Josephson wrote:
> 
> Happy New Year,
> 
> I was told by fellow PTM members that after being used as a work motor (snow
> scraper?) and occasional fan trip car, the M-454 was used to store spare parts
> salvaged from the scrapped GE 1700s and other cars that weren't retained for the
> Early Action program.
> 
> The car sat for several years and the roof began to leak (as is often the case
> with neglected vintage trolleys.) By the time the car was available to PTM, the
> rot had reached the point where a decision had to be made. PTM already had a high
> floor car and since the M-454 had deteriorated to the point of being in much
> worse condition, the decision was made to use it for parts to restore its sister
> car.  I am willing to wager that if PTM did not already have a high floor car,
> efforts would have been made to retain the M-454 for future restoration.
> 
> As usual, I welcome comments and corrections to what I have written above. Ken J.
> 
> AProchek at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > Hey,
> > Someone kindly give me the history of this car - I have pictures of it in
> > WVD's book running around Pittsburgh on a fan trip in the '60s but in
> > reviewing an old trolley fair I see it was scrapped.  A real shame - probably
> > not too many high floor cars around; 3487 seems to have been near-permanently
> > sidelined and I don't what's going on with 4140