History and Design

[Kenneth Josephson]

"Fred W. Schneider III" wrote:

> I think my wife wonders what I was laughing about.  Do Barber cars
> attract tornados?  What a scream.  Do tornados scream?

Well, it seems mobile homes attract tornados. I suppose its a natural form of retroactive birth control. And
Barber cars looked like mobile homes.

> Boeing Vertol cars ... there have been so many good designs out there,
> why would anyone want to save a disaster built by an aerospace
> engineer.

You have to admit, they do build great jetliners (oh-oh, here comes Bob and Ed again!)

>  Americans will all want to go back to something domestic ...
> Milwaukee, OK, Cleveland's 5000s, maybe.  But I would have to credit the
> Hannover cars as the first of the new generation.

I certainly will buy that one. I do believe most Americans grudgingly admit the Germans produce some really great
engineering designs. Of course, few say so publicly. The guy who designed Milwaukee's artics was probably of
German descent. :-)

>  If we want something
> more modern, I truly love those ADtranz Eurotrams that came from the
> Derby, England plant to Strasbourg, France ... great riding, smooth,
> fully low floor ... they may look like a beaver running backward but
> they sure are great trainsets.  And they're being run by an agency that
> understands what they are doing!

It would be grand if one of those with an extra set of trucks (to swap from broad gauge to standard gauge for use
on various systems) could travel the country like the SOAC train did during the 1970s.

> The greatest problem with all trolley museums is they are created by
> railfans because true historians don't understand the industry.

True. When you, Ed and Jim write the definitive volumes on Pittsburgh Railways, I know some of us will read and
reread the corporate history and political interaction chapters with great interest. Others will skip that section
(or volume) and go right to the car routes, maps, photos and fleet rosters.

Since many published historians have left leanings, it is sometimes humorous to see them squirm through how great
they thought it was when the government went after all those "evil" holding companies and utilities and broke them
up, causing the transit divisions to be cast aside to die. Like Ed, I now believe some power companies welcomed
this privately, though publicly they screamed bloody murder. The "good government" built roads for the people.
Henry Ford, Billy Durant and Walter Chrysler built cars for the masses so the common man had "freedom" from the
"evil" railroads and transit systems. Now driving to work is evil and taking the (Federally subsidized, but often
slower and less efficiently operated) transit system is "good."

>  There
> will always be a need to save something because we rode on it.
> Personal experiences will always carry the ace of trump over legitimate
> historial design considerations.

How true. But in the case of the PCC, you can have both worlds. As I mentioned before, our 1991 trip to San
Francisco was all telling to me. My wife found the Milan, Blackpool and Melbourne (sorry, Greg) cars tiresome to
ride for long periods after the novelty wore off. She absolutely ***hated*** the Boeing-Vertol cars and their
constantly buzzing power invertors (convertors.) She found the PCC car running that weekend an absolute delight to
ride and even though she thought the interior colors were drab, she stated the car was very comfortable and cozy
inside. I think she said, "This car seems to welcome you aboard."  Ken J.