Museum Carbarn Assignments.

[Greg King]

How can you say those Strasbourg sausages are neat, those and the Breda cars
of Lille have to rank as the ugliest trams I have ever seen, the
organisation is spot on though, the same company that owns us at Yarra Trams
(Transdev France), There is one that is worse though, The most elegant trams
would have to be Alstom "Citadis" cars (we have 31 on order) as for
Montpellier and Orleans' however, one city had to modify the end design to
make it their own, Lyon and, they created the most horific design known to
man! I'll try and scan a photo for anyone who is interested later or, you
can go to the Alstom site at; www.transport.alstom.com and have a look
around, some nice stuff in there.

Greg
----- Original Message -----
From: Fred W. Schneider III <fschnei at supernet.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, January 05, 2001 3:57 AM
Subject: Re: Museum Carbarn Assignments.


> I think my wife wonders what I was laughing about.  Do Barber cars
> attract tornados?  What a scream.  Do tornados scream?
>
> 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.  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.  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!
>
> Wrestling match over a CNS&M piggy back trailer?  Hell no.  The public
> doesn't know the difference.  May a new plastic one.  Let him have the
> original if he wants it.  Take a look at the crowds in Williamsburg
> Virginia looking at recreated buildings.
>
> The greatest problem with all trolley museums is they are created by
> railfans because true historians don't understand the industry.  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.
>
> Kenneth Josephson wrote:
> >
> > "Fred W. Schneider III" wrote:
> >
> > > But somewhere along the way, we need to build another barn to house a
> > > modern LRV.  If this is to be a World Class museum, then I have some
> > > other candidates.  I can dream and foam as well as the next person:
> >
> > How about an empty Muni Boeing-Vertol in a display that appears as a
cross section of the Muni Metro? On top
> > we could have a roadway section like Market Street and a cluster of
manicans at a car stop looking longingly
> > down the street for a Baby Ten.
> >
> > >
> > >
> > >     1.  The Pittsburgh low-floor which resulted in the development of
> > > motors small enough to power a car that low.  I love the story from
> > > Market Street Railway people, who tried the same concept and
pronounced
> > > it a failure, because "San Francisco has hills."
> >
> > You mean the guys who referred to PTM's good friends in Union, Illinois
as "Some group in the Midwest" when
> > they were angry about not getting the Detroit car?
> >
> > >
> > >     3   A horse car - the greatest job creation triumpth ever created.
> >
> > Even more so than the EPA!
> >
> > >     5.  How about those crazy masonite sided evolutionary dead-ends
> > > produced by the Lightweight Noiseless Car Co. (what a laugh) for its
> > > parent Minneapolis, and for Nashville and Chattanooga.
> >
> > I have to admit, the TCRT  wooden deck roof cars built at Snelling Shops
were a heck of a lot better. And
> > handsome, too.
> >
> > >     6.  And the Barber car ... a wonderful example of a chicken coop
> > > carpenter turned loose where he didn't belong.
> >
> > This is a scream. Those things were the predecessor of the modern mobile
home. Did Barber cars attract
> > tornados, too?
> >
> > >     7.  A Daft car with a hole in the roof caused by the troller
> > > dewiring and crashing through the roof.
> >
> > We could lay out a wax figure of John Dameron's grandfather under the
troller resting on the car's aisle
> > with a display board explaining why his grandson hated trolleys.
> >
> > >     8.  A North Shore Merchants Despatch box motor pulling one of
those
> > > early piggy-back flatcars with a couple of 20 ft semi-trailers on it.
> >
> > I'd sell tickets to the wrestling match between you and Nick Kallas over
who gets that one!
> >
> > >           10a: An example of safety car control ... we need a Birney
...
> > > one of those 5,600 flimsy, rocking horses with a shelf live of ten
> > > years.
> >
> > My wife thinks Birney cars are so cute. I'd love to see one try to climb
21-Fineview after a snowfall. I'd
> > love to see one try to tackle Route 21 period.
> >
> > >     10b. And then we need a Hannover Germany Grossraumwagen from
> > > 1953, the first of the articulated cars that we know today as light
rail
> > > vehicles.
> >
> > Joseph Canfield argued (in CERA B-112) the articulated car concept of
the 1953 Grossraumwagen originated
> > with TMER&L Co. when they made articulated trains out of all those old
deck roof city cars during the 1920s.
> > What's your take on that? And if you agree, again, you'd have a real war
with Nick Kallas over one of
> > those....
> >
> > How about a Boston "two rooms an a bath" train? A double jointed
articulated car of sorts.
> >
> > To get this back on topic, I hope this little exercise in imagination
will help cool heads prevail when it's
> > time to fill PTM's next carbarn. Ken J.
>