[PRCo] Re: To PCC or Not to PCC?.......That is the Question.

[Dietrich, Robert J.]

Hello:

Two things keep me reading mail from this group; PRCo, of course, and the
knowledge and gentlemanliness (no offense if there are ladies aboard).  We
have a genuine expert on PCC cars, operators and management of the PRCo,
access to every document ever produced for and by the government of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, all in a group of smart people who want to
share what they know.  We don't have anyone on a soapbox trying to force
opinions on us, or anyone criticizing anyone or everyone, and we all know
where the delete key is located.

That said I've read a good many posts in this thread and the thing that I
noticed first is that only railfans care (that is why it can be debated so
much here).  But I wonder how many trolley fans (members of this list
exempted of course) know what makes a streetcar a PCC.  So I'm going to have
to try a little experiment.  I'll swap the drives in a couple cars - put a
PCC body on Brill trucks, and a Brill body on PCC trucks.  I'll take these
to an East Penn meet that is frequented by about 500 trolley fans.  I'll
keep track of the comments and report back on the results.  My bet is that
most comments will be along the lines of:  "What are those trucks doing on
that PCC car" and "What kind of trucks do you have on that Brill car", and
very few "Why is that Brill body on that PCC car".

Now don't get impatient with me, the next East Penn Meet is in May 2003 but
I'll try the experiment at the mini meet in May 2002 if I get a round toit.

So keep this group together until at least May 2003 and someone remind  me
about this commitment a month or two ahead.

Bob

 -----Original Message-----
From: 	Jim Holland [mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net] 
Sent:	Wednesday, November 21, 2001 4:43 AM
To:	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject:	[PRCo] Re: To PCC or Not to PCC?.......That is the Question.


Good Morning!!

	To take this a little further.   Mainline RRs can have interurban
service   ---   the
Pennsy running strictly between Pgh and Johnstown might be considered such.
Or Pgh. and
Cleveland.

	But it might be stretching it a bit to say Pgh. to Philly on a
RR--train is interurban
and certainly Pgh. to Chicago is stretching the point and Pgh to LA is
Trans--Continental,
definitely out of interurban class (although possibly still applicable.)

	But then again, people in the 1920s boasted about being able to take
the  *Trolleycar* 
from Pgh to places in Wisconsin, changing frequently to get there, but it is
still by
traditional interurban as we know them!!

	.......And an interurban--trolleycar line started construction to
connect NY and
Chicago!!

	It is difficult (so it seems) to draw a line   ---   and when that
line is drawn, it is
often in Sand!!(:->)

> Jim Holland wrote:

>         It seems that  *at least 2-factors*  affect definitions::  1)--We
live in an imperfect
> world and  2)--Definitions seem circular.
>         *WE*  associate The term  *Interurban*  with  PE,  North Shore,
CA&E,  OE,  C&LE,
> BCER,  etc., etc., etc.   But the term is equally applicable to motor
coaches, even
> railroads.   It is transit between two cities and in the case of rail
equipment like PE,
> it is mostly on prw!
>         The term  *streetcar*  is defined as a vehicle that provides
transit in a city while
> operating in the streets.   This can include a  horse--car,  cable--car,
trolleycar,
> battery--car,  etc., etc., etc.
>         Now, then, to be perfectly specific about the type of interurban
of which one speaks, do
> we say  *Interurban--trolleycar??*   Seems like a misnomer since
trolleycars run mostly on
> streets and interurbans mostly on prw.
>         And an acceptable definition of  *Light--Rail*  centers on
infrastructure (not
> weight--tonnage) and states that light rail contains mostly prw (grade
separation) but
> possibly  *some*  street running.
>         So it seems that some terms can  cross--pollinate  other terms.
>         Takes yer choice   ---   don't know who said that!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation.......
......"O"--Scale  St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars  AND......
............"O"--Scale  Parts  mailto:pghpcc at pacbell.net

............Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM) http://www.pa-trolley.org/
......Pittsburgh  Railways  Company  (PRCo),   1930  --  1950
N.M.R.A.  Life member #2190; http://www.nmra.org

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>