[PRCo] Re: Spare trolley poles

[Fred W. Schneider III]

Both wheel or pole.

Damage to a pole is proportional to how fast the car is going or how
fast you smack it against a span wire or a bracket arm.  It is more
likely to be fatal damage on an interurban.

The motorman was paid to replace it himself.  It was his job.  You can
get a trouble truck to a city street address but you'll play hell
getting one to a deeply wooded hillside above Charleroi.
Put it another way, if the motorman wants to get home for dinner, he'll
do it.  

Partly.  It also contained a ax.  


Bob Rathke wrote:
> 
> A few days ago, there were some mentions on this list about the tool kit and spare pole on Washington interurban PCCs.
> I'll start a new round of commentary on this line:
> 
> - How common was the incidence of trolley pole damage, and what type of damage - a bent pole, a malfunctioning wheel...?
> 
> - Was the chance of such damage greater on the interurban line compared to street lines, or was the spare pole carried simply because of the remotenesss of the interurban line?
> 
> - And that leads to another question: if an interurban PCC suffered pole damage, was the motorman prepared and able to replace it himself?  Is that what the tool kit was for?
> 
> Bob 10/20/01