[PRCo] Re: Auctioned PCCs.......What? No Blinker Doors?

[Jim Holland]

Good Morning!!

> Kenneth Josephson wrote:

> Folding doors on 4000s......ugh. And I suppose they will have to install a front
> trolley pole to further ruin the lines of the cars.......Jim, why can't your
> coworkers wye a car without destroying the pole? :-) Or is there some obscure
> ordinance that requires all non-pantograph cars to have two poles? ;-)

	No obscure reason at all for front poles  --  it is the topography or
geography or any combo thereof for the front poles.

	Contrary to railfan sentiments and  *SEA--stories*  it is extremely
dangerous to backpole unattended, and the greater the distance the
greater the problem  AND  the more complicated the overhead, the problem
is infinitely greater.   You will hear it said that wheels backpole
better than shoes and this  *might*  be true to an extent, but with
greater pressure needed to hold a wheel against the wire (30-pounds
minimum for a wheel as opposed to 25-kpounds minimum for a shoe) the
chance for problems is increased.!

	John Swindler can attest to this (if he doesn't have a senior--moment)
as he saw a  ({[pat]})  PCC being backpoled in South Hills yard and the
pole snapped in two (I also understand that Mr.--G..... might have been
present as well.)   Seems the car involved had just towed a BO car back
to the yard so that made 2--cars out of service!!   Of course, the pole
can be changed rather rapidly.

	I lived a block from the 42-Dormont wye and in the summer the cars
backing out here would cause the overhead to rise and fall by  FEET  -- 
saw a pole desire as a result, but the pole didn't bend or break.

	Now to SF topography  --  J--Church  and  N--Judah  cars came to
11th--Street to wye to get to the outer ends of the lines in the AM
rush.  This wye was actually a double track stub on 11th Street with a
crossover between the 2--tracks.   The cars would pull in on one track
and then back thru the crossover, back thru trolley coach overhead on a
curve, back thru the inbound trolleycar track on a curve, and back onto
the outbound track.   ANY  traction line I know of  r-e-q-u-r-e-s 
someone tending the pole for such a back-up move when backpoling  -- 
even then it is much too dangerous for trolley pole and attendee.   The
alternative is a front pole for back--up maneuvers.
	Additionally, backing into the yard on the ladder track would require
an attendee  --  again, a very dangerous situation with multiples of
overhead frogs and turns.   Much easier a front pole.   Don't like front
poles on single end equipment, but definitely respect the need.
	The wyes at Broad and Plymouth and Church//30th were backpoled.

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James B. Holland

Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation
    "O"--Scale  St.-Petersburg Trams Company Trolleycars  &
        "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.mcs.net:80/~weyand/nmra/

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