[PRCo] Re: PRCo____4731

[Fred Schneider]

There was a group of 4700s and one or two cars from the 4900s fitted with
unusual controls and/or motors and/or trucks and/or gearboxes.   VA was a
unit switch automatic progression scheme such as AB or AL except that the
rate of acceleration could be varied.  There are few such cars around
today ... LATL 2601 at Perris and a Baltimore Peter Witt at Seashore come
to mind.  The only one I've ever operated was the LATL car at Orange
Empire ... first point is low rate to the series running point, the next
eight points ran through series and parallel to the parallel running
point, each one calling for a higher acceleration rate. The first VA
control sequence switch was an XS-16 built in 1928 for Pittsburgh
Railways.  The following year Westinghouse fabricated 87 XS-116 sequence
switches ... Pittsburgh 6002 got one of them ... the largest, a group of
50, went on Montreal's 2650s.  Continuing onward in time, the largest
orders for VA involved the Brooklyn Peter Witts of 1930, 50 Baltimore
Witts, the 10 Brill pre-PCCs in Washington, and 11 cars for Allentown,
Pennsylvania.  There were a variety of, as the British would say,
"one-off" cars and trolley buses using VA control.  So much for a diatribe
on VA control.

PRC was experimenting with  the 4700s ... the oldest and perhaps most
expendable cars and perhaps least liked because of the Jones control.
Cars 4730-4733 all had control changes.  I think several 4800s and 4900s
did also but I can't remember numbers off the top of the head.  The copy
also played with Timken worm drives and Timken trucks.

fws

Jim Holland wrote:

> Good Morning!
>
>         Quoting from  *ERA--Headlights*  Vol.13 No.1 January--1951,
> bottom left photo pg.3:::::::
>
>         ""STANDARD  low-floor city car 4731 equipped with Westinghouse
> VA control and Timken trucks until scrapped in 1949.""
>
>         Car is shown in the South Hills yard with  *42--Dormont*
> displayed on the destination sign.
>

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