[PRCo] Re: That damn PCC car on eBay

[John F Bromley]

OERHA at Rockwood is hardly democratic - they don't seem to care squat what
the members want.  It is and has always been a private club for 8-10
members, several of whom are considered by many here to be total loons.  The
late Bob Johns started that going and Tom Twigge seems to be carrying on in
the Johns tradition - my museum and no sense of humor to go with the
attitude.

Amazingly they have no fund raising skills, or if they do manage not to
display them.  If they had the same skills as PTM all of the cars would be
restored including the PCCs that were or are being scrapped.  Even those
that operate don't look all that good, except for the cars that TTC restored
for them, and even those are getting a bit edgy.  And, after spending 20
years on restoring Witt 2890 to a 1930s appearance they gave up and swapped
it to Seashore for a rotting Ontario interurban car from the LE&N.  Twenty
years from now it'll have a tree growing through whatever part of the floor
hasn't yet rotted out.

End of rant.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Schneider" <fschnei at supernet.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2002 11:48 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: That damn PCC car on eBay


> Sadly, all museums are democratic and respond to the whims of their
current
> membership, often ignoring what had been done by the earlier membership.
At
> Baltimore we have a rusting hulk of a steel trailer and, stored inside,
the
> remains of a house made from a Newport New semi-convertible.  I have great
> doubts that either prior project will amount to anything.  And the latest
whim
> is to take a San Diego / El Paso PCC and rebuild it to look like a
Baltimore St.
> Louis-built car.  In the meantime our members continue to age and loose
the
> stamina they need to do anything.
>
> National Capital now has a Washington center-entrance car that Branford
sat on
> since 1947.  The people in charge at Branford in the 1980s preached that
they
> needed a center entrance car while denying that they had the Washington
650.
> They needed a Red Arrow car.  When 650 was mentioned, I heard, "But we
never
> rode on it."  Again, the feelings of a new membership.
>
> And one of Ken Josephson's friends is constantly complaining about Orange
> Empire's practice of ignoring their trolley fleet while working on
national
> network railroad equipment.  The Bamberger / Fonda NY bullet car that was
> heavily restored a decade ago is now outside in the weather.  A bright red
PE
> Blimp that I remember looked great when I did the PCC books is now pink
... sun
> bleaches paint pigments in the desert.  Again, new members and new goals.
>
> One of the few that remains constant in their outlook is Seashore ... they
still
> need to buy everything and restore zip.
>
> And trolley museums are not alone.  The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum
> Commission never deaccessions anything.  They may loan something out ...
the
> Birney to the Manheim Historical Society and the Kuhlman-Wason-American
builders
> photos to PTM, but they never relinquish title.  Sounds a lot like
Seashore and
> Perris to me except that they have the ability to tax the rest of us to
support
> the idiocy!
>
> Finanny, in that this is a Pittsburgh fan group, I won't take any stabs at
PTM.
>
> John F Bromley wrote:
>
> > If this car is anything like the crap that OERHA has at the museum in
> > Rockwood there will also be the problem of trees growing through the
floor.
> > OERHA took some PCCs as well then left them out to rot and./or vegetate.
No
> > sense out there at all.  Then this "Canadian" museum bought a Chicago
PCC El
> > car to run.  Oh the joy!  Guess who quit in disgust and refuses to have
> > anything to do with those looneys.
> >
> > -----
>
> xx
>
>
>