[PRCo] Re: 2.>--Radio__Telephones

[Jim Holland]

Wrote to Ed tennyson about Trolleyphones and 7-minute delays
which encouraged Trolleyphone installation.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: 1948 1.>--Allegheny__County__Fair__Service 
2.>--Radio__Telephones3.>--Track__Renewal4.>--New__Bridge
Date: Wed, 5 Nov 2003 00:19:42 -0500 (EST)
From: sten....t (Shirley Tennyson)
To: Pg....t (Jim Holland)

	With brake shoe cars lacking dynamic braking, P.Ry.Co
interurbans ran on signals and schedules with signals governing
late cars, unless the dispacther was needed to assist.    Late
cars were to call in from Washington Junction inbound so a fresh
On-time car could be dispatched from South Hill Junction and the
late car taken off the line after delivering passengers
downtown.    The call did not take six minutes, but might take
two.
	However, with PCC cars with disc and dynamic brakes the signals
were no longer reliable.    The wheels and rails could get dirty
and leave a green signal where a red one was very important to
have.    RDC cars on the railroads had this same problem and many
roads banned single-car operaton except under train orders.
	To keep safety first, motormen were ordered to ignore green
signals, They meant nothing.    Go by the  schedule.    If the
meet does not show up, call in for instructions.    Those calls
could take seven minutes as too many motormen might be calling
all at once.    There can be only one dispatcher.    Getting on
and off the car, setting the brakes, etc. added to the delay. 
	The FM trolley phones were bought to speed up the dispatching
process.    When the dispatcher got word of a late car, he could
call its meet to advise without any delay at all to the on-time
car.    The late car would still be late but the meets could be
arranged farther in advance to save time.
	Charleroi had much more double track so had less need to call
in, but could get late in local street traffic in Charleroi and
Mononghela City.    I do not remember trolley phones on Charleroi
but I really do not know.
	In rush hours, they made special runnng time for heavily
travelled cars so the dispatcher would not have to deal with them
so often.    In the mornng, instead of meeting at Washington
Junction, it would be schedudled for Santa Barbara, installed at
a late date to help avoid delay.    The schedule would tell them
to kill time here and there to make the meets come out right.   
Single track does not permit a running time change without a
headway change so trolley phones helped them cope.    I remember
them but only on Washington. 
                E d   T e n n y s o n