[PRCo] Re: M Series & Other Questions for Ed

[Fred Schneider]

Unprefixed numbers were passenger motors.  A, B and C were trailers.  F cars
were Freight cars.  M stood very simply for Miscellaneous.  There were also two
portable rail grinders in the R series.

Local municipalities and school districts, however, tax real estate.  PAT owned
real estate was exempt from property taxes.  Pittsburgh Railways property was
not.  You might need to go through Allegheny County tax records (if you could
get access thereto), to answer that question.

There were two low-floor traffic paint cars, M-133 and M-134.  M-210 was built
from the carcasses of several low-floor cars.  The PCC used for a snow plow was
technically a low-floor car.

Most other cars were high floor, whether two or four axles.  And I don't mean it
in a flippant manner.  Accordingly much of the M fleet was high floor.  Cannot
say most because of all the sweepers.  And most were obsolete passenger cars
downgraded to line cars, sand cars, two cars, pay cars, paint cars, snow plows
and scrapers, rail grinders.  If you specifically mean the 4000s and 4100s, then
possibly M450-M459 and M197.  .  All the details are upstairs in a closet.
Don't forget that some of the older wooden high floor cars were converted to M
cars; 3487 at Arden makes a perfect example.  And, if you are thinking only of
PAYE cars like the 4000s, don't forget that the 3500s were built that way, and
some of the older cars .... 3400s for example .... were rebuilt with larger rear
platforms and sliding front doors and looked identical to the 3500s.

As an aside to all this BS, were you aware that PRC had Harley Davidson sand
cars?  Absolutely.  Motorcycles with sand box side cars.  Could be dispatched to
any slippery area in the system in a hell of a hurry!

What specifically are you asking for?



"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote: