[PRCo] [Fwd: Pittsburgh---PA---Trolleycar---Body---Repair]

[Jim Holland]

In keeping with Fred's comments on formation of PAAC
({[pat]})  I searched for some info we discussed.
This  *may*  be One of Many dealing with the topic.


-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Pittsburgh---PA---Trolleycar---Body---Repair
Date: Sun, 26 Aug 2001 15:34:31 -0700
From: Jim Holland <pghpcc at pacbell.net>
Reply-To: pghpcc at pacbell.net
Organization: Holland  Electric  Railway  Operation  --  St.-Petersburg
Trams Company (SPTC)  *O*--Scale  Imports  --  mailto:PGHPCC at pacbell.net
To: Dennismk1 at aol.com
CC: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org

Good Morning!!

	Most comments about Pittsburgh go something like
this:::::::  "excellent mechanical and electrical maintenance
but legendary poor or non-existant body maintenance."

	While there is an element of truth to this, it
seems that this statement is overly--exaggerated and to
an extreme.  This might be true of PRCo in the last several
years of operation, but it can hardly be a good qualifier
of the bulk of transit service rendered to Pgh. by PRCo.

	Here is a timeline of significant events
affecting PRCo:::::::

1938.05.11 (May--11)  --  PRCo enters bankruptcy  *again*
	(emerged from previous bankruptcy in 1922.)

1952  --  PRCo emerges from 15--years of Bankruptcy
	proceedings.

1953.06.22  --  The Allegheny Conference on
	Community Development released its second citizens'
	mass transit study; it recommended creation of a
	transit authority to acquire and unify bus and
	trolley lines in the county.

1954.12.05  (December--05)  --  The County commissioners made
	public proposed legislation, drafted by a seven-member
	citizens' committee, for creation of a county-wide
	public transportation authority to acquire and
	consolidate bus and trolley lines.  The legislation
	required approval of voters in a referendum scheduled
	for primary election of 1956.

1964--April  --  PRCo ceases to operate Pittsburgh transit and
	is replaced by the Port Authority of Allegheny County
	(PAAC) in this capacity, which agency also took over
	independent bus lines within the city.

	In his report below, Mr. Dennis M. Linsky indicates
that mechanical condition of the equipment was very good and
that the body work was good; track and overhead were quite
good on a majority of the system.  I have learned from other
sources that Trustees during the time of the bankruptcy did
a fair amount of track removal and essentially purchased
all the PCCs trying to keep the system intact rather than
to make changes.

	Movies taken by Mr. Roger Jenkins (ROGERTROLLEY)
in the latter 1950s confirm this.   Roger's movies are
exceptional for their clarity, esp. considering 8mm or even
super--8.   Car numbers are crisp and distinct the majority
of time  --  usually one has difficulty seeing a fuzzy
trolleycar let alone a trolleycar--number on 8mm!!
The PCCs of this era, as they are seen in Roger's movies,
appear to be in quite good condition.

	But there was still a very heavy Black Cloud
hanging over the Railways Company (pollution abatement
removed the same from the rest of the city but was not
successful in removing that Black Cloud from over the
Railway!)   Fifteen years of bankruptcy, a city government
generally hostile to PRCo, a widely scattered system mostly
through low-density neighborhoods, an horrendous number of
underliers which siphoned off money (this was rectified in
the 15--year bankruptcy,) a recommendation for a public- and
county-wide transit system in 1954 which surely had been
discussed locally not long after WW-2, the formation of
the Port Authority of Allegheny County (PAAC) in 1956 as
a legal entity, hostility towards trolleycars in general,
and a very uncertain future certainly combined to discourage
PRCo from investing any more than necessary in a system which
would be wrested from it in short order.

	PRCo equipment and infrastructure was in quite
good condition in 1950 and remained such with minimal
maintenance through this decade.  But once a system like
this starts going bad in a big fashion, it is near impossible
to stop.  Such was the decade of the 1960s and this was only
accelerated by the attitude of PAAC which wanted to rid Pgh.
of the unwanted notoriety as the larges operating trolleycar
museum in the nation  --  and unfortunately, PAAC succeeded.

	Thus the horrible image of body maintenance on
trolleycars in Pittsburgh is from the 1960s  --  a time
after which PRCo knew for certain that its days of operating
transit were over.   While PRCo certainly did not have
the best in body maintenance, it probably was not the worse,
either.  The poor body maintenace on PRCo equipment reflects
on the very, very end of PRCo--transit and is hardly
representative of the bulk of PRCo service to Pgh.


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From: Dennismk1 at aol.com
    To: Dennismk1 at aol.com

Re: "SMOKY CITY" AND PHILLY NEWS AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER, 1953

    Good Afternoon, Trolley Folks:

	It was 48 years ago when the mechanical and
electrical maintenance of Pittsburgh's PCC cars seemed
to be excellent.  Most PCC's rode extremely smoothly,
even on PRW; only one PCC was extremely bouncy.
	Apparently, a few of the older PCC's have been
rebuilt with drum brakes, as cars 1231, 1249, and 1272
were seen with this equipment.    Body maintenance was good,
but the exterior paint didn't look as good as in Washington,
St. Louis, or even Philadelphia and the cars were extremely
dirty inside.  The most frequent comments HEADWAY RECORDER
has heard from passengers was about the dirtiness.
	The old cars seemed to be in fairly good condition,
although most appeared to leave the barn for their rush-hour
runs without having been cleaned inside and were very dirty.
	The large number of shuttle routes converted to buses
since Pittsburgh Railways emerged from bankruptcy plus
declining patronage have permitted all base service, except
on 2 lines requiring double-end cars (and which were soon
to be bustituted), to be operated by PCC cars.  But 20%
of the rush-hour service was operated by single-ended,
high-speed conventional cars (the 3800's)-->>-->
[incorrect  --  please see notes above.]
	The track on a typical line seemed to be in good or
excellent condition on over two-thirds of the line, but
in fair or poor condition on the remainder.  Two routes were
exceptions: 88-Frankstown operated entirely over street track
that was in excellent condition and appeared to have been
recently rebuilt while 31-Sheridan-Ingram operated entirely
over track in poor condition despite some patchwork.
	The most unique route, aside from the scenic
21-Fineview, was 65-Munhall-Lincoln Place, which operated
almost entirely over single track on city streets with meets
controlled by Nachod signals.

Very Sincerely,

    Dennis M. Linsky
    1350 East 5th Street, Apt. 3P
    Brooklyn, NY   11230-4686
    email:  Dennismk1 at aol.com
    8/26/01

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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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