[PRCo] Re: WP 700's

[Edward H. Lybarger]

I could've sworn the original question was "what," not "how!"

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of Fred
Schneider
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 11:50 AM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: WP 700's


Let's take this a little farther Dennis.  With air-brake cars, it was very
simple to install a dead-man head on the controller, an emergency valve
under a
seat somewhere in the car, and air plungers next to the canopy (hood)
switches.
If you took your hand off the controller, air did the work of shutting the
car
down.  The emergency valve dumped the brakes into emergency, balanced the
doors,
and gave the pistons a sudden gust of wind to knock off the canopy switches
and
thus shut off the motors.

West Penn had a gaggle of all-electric cars and, when the PUC demanded
deadman
control, they first argued that it was impossible.  Nothing is really
impossible
if you want to stay in business just a little longer.  And nothing is
impossible
if you want to fire 75 conductors in the depression.

The solution was a push botton deadman on top of the controller handle which
worked an electric switch in the controller.  If the hand came off the
controller, that switch energized a motor under the car that spun the
controller
back through the motoring notches and through the braking notcies until the
car
was in full dynamic brake.  And the cutout in the pilot allowed for the
motor or
motor and gearbox under the floor that sput the control drum backwards.   I
have
no clue whether or not the track and wheel tread brakes were linked to it in
any
way ... best ask Dave Hamley or Russ Jackson about that.  Regardless, once
the
car stopped ... there would be nothing to hold it still unless a benevolent
and
knowledgeable passenger would up and dogged the handbrake.



"Edward H. Lybarger" wrote:

> This space was added as West Penn converted cars to one-man operation.  It
> allowed room for the electric motor in the deadman control.  We have a
> circuit drawing in the PTM library.
>
> It has been firmly stated that all the 700s were so converted in 1933,
which
> is absolutely untrue.  Some were done earlier; some were done during the
> Second War.  There is documentary and photographic evidence to confirm
this.
>
> Ed
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of
> Dennis F. Cramer
> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 8:21 AM
> To: Pghrwys List
> Subject: [PRCo] WP 700's
>
> In photographs of the 700 series cars of West Penn Railways there is an
open
> space in the pilot underneath the operator position, with what looks like
a
> movable bar.  There is a pin for towing in the anticlimber.  The pilot on
> the WP car at PTM is missing and this feature does not show on the brass
> model.  Any ideas as to the reason?  Just an inquiring mind.  Thanks!
>
> Dennis F. Cramer--Teacher-Trombonist-Historian-Conductor
> www.geocities.com/armconband