[PRCo] Re: Rankin

[James B. Holland]

Hi Mark!


             Nothing said here is being taken personally;  it seems that 
you may have had a bad day (not unlike Derrick) and my email was a weak 
link which triggered a reaction, even though not related.       But I 
must admit that your comments completely blind sided me  --  you and I 
have corresponded privately so I am at a complete loss to understand 
your comments.       I have already responded to you privately after 
initial reading and my responses were nothing but brief questions 
because I didn't understand your post;   after thinking about your post 
a bit I am making an initial response here but am still very much baffled.


             I am often surprized by comments of people who know Boris 
make concerning him  (one even told Boris how to find out information 
about Tatra B3 trucks and that individual Knows that Boris works with 
same!!)  and this hill business for TrolleyCars was another such 
incident which surprizes me!       Boris has a greater understanding of 
TrolleyCars than all of us put together, hills or flatland, and his 
debunking the myth of the All-Electric holding on the Fineview hills is 
evidence of that.       More evidence was our recent discussion of the 
tunnel runaway and why track brakes wouldn't work.       Boris indicates 
that effectiveness of track brakes at greater speeds is minimal  --  
effectiveness of magnetic track brakes diminishes with speed and 
effectiveness increases as speed of vehicle slows, thus the bone 
crunching stop in emergency.       While Ostrava TrolleyCars may not 
have hills to the degree of transit in Pgh., hills are certainly not 
exclusive to Pgh!       I think Boris understands the hills and 
TrolleyCars better than us who actually rode the cars on these hills and 
thus I am surprized that people who know Boris don't understand the 
same!       That is All my post indicated  --  NOthing MOre!


             Questions    ----    you didn't ask any questions in your 
post so I don't see the relation in mentioning it here.       I am very 
much aware that we all continually learn until our last breath    
----    I still ask questions on this list and have many more to ask.


             I am not degrading you nor anyone else    ----    your 
statement there, Mark, is Totally Baffling    ----    as mentioned 
already, we correspond privately so why would you say I am degrading 
you?       In your PS you mention being a lowly mail carrier but you 
yourself know I have defended the Post Office Right Here On This List 
when people made disparaging comments about postal service and, as I 
said to you privately, Postal Employees get favored treatment on my 
bus.       While I have moved 3-times in the last 30-years, I still have 
the same Zip, still go to the same Post Office, have seen regular 
employees there come and go, know many of the employees at this post 
office and we talk regularly, know my former Postman who now has a truck 
and we often stop to talk, and know my current Postman and his family 
but he is on light duty with a leg injury.       I didn't say anything 
about Postmen so don't understand your mentioning it here.       I often 
but not consistently give Christmas presents to Postmen and garbage men.

                I-F   I recognize a caste system it is upside down as 
those in so-called lowly positions get favored treatment from me.       
Many Janitors ride my bus late night and I adjust my schedule to 
accommodate them so they have timely service  --  Often Wait and run a 
little late so they can catch the bus  --  or race to beat the band so 
they can make a transfer.       I do Not lump people into categories  
--  i.e., one policeman is bad therefore all are bad  --  but will say 
as a group I tend to avoid the Yuppies on the other end of the caste 
system.       Not uncommon of Yuppies to stand in the middle of the 
street to hold conversations and they won't move for any reason  --  
have Often Experienced this on Fillmore and Union Streets.       Yuppies 
by name, reputation, and experience tend to loathe those of  *us*  in 
the lowly positions  --  please see below.       Postmen, Garbagemen, 
Janitors    ----    where would we be if any one of these suddenly 
ceased to exist?       These are critical services which would cause 
real chaos in their absence; the internet is a Very Far Cry from 
eliminating the postal service.


             I am a Bus-Driver, the lowest of the low according to many 
in San Francisco!       Maybe that is a reason I champion the causes of 
the Postman, Janitors, and Garbage Men and hold them in higher esteem 
than others    ----    I have first hand knowledge of their experience 
at the so-called bottom!       And Exactly Like You, I hold this job as 
a matter of choice.       For 9.5-years before working for Muni, I was a 
chemist's assistant for a Very Large, International Pharmaceutical 
company in North Chicago, Ill.       I worked in the organic chemistry 
department and actually a specialty of that department, catalytic 
hydrogenation over precious metals.       I worked with Pure Raw 
Hydrogen  --  highly volatile and flammable.       The catalysts could 
Very Easily spark a fire just by the fumes of solvents passing Near them 
so it was extremely tricky adding one to the other.       I have a 
patent in my name that the company would not enjoy except for me working 
on the compound and having it tested.       But I am not a chemist  --  
I do not like working with things I can not see  --  I have Always Loved 
TrolleyCars, have  Wanted to be a TrolleyCar Operator Since Birth, and 
took that plunge nearly 30-years ago.

             When I quit chemistry, the Big Boss had to stifle his 
laughing multiples of times when I told him I would be a TrolleyCar 
operator  --  that was Totally Beneath Him!       I have pity on people 
like that who preach but do not live that 60s and 70s axiom:       
'''Do__Your__Own__Thing.'''

             For ten years I had a 3-bedroom flat and when people 
visited, I personally sacrificed for their comfort And did Not force the 
kids to give up their rooms  --  *I*  slept on the couch so visitors 
could have a Very Comfortable Vacation  --  I treat others better than 
myself.       I am uncomfortable when that situation is reversed, Even 
Very Uncomfortable.       I have made every effort to accommodate 
railfans with tours, Even Personal Charters At My Expense when they had 
more time for a visit.       When Ed and Fred had plans to visit the 
west, I had pre-arranged approvals for them to attend various Inside 
Meetings of Muni so they could see that part of transit, but their plans 
for the trip fell through.       ((Sorry, folks, but other commitments 
(and a simple and small studio apartment) severely limit my free time 
and I won't be able to do this very often going forward.))       So if 
you really knew me, you couldn't even begin to Think Let Alone Write Or 
State that I am degrading you, that I put down people in so-called lowly 
positions.


             So Mark, I am totally baffled that you would say I degraded 
you    ----    I did NOthing of the sort.


             And as I asked in my private email to you,  Why quit the 
list?       Below you say that you want to learn more and ask more 
questions so Why Quit The List?


             I hope that we can work this out, Mark, because I have 
enjoyed corresponding with you  --  On and Off List!


Jim__Holland




-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	[PRCo] Re: Rankin
Date: 	Sun, 11 Jul 2004 02:41:19 GMT
From: 	Mark McGuire <macmarka at netzero.net>
Reply-To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
To: 	pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org



Funny, I didn't think I mentioned "PCC trolley car" in my surmise. You 
are correct, however, that Boris is an engineer. But, not unlike myself, 
he has never seen Fineview in person. Frankly, I was in awe of the steep 
grades as I'm sure Boris was also. To see it in person is a TOTALLY 
different animal. Photos are simply not the same.  I was simply assuming 
that ANYONE, whether an engineer, college graduate, transit 
professional, letter carrier, would be amazed at the steep grades that 
trolley cars traversed. Perhaps I was out of line making that 
assumption. For that I apologize.

I am well aware of Boris' accomplishments as I have had many 
conversations with him myself off-list. Please do not degrade me by your 
endless banter about yours and Boris' expertise in the functions of PCC 
cars. I am on this list for a reason. That reason is to learn about 
Pittsburgh and it's trolley era. This includes the functions of trolley 
cars. And although I do not have the knowledge of the mechanical 
aspects, I am all too willing to learn.

A couple people on this list recently pointed me towards a couple books 
for purchase to learn the basics. I fully intend to study them again and 
again. Then maybe Fred's PCC book won't be too "deep" for me. I was once 
afraid of asking questions and admitting to my lack of knowledge in 
specific fields. I am no longer ashamed or afraid.  Isn't that what this 
list is all about?  To learn?  Oops, forgive me!     Another surmise. I 
am going to learn all I can while the senior gentlemen are still around. 
And most, if not all these gentlemen are all too willing to teach. And 
for that, I will be eternally grateful.

So, in closing, I am officially asking Derrick to remove my namefrom 
this list.

Mark McGuire

P.S.- By the way Jim, I may be a lowly letter carrier who maybe 
unintentionally makes assumptions and surmises, but I DO have a college 
degree. I have a BS in Business Administration from the University of 
North Florida. I choose to do what I do because I wish to. It took me 
quite a few years to accomplish this because of my full time job. But it 
was quite rewarding knowing I accomplished something in life.


> Mark McGuire wrote:

> Was dinner on the North Side at Max's? I know I have found a new
> place to eat when in Pittsburgh. I forgot about Mt. Washington.
> Shame on me! Tell Boris "Hi!".
> To make this a rail subject I'll comment that it was probably 
> somewhat unbelievable to Boris that a trolley car could traverse
> such steep grades.



-- "James B. Holland" <PRCoPCC at P-R-Co.com> wrote:

             Lettuce Not Forget  --  Boris  IS:::::::

A Transit Professional,

    A College Graduate,

        Professionally Trained in Engineering,

            Works for the Local Transit Company in Ostrava,

                A  PCC__Expert  who works on PCCs far more advanced,
                    efficient, and
                        in better condition than anything operated
			     in North America.

And,,  ON--List  --  THIS  List  --  from information I 
provided about drums from a drawing supplied by Clark 
Equipment Company, Boris calculated that one PRCo 
All-Electric 1700-series PCC could easily hold 
on the grades of 21-Fineview, Even With A Fair Load 
Of Passengers On Board!       So what the PCC can
accomplish is No Surprize To Boris.

             The local terrain in Pgh. will be interesting 
because it is  being seen for the first time, but the
performance of the PCC is certainly Well Known To Boris!

Jim__Holland


>> -- "Edward H. Lybarger" <trams at adelphia.net> wrote:

>> We took Boris along both Fineview and Mt. Washington 
>> after dinner Thursday.  Today we did the current rail
>> lines.  Tomorrow and Sunday are at PTM.