[PRCo] Re: How 'bout Philadephia (and Pittsburgh) from Thirty Years Ago?

[Harold Geissenheimer]

Greetings to all
I understood the goals of the fans and sealed windows but
never liked the result.  The goal was to cool by changing
and circulating the air.  As a passenger, forget it.

Also the small windows and the metal strip below the
standee windows was to eliminate the need for shades
to keep the sun out.  Some PCC's first had shades.

This was one of my reasons for rehabbing the 1600's. 
Windows opened and were large to see things

I do not believe the small windows (with or without fans)
were improvements,   The Boston picture window cars
were better but suffered frim other problems.

Too bad AC was not ready for streetcars. 

But saying that, I am not an AC enthusiast.  In my car, I
usually travel with AC off and windows open even when
very hot.  Obviously some people like AC...this has hurt
ETB's in Phila so SEPTA had been substituting AC buses.

Harold Geissenheimer

Derrick J Brashear wrote:

>On Mon, 12 Jul 2004 ktjosephson at earthlink.net wrote:
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>>It was also the weekend of our first ride in a 1700, five years after a
>>brief winter ride in 1614. It was rather warm that weekend. My mother, who
>>grew up riding in Birneys, double truck deck roof cars and more
>>"conventional" PCCs elsewhere, and my father, who also had grown up riding
>>"normal" streetcars, i.e., with opening windows, weren't exactly thrilled
>>about the sealed windows and "roaring" fans.
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>While riding 1711 Sunday night we discussed the fans. Someone (can't 
>remember who) suggested the fan speed had been linked to a 21 step 
>thermostat.
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>These days seems like it's on, or off, and I think someone answered that 
>also, but I just can't absorb as fast as I used to.
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