[PRCo] Sagging__Low--Floors

[James B. Holland]

> Fred Schneider wrote:
>
>> Don't know if you ever saw the Osgood-Bradley builders photo of 5200. 
>> If you have one, observe that the front platform was already sagging 
>> before it was loaded onto a flatcar for shipment to Pittsburgh ... in 
>> that case the design change for the double front door left a platform 
>> too long to be properly supported and the side panel under the first 
>> window on the right side already had a crease in it. Of course the 
>> 5200 had all the extra weight of the coupler on the front.
>

> James B. Holland wrote:
>
> Yes, this has been mentioned here before and pictures of same *may* be 
> at the dementia website. .......BUT....... where is the official 
> documentation from PRCo files that says that the low-floors suffered 
> from hanging platforms? Doesn't seem to have been a problem for PRCo.


The cars in these photos don't seem to be suffering from sag.


http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp050.htm

http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp048.htm

http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp047.htm

http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp051.htm

http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp057.htm

http://206.103.49.193/pitts/htm/wvp330.htm


> Interesting observation from the photo which may be an abberation of 
> the photography. The low-floors served for 30++ some years and seemed 
> to perform their job as well as any other trolleycar. Even photos of 
> 3756 at certain angles give the *appearance* of a sag of the front 
> platform.
>
> The length of the front platform is not unlike the length of same on 
> many other trolleycars that have double front doors -- even many 
> descriptions of the PCC divide the car into *Body* and 
> *End--Platforms* and the PCC has double doors and the truck king pin 
> is about as far back from the ends of the car as it is on the 
> low-floors. Believe the length of the platform remained the same as 
> for the single door car.
>
> Have seen photos and even other trolleycar equipment where the 
> platform *appeared* to be sagging. Have seen homes // businesses // 
> buildings with Bay Windows that have tremendous sags! And Most Of Us 
> Sag considerably with age as well.
>
>> I may be assuming a little too much. A lot of the structural problems 
>> with those cars may also be related to atmospheric pollution in 
>> Pittsburgh. There was a lot of sulfur dioxide in the air which 
>> coverts very nicely to sulfuric acid when it rains.
>
>
>
> Of course -- anything can have an affect. Aging is something that 
> happens to everything -- Animal, Veetable, Even Mineral -- witness the 
> window sag above. Why does this surprize us?
>
> As to the under cariage of 3756 it is not dissimilar to that of 1138 
> as noted by our Distinguished PCC Expert when he visited -- aging and 
> the way it is dealt with in the good ol U.S.A. -- bondo, patches, 
> bandaids, but by all means Never Preventive Maintenance nor true 
> repair -- just ain't American! Not trying to disparage -- just another 
> way of saying that America is a Maintenance Free Society. As Dennis 
> noted, 3756 is 80-years old -- aging is taking its toll.
>
> Jim__Holland