[PRCo] Re: Tow Job

[Boris Cefer]

Agree. It would be very useful and interesting to ask Tony about various
streetcar emergencies that he remembers from (?) Charleroi.

PRCo had an interesting manual for fixing loosen wheels and broken axles
(PCC equipment) directly on street. After applying various sophisticated
tools it was possible to run the PCC carefully and at a low speed to a
carhouse.

Did PRCo have any portable wheel press that allowed the PCC wheels to be
reassembled on a street??? I guess no. It would be very interesting to see
some photos of the Homewood truck department.

B
----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 4:48 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Tow Job


> Ww have a C J Dengler picture in the museum library that shows a
> truck for a low floor car being rebuilt on the street ... the route
> cards show that they were capable of such feats in not much more than
> an hour.   I'm not sure that they could do the same with a PCC or
> that they would want to in such a congested area.
>
> Many transit companies, both large and small, used dolly wheels on
> which they could rest a truck to tow it back to a maintenance base.
> It wasn't at all unique.   It is both fortunate from the company
> standpoint and unfortunate from the historian's perspective that
> there are few pictures of such happenings.
>
> Something else we should ask Tony Desensi about before he forgets it
> all.
>
>
> On Dec 1, 2005, at 9:49 AM, raymond at nauticom.net wrote:
>
> > I remember a tow job under PAT mid 1970's when a car (rear truck)
> > derailed
> > at the entrance to the Smithfield street bridge Carson St.side.
> > They put
> > it back on the rails and when the motorman applied power the truck
> > that
> > originally derailed (rear) derailed again. Bent flange I guess. Anyhow
> > what they did next I thought was really cool. They jacked up the
> > truck and
> > added an axel and small set of wheels to the back of the truck so
> > that the
> > rear wheels of the truck where off of the rails and the new smaller
> > wheels
> > were now on the rails. The car was then towed buy a maintenance
> > truck back
> > through the tunnel to the barn. At least thats how I remember it now.
> > Maybe someone else could shed some light on this towing procedure.
> > Wonder
> > why they just didnt change the wheel?
> >
> > Ray
> >
>
>