[PRCo] Re: Maintenance

[James B. Holland]

Fred Schneider wrote:
.

> There  is a series of pictures that Pittsburgh Railways took, Jim, to  
> show operators the right and wrong ways to do certain tasks such as  
> removing broken glass from sash, getting on the roof to restore  
> poles, resetting poles, and so forth.   We displayed some of them at  
> PTM about five years ago.
>
> I don't know when I last saw a Pittsburgh motorman on the roof of a  
> car but it was long after 1953.

.
I would have expected that PRCo would allow motormen on the roof in the 
1950s but as I said, Never Saw It  --  and there were Many Times when 
poles were stuck in the overhead on the 42-wye and a trouble truck was 
called  --  would have been extremely easy for two ops to clear this.
.
.

> Between that series of pictures and today there was a major change in  
> what we expect people to do.   Then if you got hurt doing a little  
> more than necessary, we would have paid the medical bill, thanked  
> you, and everything would have been OK.   Today we might have a suit  
> on our hands.   So we tell the man not to do anything for which he is  
> not trained and qualified.    And then we discipline him for showing  
> initiative.

.
Agreed  --  and just because photos were provided showing such on  
({[pat]})  doesn't mean it was permitted then  --  It  Just  
Happened!       We haven't been allowed the whole time I have been with 
SF-Muni  (30-years)  but I have done it many times  --  in presence of 
Supervisors!
.
.
.

>> Jim__Holland wrote:
>> .
>> Yes And No to change.       It may be PRCo that we Were and  ARE 
>> supposed to talk about but    *-What--Ifs-*    or 
>> *-What--Would--*One*--Do--IF...???-*    can cross  *-Platforms-*  and 
>> Ages  as well  (to use a word!!)
>> .
>> And My Today can be 30-years ago  (for personal eggsperience!!!)    
>> Additionally, I did a little more  Then  And  Now  type comparisons.
>> .
>> I also showed how, by 1953, even PRCo had removed the spare  
>> trolleypoles on the Interurbans so it was necessary to call in for a 
>> change  -- doubt ops were allowed on the roof from that time forward  
>> --   Never saw an op on the roof and there were Not A Few 
>> trolleypoles in the  overhead at the 42-wye  --  all the ops stayed 
>> on the ground and waited for a truck  --  1950s!!!!       What  
>> *-I-*  would have done is to get  ahold of the trolley rope  (for a 
>> pole jammed in the overhead on a backup  move on the 42-wye,)  pull 
>> the rope so the pole would rest against a live wire and then have the 
>> motorman pull the trolleycar forward until the pole could be 
>> retrieved from the overhead, placed back on the correct overhead 
>> wire, and then the car could move on  --  HAVE  down that on SF-Muni 
>> and it  IS  applicable to PRCo  --  Today  And  Yesterday!!!
>> .
>> Had an ETI coach go down on me tonight.       On my 7.02 trip  
>> inbound I was at Post // Powell  (Onion--Square)  when I got an 
>> audible //  visual EPU--Temp  alarm  (Emergency Propulsion Unit 
>> Temperature  --   Translate --  Emergency Propulsion Battery  
>> HOT!!)       It came on for a few seconds and then spontaneously 
>> reset - did this several times and that was it.
>> .
>> Exactly 2-hours later at The Same Identical Spot I got the same but 
>> it was on and reset again multiples of times in 10-minutes then it  
>> stopped.
>> .
>> Within 20-min it came on and stayed on  --  NOW  I Am concerned  -- 
>> only know of one of these batteries actually catching fire and that  
>> was during the testing of the demo units.       I stopped on Jackson 
>> at Fillmore in my bus stop and got out to check the battery 
>> compartments --  air temp on both sides  (nothing but propulsion 
>> battery under the floor behind the rear axle  --  sliding tray on 
>> both sides of the  coach for access to same.)       One block behind 
>> me the 24-Divis Trolley Coach lays over and a truck pulls from behind 
>> it  --  Lo And Behold it was My Presidio Shop so I flagged them down 
>> and we checked the actual batteries  --  air temp but possibly low on 
>> water.       My line is  pull in  (pull out also) for a number of 
>> lines and along came a pull-in, I switched coaches, and they sent the 
>> coach I had back to the barn  and it is on hold for inspection 
>> Monday.       I was delayed about 7-min outbound but this was 
>> absorbed by my layover at the terminal and I was back on time inbound.
>> .
>> Because the alarm was steadily sounding and because of a fear of fire 
>> and Much More Damage, I would have tied the coach up here and  called 
>> for help  --  had the alarm been intermittent I would have taken it  
>> directly to the barn  (just 4-blocks from the outer end of my line,)  
>> gotten another coach, come back out, and then call Central to let 
>> them know --  have done this a multitude of times over the 
>> years.       Much  with TCs can be fixed on the road but if the coach 
>> is workable with the defect and since the yard is so close to my line 
>> that Much More  Time is saved if I work the line and take the coach 
>> to the barn and come back out rather than wait for the availability 
>> of the road crew to reach me --  they may be on a call somewhere else!
>> .
>> On the demo coach they did a test using the battery up the steepest  
>> hill on the system on Sacramento from Montgomery to Snob Hill  --  
>> the  coach made it.       They then put it back on the overhead 600 
>> and continued to the end of the 1-California line  --  trouble truck 
>> following  -- takes about 1-hour to completely recharge the battery  
>> --  FAST! They were coming back in on the 1-Calif when flames shot 
>> out from the battery  --  good thing the trouble truck was there to 
>> spot it  -- flames extinguished rather quickly but still fair amount 
>> of damage to the battery.       Had to have a new one flown in from 
>> Germany!
>> .
>> .
>> .
>> . 
>

Jim__Holland


I__Like__Ike.......And__PCCs!!

down with pantographs ---- UP___WITH___TROLLEYPOLES!!!!!!!