[PRCo] Re: Apology / hot PCCs

[Fred Schneider]

I'm tempted to make comparison between what could be accepted of U.  
S. and foreign motormen but maybe I should best keep my mouth closed?

Well, maybe not.

I was in East Berlin (the communists called it Berlin, disavowing  
that the other city existed) with Dick Lloyd just before  
unification.   One of the brand new Tatra cars crapped out.  It was,  
as was the normal drill, pulling two four-axle trailers.    You can  
picture a PCC train that is half a football field in length.   One of  
the older (1960s cars from Gotha) 2-axle cars, also pulling two  
trailers, pulled up behind it.   The trainmen had a short  
conference.   And then they acted on their own.   The Gotha car was  
coupled behind the second Tatra trailer.  Now we have a six-car  
train, measuring about 250 feet in length with the live motor car  
buried about 150 back.  The motorman on the lead car gets down on his  
hands and knees and winds off the drum brakes.  The conductor from  
one of the trailers stands in the doorway of the fourth car to pass  
signals.   And away we go.  And about that time a supervisor showed  
up, said OK, and went back to more important things.   I think it is  
called delegation of authority.   Some trust fits into the  
equation.   Something about knowing the people who work for you.    I  
guess you also didn't need overwhelming rigidity in a society where  
someone didn't sue if everything didn't go 100 percent perfectly.

In spite of those Americans who felt everything behind the "Iron  
Curtain" was evil, my trips told me that there was good and (and some  
bad too) everywhere if you simply observed.

fws

On Oct 18, 2005, at 11:18 AM, Boris Cefer wrote:

> The damper doors on Tatra cars are operated manually, so you can  
> easily
> imagine what happens when a motorman does not know how to direct  
> the hot air
> under the car in hot days.
>
> B
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2005 4:34 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Apology
>
>
>
>> You want a cool car in the summer?   Try the New Orleans or Philly
>> cars ... windows open completely at both ends making them wind
>> tunnels.   You won't find anything better until a museum tries to
>> maintain an all-electronic, air-conditioned ex Philly Kawasaki car.
>>
>> Unless the heat dampers are working properly, an air-PCC will not be
>> cool in the summer.   They have to properly close off the body from
>> the resistors and allow all the heat to be blown outside.  If you
>> want to run PCCs in museums, you need a good mechanical staff.
>>
>
>
>