[PRCo] West Penn 212 accident

[Fred Schneider]

Jerry:

Walked up stairs and then remembered this accident.  And with  
apologies to Ed Lybarger who found the pictures of it.

Second number 212 was in service on the Mt. Pleasant - Taars shuttle  
ca. 1936.  Came down Main Street Hill in Mount Pleasant out of  
control.  Derailed on the curve at the junction with the mainline and  
slammed sideways into the hotel.    (If you go in for a burger, you  
can look at the picture that Ed gave them.)   Now what was Second 212  
doing in service until 1949?  Because in 1936 it was still needed.   
All of the early 200 series Stephenson cars were needed.  So it was  
rebuilt after the accident and returned to service.  A few months  
later West Penn started cutting services and by 1939 only 204 and  
Second 212 remained, plus a whole bunch of trucks that had been moved  
from the low 200s over to the 280s.  About 1940 all the wooden bodies  
were burnt.

By 1949 the wheel treads on 2nd 212 were paper thin so it was  
retired, and, allegedly, rather than change the insurance policy, air  
brake 204 was taken into the shop.  Some orange paint was plastered  
over the digits "0" and "4" and then new digits "1" and "2" were  
painted in their place.  So for the last few months of Masontown  
service, the spare car was third 212.  In case you were unfamiliar,  
most of the motorman probably were too.  This car was an air brake car.
Why was 204 around?   No clue unless one of the motormen liked it  
after it came home in 1936 from Kittanning.  Sounds like a strange  
reason but I think West Penn was that kind of a company.   It and the  
Derry cars (611 for example) were used on South Connellsville until  
the 830s.

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There was another one of the series that slammed into a concrete  
abutment at Dickerson Run ... mind wants to say 207 or 217.

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And 700 caught fire in 1929 and was stricken from the roster.

fws

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