[PRCo] Re: Fwd: Real Tales--No. 1/Unscheduled Meet

[Matt Barry]

Thanks for sharing this great story, Herb.    Glad it worked out, and 
all was well.
Ultimately, I guess your PCC had to be backed down the hill to make way 
for the inbound 49?
hrbran99 at adelphia.net wrote:

>Sent this post to the list on Monday, Labor Day at 6:15 PM. It never made it! Sending second time Tuesday at 9:30 AM.
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>HrB
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>>Date: Mon, 4 Sep 2006 18:17:43 -0400
>>From:  <hrbran99 at adelphia.net>
>>To: PRCo List Posts <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>>Subject: Real Tales--No. 1/Unscheduled Meet
>>
>>OK, you asked for it.................here you go!
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>>It was one of those late October nights that I really love........a mostly clear night sky with lots of bright stars, a few puffy clouds passing by every now and then and that cool, brisk October wind.
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>> I was working a run on 49-Arlington/Warring ton and had managed to change out the usual 1600 series for a better 1700 type. I left downtown on the 8:10 trip. There were two cars working 49 to maintain a 30 minute headway. Usually we passed on Arlington Avenue. I would be coming out of the single track and the opposite bound car would be waiting for me to GE in the clear on the double track.
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>> I had about 5 passengers on the car. One was a lady who lived in the Allentown district and rode just about every night. She was sitting in the first single seat, just behind the front doors. She and I would usually chat on the way from the city to Allentown. Tonight was very normal, except the wind was getting really strong. I turned onto the Smithfield Street Bridge and pounded across the Mon. Looking down through the ties the water looked rough, being churned up by the strong wind. We came through P&LE Station and then left onto Carson Street. Down Carson to the right turn on Arlington and started up the hill. 
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>>Upon arriving at the entrance to the single track I slowed while the trolley pole went through the overhead wire Nachod signal contactor and the car swung left to go into the track. I got the required solid Nachod signal light and then got the amber "blink" to count me into the single track. Everything was very normal. The car swung back right and straightened out for the ride up Arlington Avenue. 
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>>We were just to the McArtle Roadway when suddenly and very unexpectedly I saw another car coming down the hill right toward us, of course, on single track! I turned on the roof headlamp and sounded the horn. All PCCs by this time had gongs, horns, roof headlamps and radios. I got on the radio and declared an emergency. After stating the problem to the dispatcher, I was instructed to "hold in place". This meant "sit still, don't move one inch"! Traffic Control began an "all call" message telling the "inbound number 49 car on Arlington Avenue, you are directed to hold in place". The car stopped about 350 to 400 feet uphill from McArtle Roadway. Within five minutes several route foreman trucks appeared. They seemed to have come from all directions.
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>>Now, for those of you familiar with the system on Arlington Avenue, this is what a "first impression" would tell one. My car had just gone onto the single track, the inbound car was two-thirds of the way down the hill. The "first impression" would be that I ran a red signal. Not so, I got the required signals when I entered. And told the route foreman this. Also, the lady in the first single seat, who after this event transpired I had no further chatting with, piped up and stated to the route foreman, "Sir, I ride this car every night at this time. I know that when the car goes up the hill it should get a yellow traffic light and a yellow blinking light from the little signal. This car did what it does every time I ride. I always watch the traffic lights and they worked fine tonight." Thank God for ladies who like to sit in the front seat and chat and know something about trolley operation!! Also, another route foreman went up to the top of the single track, came back are !
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> reported the inbound signal was solid red. 
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>>Now, the operator of the inbound car (Daria Washington) also stated she had a 'good' signal when she entered the single track. She most likely did, since she had managed to get two-thirds of the way down the hill before we met each other. 
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>>Then I remembered something that someone was complaining about a week or two earlier! In fact several operators had complained that the signal at the top of the Arlington single track would operate normally and count cars in the single track and waiting cars (NOTE: This was during the period that the so-called "South Transitway" with bus/trolley combined operation was under construction and the tunnel was one-way in the peak direction of travel. Opposite bound cars all went 'over the hill' via Warrington and Arlington.) could see cars entering the single track being 'counted in'. Then suddenly the signal would go dark as if no cars were even on the track. However, the single track had several inbound cars traveling down the hill. They said it always happened when the wind was blowing!
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>>Now I knew what had happened. Daria Washington had come to the single track, got a 'good' light and proceeded down the hill. The wind was heavy with gusts. A hard gust of wind came along and made the overhead wires bounce. They bounced so much that the old, well worn contactor made contact with itself (You need to know exactly how these contactors worked to understand what happened) and counted her car out even though she was still coming down the hill. I approached the single track at the bottom and came upon a dark light. When my trolley pole ran through the contactors the signal came to life and counted me in as it should. Do to the curves in Arlington Avenue I could not see Daria until after I got in the single track and she rounded the last curve near McArtle Roadway. 
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>>Needless to say the signal crew came right out and began replacing all the contactors. They were probably replaced with equally as old hardware but at least rebuilt with new springs to keep the running wire and the copper slide contactor apart.
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>>So that was my only meet on single track and it turned out OK. Could have been different if I were 300 feet further up the hill!
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>>Herb  
>>HrB
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