[PRCo] Re: OT Boston

Fri Apr 27 11:57:34 EDT 2007

Boris - Fred is basically correct as to the legal issues, although you will
find opening windows on a number of other cars, particularly in San
Francisco.  We know that FWS is always on a soap box.  But I think it is
still sensible to air condition the cars.  You cannot have them be the only
not air conditioned part of the fleet.  It is not a museum.  As for the
wheels, I seem to remember that the issue was bad ground shunts, with the
possibility of not shunting the signal circuits.  (Another badly managed
outfit in Philly had many cars operating with broken shunts.)   It is said
that there were several instances of this, which brought the Public
Utilities Commission into the picture.  In a typical Boston stupid
decision, they got rid of the resilient wheels.  They disappeared on the
CTA because they were using only the D-1 wheel, and cracks were occurring
in the welded back plates, and the manufacturer had left the business and
had no interest in improving the design.  I cannot say I know why a
different wheel design such as the SAB was not considered, except that back
then they were not in the US market at all.  So it was easy (and cheaper)
to change to the solid wheels.  The wheel life in those light cars was so
long that they lasted from one truck overhaul to the next, so there was no
great change in maintenance costs.   Kashin says that one Brooklyn car was
tested with the SAB wheels, but there is no picture or document proof that
I know of.  Possibly at SAB in the archives.  Or in a Kashin box somewhere.

Russ Jackson

             Fred Schneider                                                
             <fwschneider at comc                                             
             ast.net>                                                   To 
                                       pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org    
             04/27/2007 11:21                                           cc 
             AM                                                            
                                                                   Subject 
                                       Re: [PRCo] Re: OT Boston            

Sorry Boris but you fail to understand the American legal system.  It
is better to make sure windows don't open so public must keep arms,
hands and all body parts inside.   Otherwise they would get knocked
off by tree limbs and passing cars and then the victims or their
parents or other family members would sue the MBTA for damages rather
than accept the fact that they are stupid for hanging out the
windows.  I don't think you were here long enough to observe the
timing of legal advertisements on television ... they are generally
broadcast during daytime hours when the indigent (lazy) are sitting
around doing nothing but watching television.   It is generally a we
will make you rich scheme.   If you were offended, see us and we will
sue.   If you took the wrong medicine, see us and we will get a cash
settlement for you.   If your doctor didn't make you better, come see
the law offices of Catchem, Screwem, Twistem and Bindem.  It has made
a lot of lawyers rich.   (And I know one member of this list is going
to take offense at this.   I also know I'm planning a high school
class reunion and we have one doctor who will not come if a certain
lawyer, who makes his living suing doctors, does come.)     It is
simpler for the transit agencies to seal the windows and air-
condition the cars.   As a sidebar, I'm reminded of a suit in New
Orleans that went against the New Orleans RTA about a year ago ... a
kid fell out the window of a streetcar because the mother let him sit
next to the window and climb out ... then she sued the RTA for
allowing it to happen.    Come on now, who is negligent, the RTA for
not putting safety bars on the window (converting the car into a
jail) or the woman for not controlling her brat?   Well, we know the
court sided with the woman.   She got big bucks.

I would probably agree with you on the field shunting.  Boston had a
lot of trouble in the 1960s and 1970s with resilient wheels on PCCs
working loose.   One friend of mine suggested that they didn't have a
clue how to torque the bolts.   The problem started after the
Riverside line opened and cars began running much faster than they
had previously.   I could research this through channels with friends
but I suspect I would find out that the cutting down on the speed
might have had a lot to do with not knowing, in the first place, how
to keep resilient wheels tight.

On Apr 27, 2007, at 10:06 AM, Boris Cefer wrote:

> It would be far better to install windows which open and
> reestablish correct
> field shunt connections.
>
> B
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 2:12 PM
> Subject: [PRCo]
>
>
>> Boris will like this item from the Boston Globe because it's about
>> PCCs that outlasted the Boeing cars!
>>
>> Mattapan trolleys get cool update
>> MBTA installing air conditioning
>> April 26, 2007
>> The trolleys on the MBTA's Mattapan line, among the oldest working
>> transit vehicles in the nation, are getting cool.
>>
>> MBTA General Manager Daniel A. Grabauskas announced yesterday that
>> the T would spend up to $1.1 million to outfit the 1940-era vehicles
>> with something they've never had before: air conditioning.
>> The trolleys are the only cars in the Massachusetts Bay
>> Transportation Authority's 2,340 vehicle fleet without air
>> conditioning.
>> The small fleet, which runs between Mattapan and Ashmont stations on
>> a separate spur of the Red Line, is currently being refurbished.
>> There has been no service on the line since last June.
>> All 10 trolleys are scheduled to go back to work in November.
>> The air conditioning will probably be installed over the winter and
>> will debut in the summer of 2008.
>> The trolleys make 300 trips a day on the 2.55-mile line, carrying
>> about 7,000 riders per day.
>> "We don't want to lose the charm of the old [trolleys], and we'll
>> maintain that,," Grabauskas said in an interview.
>> "But clearly on a hot summer day, air conditioning becomes something
>> that our customers expect."
>> MAC DANIEL
>>
>

Visit us at our redesigned website: http://www.stvinc.com.

The information contained in this electronic message is intended only for
the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may
contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from
disclosure under applicable law.  If the reader of this message is not the
intended recipient, you are informed that any dissemination, copying or
disclosure of the material  contained herein, in whole or in part, is
strictly prohibited.  If you have received this transmission in error,
please notify STV and purge this message.