[PRCo] Re: Shovel__Car--__--Work__Equipment

[Fred Schneider]

M stood for Miscellaneous.   M-1 was not a maintenance car but a pay  
car ... just one example.


On Jan 6, 2007, at 4:35 PM, Jim Holland wrote:

>                I have an 81 page listing of all  'Rolling__Stock'
> owned by PRCo on letter sized paper, done by typewriter,
> single-spaced.       Some of the listings are tables of cross- 
> references
> showing the original owner and car number  (like Ardmore St. Railway;
> Pittsburgh & Birmingham St. Rwy. and their respective car numbers)   
> and
> the numbers assigned after  PRCo  takeover   i-f   the numbers were  
> changed.
> .
> .
>                A dozen of these pages list the  'M'  equipment in
> Landscape mode so more information can be provided for each car.
> Unfortunately, I do not see the Shovel Car listed here And I do Not  
> See
> some rail grinders that I know PRCo had.       These unlisted items  
> may
> have been  'Miscellaneous__Equipment'  which had to be carted to the
> sight  "ON"  something else and could not operate under its own  
> power or
> be towed at normal operating speeds among other TrolleyCar or street
> traffic as standard  'M'-cars could.       More about this later.
> .
> .
> .
>                Believe that the  'M'  designation in front of a number
> on a TrolleyCar stands for  'Maintenance or Maintenance of Way'
> Equipment,  Not Miscellaneous    ----    Please Verify or Correct if
> Wrong!!!       The listings start with M1  (now at PTM)  and end with
> M701 in addition to M1276,  F1 through F9,  a few Named Vehicles,  and
> about a dozen unnumbered vehicles.       The listings are not
> consecutive but the gaps are rather insignificant and some numbers  
> were
> used more than once.       As already mentioned, these  'M'-Cars could
> operate on their own or be towed by motor cars in mixed traffic  
> with any
> other vehicles on streets or prw.
> .
>                Ed made a comment the other day about one of the work
> cars that a number was only assigned to one car at a time.       I
> wondered about this comment for a while and then realized that I may
> have given the impression that more than one car could have the same
> number.       My apologies for this was not intended;  a close  
> check of
> the dates for number usage where such was posted would reveal
> this.       Lettuce look at an example:::::::
> .
>                There were three different TrolleyCars which bore the
> M11 number but never at the same time.       The second car to bear  
> the
> number M11 was actually built one year before the first car to bear  
> M11
> but the conversion of the second car to M11 didn't happen until 3- 
> months
> after the first M11 was scrapped.
> .
> 01.>--                The Original M11 was a test car built by  PU
> (Pullman) for Pittsburgh Allegheny & Manchester St. Rwy in 1904 with
> their car number of 35.       This Test TrolleyCar was 15'6" long and
> was scrapped by Burning at Tunnel on 1926.07.21  --  that is all the
> information that is listed for this car.
> .
> 02.>--                The  2nd  M11 was built in 1903 by Laclede  
> and was
> apparently used as passenger TrolleyCar 3271 which was converted to  
> M11
> Meter Test on 1926.10.03,  Less__Than  3-months after the first M11  
> was
> scrapped.       This second M11 was scrapped by turning at Ingram on
> 1946.03.06
> .
> 03.>--                The 3rd and last M11 was built in 1936 as PCC  
> 100
> which was converted to Instruction Car M11 on 1949.06.xx
> .
> 04.>--                The 1st and 2nd M11 cars were on the property at
> the same time but sported different numbers  --  M11 and 3271.
> Three months after scrapping of the first M11 we find that 3271 was
> converted to M11.       Similar with the 2nd and 3rd M11s!!!
> .
> .
> .
> .
> UNLISTED____Equipment:
> .
> .
>                I do not see the  "Shovel""   that Ray discovered on
> this listing of  'M'  Cars;  I also know of rail grinders that are not
> on the list as well.       There are only 3 rail grinders listed,  ALL
> were conversions from former passenger cars  (3497,  3218,  and 3264)
> and all were scrapped by 1950.       The rail grinder I saw in  
> operation
> in the latter 1950s was hauled to the site on a trailer behind an PRCo
> truck, had a trolley pole for its own power with a swivel wheel, would
> operate on rubber tires off and onto its trailer as well as to  
> clear the
> track to allow a TrolleyCar to pass  (thus the Trolley Coach swivel
> wheel on the trolley pole)  And would operate at very low speeds on
> steel wheels on rail to grind the rail.       The shovel from Ray  
> could
> probably set on rail but apparently didn't operate under its own power
> or had very limited capability so to do; it also had to be carted  
> to the
> site  ON  some other piece of equipment.       This equipment thus did
> not qualify as  'M'  equipment as we know it but probably some
> miscellaneous category where the name of the vehicle would be  
> sufficient
> for identification.       ED  has that list of strange equipment ready
> for sending!!!!!!!
> .
> .
> .
> .
> OVERVIEW____Of___M--Cars!!!
> .
> .
> M1 was a Pay car built for United Traction by Pullman in 1894!!!
> Other than being sold to  PERC  on 1949.05.02, other information is  
> not
> listed.
> .
> M3 was a Horsecar built in 1893 by Stephenson for United Traction as
> their number 101.       It was on display in South Park  (34 is listed
> and don't know if that was a number or the year it was taken there  --
> I remember seeing this car in South Park.       A handwritten note  
> seems
> to indicate that it was stored after 1971 at some Village  --  doesn't
> appear to be SHV.)
> .
> M5 thru M9 consecutively were Money cars, there were three M10s and  
> M11s
> and M12 was a Money Car.
> .
> M12 through M56 consecutively were Sweepers by a variety of  
> builders and
> all but M50 through M56 were initially built for a railway other  
> than PRCo.
> .
> M65 thru M69 were Sprinklers.
> .
> M80 thru M88 were Express-Work cars.
> .
> M90 through M99 were Freight Cars.
> .
> M100 was built for Consolidated Railway as car 199; date of  
> building and
> conversion not listed nor is the type of work listed; scrapped  
> 1925.02.08
> .
> M103?  --  M104 Ash Car  --  M105 & M106?
> .
> M110 thru M124 were Wrecker Cars.
> .
> M125 through M134 numbers were used more than once on either a Tool  
> Car
> or Wrecker with the last two being Traffic Painting Cars!
> .
> M135 thru M164 were Sand Cars.
> .
> M165 through M195 were Shifters.
> .
> M196 through M200 were Tow Cars.
> .
> M201 thru M209 were Tower Cars.
> .
> M210 thru M433 were various Flats with some having Snow Scrapers  
> Added,
> some specially used as Ash & Coal cars, several for Advertizing, a
> couple as Car Cleaner, one a Horsecar,  M280 thru M285 as Cranes, a
> couple as Wreckers, some as Line Cars and one or two for welding.
> The Original M400 was a Hand car built at Rankin  by PRCo in 1911 and
> scrapped there on 1921.03.25.
> .
> M450 thru M459 are former 4000s and 4100s used as Snow Scrapers,  
> also in
> towing.
> .
> M500 thru M539 have some listed as Dump Cars, others don't indicate
> particular work specification.
> .
> M540 through M549 find the 3 rail grinders, welding cars, rail car,
> compressor cars.
> .
> M550 thru M555 are Dumps
> .
> M600 thru M619 are Sand Cars.
> .
> M700 and M701 are Rail Cars.
> .
> M1276 was the PCC snow plow.
> .
> F1 thru F9 were freight, with F8 and F9 Also Snow Plows.
> .
> Plain Old  "1"  was a portable Substation.
> .
> "Pittsburgh"  was the name of a vehicle for Officers.
> .
> "Duquesne"  was the name of a vehicle for Officers.
> .
> 109 was an Exhibit Car.
> .
> There were 2 Express-Work cars without M-numbers.
> .
> There were two other cars without M-numbers and without work  
> description.
> .
> The final listing is for 10 cars without M-numbers which are listed as
> ""Gwd.__Dinkey""
> .
> .
> .
> Jim___Holland
>
>
>
>
>