[PRCo] Re: Car 3556

[Fred Schneider]

I presume, Jim, that you are joking about 1/2 man.   I could also be  
in the dark and not interpreting properly the symbols you used  
because I'm not into computer geek language.   If you were serious,  
and on the chance that someone else misinterpreted, 1/2 means one or  
two man operation.   However, I doubt that after 1930 they ran any  
interurban cars with a second man.

The other strange thing is that I see no mention of the PR control  
being replaced.   All I see is safety car control being added.   All  
that implies is that provision was made for breaking the propulsion  
circuit, applying brakes and balancing the doors to atmospheric  
pressure if the motorman became incapacitated.   That could easily  
have been superimposed on Jones, HL, K, M, HM, PC or any control  
scheme that had air brakes.   It only required off-the-shelf  
hardware, a pipe fitter and an electrician.  This car may well have  
had Jones control until it was scrapped.

On Nov 1, 2007, at 5:42 PM, Jim Holland wrote:

> Very Interesting.    Thank You for taking the time to provide these  
> details
>
>
> Jim
>
> PS  --  where did they find the 1/2_Man~?~!~?
>
>
>
>
> Fred Schneider wrote:
>> When I was in Europe, Jim Holland posted a picture of 3556. In all  
>> the
>> debris and detris that Bob Dietrich, John Swindler and Ed Lybarger
>> hauled out of my home and dumped in my apartment during my absence, I
>> just discovered a copy of the car record card for that car.
>>
>> Dimensions were left blank. It shows the car was contracted in 1915
>> from Standard Steel as a 1 - 2 man closed motor car. It was listed as
>> converted to double end in 1928 but, as we know, the doors were never
>> changed. The car had two M-24 trucks but these appear to have ben
>> changed on Sept. 15, 1925 to M-25. The car had a Westinghouse DH-16
>> compressor with an AR governor, and it was changed to an R-4 governor
>> in 1928. The car originally had 2 M-20A brake valves, changed to 2
>> M-20AS valves. Brake cylder was a 10x12. There were three 10x32 air
>> reservoirs. The car originally 4 No. 247 motors with a gear ratio of
>> 18:47, 2 PR controllers with 5 grids and Westinghouse contactors. The
>> term PR controllers usually meant Pittsburgh Railways Jones control.
>> On January 2, 1939 safety control equipment was applied ... I think
>> the state law required it by the end of 1938. The conversion to 1/2
>> man operation was done on Aug. 4, 1930.
>>
>> I've ignored some of the minor details.
>>
>>
>