[PRCo] Re: AnyOne Here Like West Penn~?~!~?~!~?

[Ken & Tracie]

Fred,

Another reason for the oil stains disappearing was that the open road draft 
systems were replaced with Positive Crankcase Ventilation (PVC) systems 
starting in the 1960s.

At road speed, the pressure in a gasoline engine's crankcase is very high. 
Those older engines' road draft tubes, pointing down at the highway, 
certainly contributed to soiling the pavement, especially as ring and valve 
guide wear caused increased "blow-by."

The PCV system recirculates the oil fumes into the combustion chamber to 
burn it off and its check valve releases cranckcase pressure. In addition to 
reducing air pollution, a PCV system also extends the life of the engine's 
oil.

Now back to West Penn..... ;-)

K.

P.S.- PCV systems were around before the 1960s. They were originally 
installed on gasoline engines used in dusty conditions to keep dirt 
particles and sand out of the engine's crankcase.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fred Schneider" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Saturday, November 03, 2007 4:40 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: AnyOne Here Like West Penn~?~!~?~!~?


> Russ Schramm's picture is interesting for a variety of reasons.
> Remember the oil stains in the middle of the lanes from dripping
> oil?   It was especially bad in the 1930s.    Lubrication gradually
> became better to the point in the 1970s or 1980s when they disappeared
> altogether.
>
> Sometime in the 1960s the mowed grass between the eastbound and
> westbound lanes of the turnpike was replaced with a guard rail
> because of crossover head-on collisions.     The 1952 scene looks to
> bucolic with very little traffic on the Super Highway.