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

[Richard Allman]

Fred-now is the time to tell the tale of the high test oil you were supposed 
to throw onto the streets from your Packard...
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ken & Tracie" <ktjosephson at embarqmail.com>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 04, 2007 11:06 AM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: AnyOne Here Like West Penn~?~!~?~!~?


> 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.
>
>
>