[PRCo] Re: Red Arrow BrilLiner

[Fred Schneider]

Between Ed and I we've have both given the two basic reasons why it  
[the Red Arrow Brilliner] should be a hanger queen.

a.   Four seventy-five horse power motors will consume far more  
energy than a two motor Philly or New Orleans car with no additional  
return on investment from the passengers.

b.   It's too fast for the capabilities of most operator.

The third reason none of us mentioned until now is

c.   PCC and related equipment requires a disproportionate amount of  
shop time to keep it running in a museum.   Although they were very  
economical in an environment in which you ran them every day of the  
week, the exact opposite tends to be the case when you pull them out  
of the barn only periodically.   Relays and contactors tend to hang  
up and drive the maintenance staff crazy.   From a museum  
perspective, there is nothing that works more reliably than a two  
motor, straight air (manually lapped), drum control, hand door car  
like New Orleans 832.   It's sort of like the Timex watch that takes  
all sorts of abuse and keeps on ticking.

The other extreme is Baltimore Transit 7407 which was rebuilt from  
the wheels up about ten years ago.   Or so we were led to believe.    
The front track brakes still don't work right.   The front door, rear  
leaf switch doesn't work ... you have to run the car with your hand  
on the switch or the door pops open.  Periodically someone will  
forget to turn off the battery cutout when they shut it down, the  
battery will go dead, and then it takes all day to get the contactors  
working right ... you can't get the sucker out of emergency.    
Occasionally it will plug when you take your foot off the power pedal  
instead of just setting up a mild brake loop.    Now, guys, do you  
understand why I don't favor PCCs for museum operation?  And that car  
is run almost every week.

Of course the reality to any of this is simply that any private  
corporation that maintained equipment after it ordered replacement  
buses could have its top management cruising for a shake up when the  
stockholders got done with them.   It was stockholders money that was  
being spent to maintain equipment they were going to scrap.   So all  
these cars you see in museums were run into the ground ... no doubt  
about it.



On Nov 20, 2007, at 10:54 AM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

> It needs to have a motor rewound.  It burned out on its only run at  
> the
> museum.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of  
> Fred
> Schneider
> Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 10:44 AM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Red Arrow BrilLiner
>
>
> My recollection is that the car is inoperable ... something burnt out
> when it was last run.      In all honesty, as much as "Fast Freddy"
> likes to run cars like 14, 24, 5 and 78, interurban cars capable of
> 59 miles per hour really don't belong in an environment with old men
> who don't run more than a few days a year and whose reaction times
> and experience are minimal.
>
> Short term future is probably simply a display car.    Remember that
> the open car is in the hopper after 4398 and then West Penn 832
> should come down the chute after that.   Now that ought to take us
> through 2010 or 2011.   I would suspect that  Philadelphia 8042 or
> Pittsburgh 1138 would be the most logical next choices.   The
> Philadelphia single end Peter Witt needs a roof but otherwise it is
> in rather decent condition.  I'm suggesting that 1138 be rewired
> before it goes out.   Some existing cars need some heavy work ...
> 5326 needs to have the side sheets replaced because the bolsters are
> pushing their way up into the body.   The single end Pittsburgh low
> floor (3756) is in decrepid shape ... it at least needs to have the
> center section rebuilt and it needs to have the "short circuses"
> rewired.
>
>
> http://www.pa-trolley.org/TakeRide2.htm
>
>
> On Nov 20, 2007, at 6:57 AM, Jim Holland wrote:
>
>> http://www.sptc.spb.ru/photo/philadelphiacars/119.gif
>> .
>> .
>> As a New Vehicle Just Delivered, this is a Very Striking and  
>> Beautiful
>> TrolleyCar~!~!~!
>> .
>> What is the future for PTM Red Arrow #5?
>> .
>> http://www.pa-trolley.org/Roster/PSTC5.htm
>> .
>> Will this car be operable?
>> .
>> How many of the ten cars have been  *Saved~?~!~?*
>> .
>> .
>> ^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^~^
>> .
>> .
>> Jim  Holland
>> .
>> Studying Pittsburgh Railways Company (PRCo)
>> .
>> ..............................From 1930 -- 1950
>> .
>> Pennsylvania  Trolley  Museum  (PTM)
>> .
>> http://www.pa-trolley.org/
>> .
>> N.M.R.A.
>> .
>> http://www.nmra.org/
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
>