[PRCo] Re: Low-Floor Pioneer

[Fred Schneider]

My last memories of Arthur Godfrey was when I was taking flight  
training 30 years ago.   He had a girl friend behind his wife's back  
some where near Reading, Pennsylvania.   All the people in aviation  
knew all about it because he was always flying in and out of  
Reading.   I lost touch because the property tax bill came and it  
made a whole lot more sense to keep my home than play around with  
Cessnas.

There was this line that you could fly a small plane just as  
economically as you could drive a car.   There was a lot of truth in  
that.   However, the fallacy was that most of us didn't keep a second  
car simply to drive on Saturdays.

I guess in summary Godfrey was human.   He had all the weaknesses and  
frailties of any human being.   But he did run a clean show.   He  
could be funny without having to resort to filth on the air.   And he  
knew how to sell a product.   You would remember the brand name a  
half century later and that is all that mattered.   I remember the  
night on the talent scouts show when he was promoting Lipton's  
Chicken Noodle Soup and he said he watched them dip the chicken in  
and pull it back out.

A photo of the model?   If I get the models out of the house.

On Oct 6, 2007, at 5:32 AM, Jim Holland wrote:

>
>  From previous reading I have the impression that PRCo can be  
> considered
> A Leader in Low-Floor development, if not The leader.     Is this a
> fair  'impression?'     Certainly PRCo was a very successful  
> Pioneer in
> the Low-Floor TrolleyCar field.
> .
> I would also dearly love a 4200 model as well  --  they look a little
> more modern than their sisters~!~!~!     They have been mentioned  
> but I
> doubt will be developed  --  at least not soon.     Inflation in  
> Russia
> is working against them as prices on models are up significantly  --
> and our falling dollar contributes to that significantly  --  as a
> result, SPTC doesn't issue pricing until the model is in  
> production  --
> it used to be they issued the price on the announcement of a  
> project but
> the production run could still be a couple years forward!!!
> .
> [-[--Info on Inflation and dollar relative to imports:::   """The
> Federal Reserve's decision last month to cut interest rates by a
> larger-than-expected half-percent point sent the already-weakening
> greenback to an all-time record low against a basket of six major
> currencies. In the third quarter, the euro appreciated more than 5%
> against the dollar, most of the gains coming in September alone.
> Weakness in the dollar means prices of imported goods, particularly  
> oil,
> will go up, raising the risk of inflation. American consumers will be
> paying more soon, with the looming threat of paying even more later
> on."""   http://tinyurl.com/2vf6jo --]-]
> .
> Please take some photos showing Godfrey's ad on your WP!!     I know
> people who have done very similarly with their models.
> .
> Speaking of Godfrey ....... seemed to have universal appeal and a
> Wonderful Gentleman let alone entertainer!!     Very High Quality
> Individual  --  Very Fond Memories!!!!!
> .
> .
> .
> Fred Schneider wrote:
>> ...My West Penn 700 even has a tailor-made sign advertising Arthur
>> Godfrey's radio show on WMBS, the CBS Uniontown affiliate.
>>
>> The history of low-floor, light weight, motor cars begins when P N
>> Jones of Pittsburgh Railways went to his former employer in 1911 and
>> ask Westinghouse if they could build a group of small or baby motors
>> that would fit 24 inch wheels so he could motorize trailers. The
>> result was a compromise ... the wheels were two inches larger than  
>> the
>> trailer wheels...... While it would never be likely that SPTC would
>> build a trailer model for me unless I want to underwrite the entire
>> $250,000 for the production run, we can at least dream that Jim can
>> twist their arm into doing the low 4200s which were built by St.  
>> Louis
>> on an order dated May 1913 and delivered between April and  
>> November 1914.
>>
>> Fred Schneider
>>
>> On Oct 4, 2007, at 11:07 PM, Phillip Clark Campbell wrote:
>>
>>> Mr.Schneider -- They will custom paint for you but the models are  
>>> not
>>> part of the numbered limited edition series are they.     According
>>> to their website some of the regular DE low cars were painted in
>>> maroon and gold with black roof -- this is certainly not  
>>> prototypical
>>> but it is representative of Prc. Someone even had the 1600 modified
>>> for interurban service.
>>>
>>> http://www.sptc.spb.ru/restwork.htm
>>>
>>> Phil
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ----- Original Message ----
>>> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>>> Sent: Thursday, October 4, 2007 2:38:21 PM
>>> Subject: [PRCo]
>>>
>>>  ... because it is the closest thing to what started all the low
>>> floor, light weight cars we built in the teens and twenties.  
>>> Actually
>>> the four converted trailers were older but these were the first
>>> production motor cars.
>>>
>>> http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/ 
>>> thornburgh_stueben_noble_Jul1950.jpg
>