[PRCo] Re: PRCo__PCC__#100

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Car 100 was the 100th car body of the Brooklyn order.  They bought the
sample from Clark and 99 from St. Louis.

But 100 was equipped with Westinghouse apparatus and was the first PCC thus
equipped.

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org]On Behalf Of Jim
Holland
Sent: Sunday, September 16, 2007 11:54 AM
To: - 1714 PRCo__WP__JTC -
Subject: [PRCo] PRCo__PCC__#100


""O-Tai""  --  as we said in Uncle Sam's Canoe Club~!~!
.
Lettuce take a look at the literature at hand to see what we can determine.
.
.
.
.
The following lists the SLCCo Job_#, Quantity, Customer, Order Date,
Shipping Dates In That Order  (Job_#s run consecutively; a few are
skipped for expediency:::::)
.
1600   099   B&QT NY   1935.06.24   1936.08.19--1937.01.08
1601   027   BTCo MD   1936.01.31   1936.08.29--1936.11.19
1602   083   CTA - IL  1936.02.28   1936.10.22--1937.01.29
1603   001   PRCo PA   1936.04.06   1936.07.23
1604   100   PRCo PA   1936.07.23   1937.01.20--1937.05.20
1607   001   BERy MA   1936.10.01   1937.05.19
1610   100   PRCo PA   1937.04.01   1937.10.09--1938.01.21
.
Above Information from Lind's book on SLCCo, pg.366.
.
*_Generally_*  the Notes to the Job_# in Lind's book will mention that a
car was pulled for another order and to see Job_#___.    Nothing so
mentioned for Job_#s 1600, 1601, 1602, 1603, & 1604.     Note for
Job_#-1607 (pg.365) states:  """The car was diverted from car Job_1600."""
.
The shortest time between ordering and delivery is PRCo #100 - 3+
months.     The next fastest times are both PRCo 10s and 11s with about
6-months between order and first delivery.
.
.
.
.
"""THE  FIRST  CAR  was rushed to completion and had some hand-built
components when it was delivered to Brooklyn & Queens [1001] in May
1936..."""
.
"""THE  SECOND  CAR,  Pittsburgh  100,  was rushed to completion to
permit Westinghouse Electric to demonstrate its PCC equipment.     It
was an appropriate move because the manufacturer was headquartered in
Pittsburgh.     The exterior of the car was all but identical to the
Brooklyn cars but the Pittsburgh interior design provided more space for
standees."""
.
The above two quotes from photo captions pgs.46_&_47 respectively of
Demoro's book on the PCC.
.
.
.
.
"""In March_1935 the ERPCC released its specifications for the PCC car
and two months later B&QT asked for bids for production of 100,  300,
and  500  cars.     B&QT had contemplated entering the equipment
brokerage business;  only 100 cars would have been built for use in
Brooklyn, the others were for resale.     As it turned out, only one car
was ever sold to another operator.     SLCCo records note that Boston's
3001 was ordered by B&QT."""
.
"""In the spring of 1936 the Sunday newspaper supplements carried the
news that PRCo had purchased its first PCC car.     Although the single
vehicle comprised the fourth order placed with SLCCo, number 100 was the
first PCC car delivered in the world.     It ran in free demonstration
service for two weeks starting September_12, and was then assigned to
Craft Ave. Carhouse for service on route 50-Carson-St.     The Railways
Co. was so pleased with the modern car that it placed seven additional
orders with SLCCo between July_1936 and September_1947."""
.
"""Car 100 entered revenue service on route 50-Carson-St. in August_1936
and continued to work that line out of Carrick Car House for the next
11-years..."""
.
The above three quotes from pg.041 (text, 2nd paragraph,)  pg.162 (text,
first full paragraph,)  and pg.163 photo caption of PCC Coast to
Coast.     Please note discrepancies in PRCo quotes.
.
.
.
.
"""The early production PCCs were not without their problems, as can be
detected by lags between delivery dates and the start of revenue
service.     It should be noted, however, that extensive concept and
design testing by the ERPCC during the period 1932 thru 1934 prevented
any major problems.     The first Brooklyn production car [1001] was
shipped to the TRC in June_1936 for three months of testing....     The
remainder of the order began arriving in Brooklyn late in August, which
permitted revenue operation to begin on October_1."""
"""The first five Baltimore cars were also given three months of
pre-revenue testing..."""
.
The above text is from bottom pg.52 through top pg.53 of PCC Car Fought
Back.
.
.
.
.
"""It is not generally appreciated that although Pittsburgh #100 was
ordered after the Brooklyn, Baltimore and Chicago cars, it was in fact
the very first PCC car to be completed, delivered and put into
service.     Finished in June_1936, it was running in Pittsburgh a few
days later, over four months before the Brooklyn cars went into traffic."""
.
This quote from photo caption, pg.196 of Andrew Young's book on
SLCCo.     Pg.207 Seems To Indicate that Brooklyn ordered 500-PCC cars.
.
.
.
.
P~H~O~T~O~S::::
.
.
Pg.076 PCC Fought Back, 2nd photo #100 *suggests* blooming trees at
SLCCo!     Pg.091 shows broadside of #100 in Homewood with Trees in Full
Bloom  --  Appears Brand Spanking New~!~!     Pg.159 shows interior with
full bloom bushes visible outside.
.
.
Pg.047 of Demoro's PCC book shows same identical broadside of #100 as
pg.091 above,  PITTSBURGH  in side dustynation sign as above.
.
.
Pg.196 of Young's book shows Gordon and Fitzgerald with #100 in
Homewood, Very Possibly same time that Pg.047 of Demoro and Pg.091 of
Fought Back  --  full bloom trees.     Same op cab on bottom pg.197 as
pg.159 of Fought Back showing full bloom bushes outside.     Interior at
SLCCo above that but bushes / trees not evident~!~!
.
.
PCC Coast to Coast pg.162 shows very similar photo to Pg.196 of Young's
book but w/o Gordon / Fitzgerald - full bloom trees  --  only date in
photo caption is  ""..summer of our youth..""
.
.
.
.
What can we Seduce from the Above about PRCo PCC #100~?~?~?
.
.
-01->--It was a Bonafide Stand Alone Order  --  Not a Car pulled from
another order.     Lind's notes (Job_#-1607) and the 1st quote from PCC
Coast to Coast about B&QT also indicates that only BERy 3001 was pulled
from the NY order.
.
-02->--Demoro indicates that PRCo PCC_#100 was the second car to start
construction.
.
-03->--Young indicates that PRCo PCC_#100 was::
.......4th order  (confirmed by All Above)
.......First PCC car to be completed.
.......First PCC car to be delivered.
.......First PCC car to be in Revenue Service - Collecting Fares!
.
-04->--ALL  the photos show the car In Summer in Pgh - photos lack
specific dating.
.
.
The above also raises the question of the super fast construction time
of #100 which could lead us to assume:
.
-A->--Order date is Wrong /
..............Typo error and should be backed
..............up to near Brooklyn order date in 1935.
.
-B->--Order date is Correct;  consider the following::
.......1547 sent directly to Twin Cities.
.......1674 and 1675 sent directly to Detroit.
.......Order / Delivery Dates
..............Less Than 1 month apart for Twin Cities
..............About 1-month apart for Detroit
.......Above two Much Later than construction of 100, almost decade.
.......Completed PRCo cars sent to each company above.
.......Above 2 companies Non-PCC and SLCCo
..............eager to entice them as customers.
.......Similar for PRCo - SLCCo eager to entice PRCo
..............as customer so takes a car under
..............construction but not necessarily
..............designated for B&QT, BTCo and certainly
..............not for CTA and completes it for PRCo.
.......Westinghouse might have *urged* SLCCo to rush a
..............car for PRCo to show off its equipment.
.......Wide gauge trucks available as BTCo is slightly
..............wider than PRCo~!~!
.......Interior arrangement / materials readily available.
.......Exterior of All Early PCCs Highly Similar.
.
.
D-E-M-O-N-S-T-R-A-T-O-R::::
.
-P1->--.......for PRCo to see if it likes PCCs.
-P2->--.......for Pgh. as an example of More
.....................Like TrolleyCars On Order
.....................for Delivery in the
.....................Very Near Future.
.
.
 From the evidence presented #01, #03, #04 all seem to be factual.
PRCo PCC #100 could have been delivered in May  --  seem to remember
that but haven't been able to find verification.
.
"B"  above seems the most logical as well as does P2 as Tens seemed to
have been ordered Before / As #100 was delivered.
.
.
.
.
--
*Jim Holland*

Studying *Pittsburgh Railways Company*

....................From 1930 -- 1950

*Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM)*

http://www.pa-trolley.org/

*N.M.R.A.*

http://www.nmra.org/