[PRCo] Re: Central Electric Traffic Association

[Edward Skuchas]

Fred,

Thank you for your reply.

Would it be possible to obtain copies of the equipment lists?

Since I have many freight trailers, I am collecting roster, color,  
lettering and detail photos and information.  Many were similar line  
to line, and many changed hands or were inherited.

When I spoke to Bill Vigrass, he indicated that he read of the freight  
motors traveling across system boundaries.  He indicated that he saw  
photos of motors and trailers on other properties.  I believe that a  
Penn Ohio trailer got stuck in Ohio when the connecting line stopped  
service.

Many thanks for your help.

Ed
On Dec 31, 2008, at 12:47 PM, Schneider Fred wrote:

> Central Electric Traffic Association was, to the best of my
> knowledge, a membership association that handled advertising and
> promotion, tariffs, publication of rosters of different companies.
>
> I have several copies of their equipment lists.   In that way you
> could determine which interurban railway owned stock (cattle) cars or
> probably more precisely stock motor cars, hoppers, tanks, and so
> forth.   Dimensions were listed because they were critical to
> interchange on lines running over street curves.
>
> To what degree were cars run through over other railways?  Probably
> seldom if ever.   If you had a carload shipment from point a to point
> b, you probably sent it by railroad.   Of the thousands of pictures
> of have of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois interurbans, I do not have a
> single picture of an interurban car in service and off the owner's
> track.   On the other hand, they were very competitive with overnight
> express shipments of things like auto parts moving from Detroit south
> over the Detroit, Monroe and Toledo to Toledo and then all over Ohio
> or Indiana for next day delivery.   Their strong suit was similar to
> what Greyhound was doing in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s.
>
> You might consider looking through the Electric Railway Journal for
> more information.
>
>
> On Dec 31, 2008, at 11:59 AM, Edward Skuchas wrote:
>
>> I found a poor resolution file of a one page ad for this association.
>> I would like to find the source and other ads.  The CETA was the
>> electric railway freight service that interconnected lines from PA to
>> OH, IN, MI & IL.  There is a nice map.  This is the system and map
>> where the CERA and other trailers were pulled.  The box motors  
>> pulling
>> the trailers crossed operating company boundaries, so a foreign box
>> motor could end up miles away from its home line.
>> Can someone please direct me to some reference ads and text?  Its
>> probably in a publication in my library, and I am unaware of the
>> location.  Many on this email list are very knowledgeable, and I
>> appreciate your assistance.
>>
>> Happy New Year to all.
>>
>> Ed
>>
>>
>
>