[PRCo] Re: Next Car Light Question

[Fred Schneider]

Answer: a brake light.   It comes on whenever there is air pressure  
in the brake cylinder.   They were first applied to the high speed  
cars in the early 1930s.   This photo shows that at least some of the  
non-high speed double-end cars also got brake lights.

As built, the low floor cars did not have them.   Without looking at  
any pictures, I suspect that most of the 4200s, 4250s, and 4300s were  
scrapped without them because most of those three groups were not  
converted from Jones control to K or HL control and were therefore  
scrapped in the 1930s.  Many of the 4700s were scrapped by the time  
the PCCs started to arrive so I suspect you won't find a whole lot of  
4700s with brake lights.  Only 5149 out of the entire 5100 series was  
speed up, the others probably did not get brake lights.   However,  
the 4800-4939, 5000-5099, 5149, 5200-5282, 5400-5464, 5500-5549,  
3750-3769 and the 4390s certainly did.   I remember seeing pictures  
of 4366 with it.  Car 4357 did.

In the land of winking and blinking, there were some rather unusual  
tail lights.   Cleveland fitted two color lights on rear their  
conventional (non-PCC) cars.  If the motorman pulled power, the green  
light came on.   If the car was coasting, no light was illuminated.    
If a brake application was made, the red light came on.

Now, Bob, figure out how to do that in HO with green and red LEDs.




On Jul 11, 2008, at 5:18 PM, BobDietrich wrote:

> So what is the light above and to the right (left) of the  
> headlight??????
> http://www.davesrailpix.com/pitts/htm/bvp084.htm
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of  
> Fred
> Schneider
> Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 4:24 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Next Car Light Question
>
> Have no idea.  Perhaps he knew your mother was a Donora passenger?
> Perhaps at certain hours the Donora cars did the local work in
> Monongahela?   (Remember that the Castle Shannon cars did all the
> local work in the rush hours between Pittsburgh and Frederick
> Street).   I never saw anything in the timetable about Donora cars
> running local and it does not make sense because there could have
> been people who would have wanted to get on and go to Charleroi so my
> thought is that the motorman recognized the people.  I've given you
> the speculative answer.   The honest answer is Fred doesn't know.
>
>
> On Jul 11, 2008, at 4:09 PM, Jerry MATT Matsick wrote:
>
>> Fred -
>> When I was just a youngster in the 1940s we would ride a Donora car
>> to Monongahela and attend
>> a church there, upon return we would stand across the street from
>> the FBC in Monongahela and
>> The Charleroi car would come by and not stop?   We would wait and
>> get on the Donora car?  Why would
>> the Charleroi car not stop?
>> --
>> From the RIVER CITY by the Sea!
>> Jerry "Matt" Matsick
>> J A C K S O N V I L L E, Florida !
>>
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