[PRCo] San Francisco cannot use Pittsburgh cars

[Fred Schneider]

San Francisco cannot use Pittsburgh cars but Oakland loved them.  It  
has been well documented that Market Street Railway tried and  
rejected the Pittsburgh design saying, "We have hills in San  
Francisco" ... and those cars don't work on hills.

You should take a gander at the new book on East Bay Street Railway  
by the late Vernon Sappers.  All of the last city cars in Oakland,  
California were similar conceptually to the Pittsburgh Low Floor cars.

The 20 center-entrance 700s built by Saint Louis in 1916 (the same  
year as 4398 at PTM) had 24 inch wheels in Brill 77E1 trucks, GE 247A  
motors (same as the GE low-floor cars in Pittsburgh), and K-35  
control (the same as the cars PRC rebuilt from Jones control to drum  
controllers).  These cars were rebuilt with end doors and safety car  
control in the 1930s to permit one-man operation.

The 800s, built later, were subsequently lowered.

The 95 900 series cars built in 1922 also had 24 inch wheels, GE 247  
motors and type M control.  The Westinghouse HL control on the  
Pittsburgh 3750s, 5000s, 5100s and 5200s is really functionally  
similar to GE type M form K in that it uses magnetic solenoid  
contactors under the car instead of the usual Westinghouse compressed  
air switches.

So, what could not climb the hillsin San Francisco, could climb then  
in the East Bay!!!!