[PRCo] Re: PTM and 4398

[Fred Schneider]

So that makes it $3000, $6000, and $12000 in today's currency ... not  
something that most of have as pocket change.  A West Penn 700 plus  
shipping charges is getting up there with the cost of a new  
automobile.   If you don't think so, remember that a 1953 Volkswagen  
cost not much more than a grand.   And you got a payment book with it  
for two years.

On May 6, 2008, at 8:24 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

> M1 cost $250, I believe.  West Penn 832 was $500.  They wanted  
> $1000 for a
> 700-car.
>
> A 3800?  Pricey.  Storage was an issue.  They were junk in the  
> first place.
> Better to have taken 3756 later...at least it was representative of  
> the
> entire system.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of  
> Fred
> Schneider
> Sent: Tuesday, May 06, 2008 6:21 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: PTM and 4398
>
> Remember that the early PERC acquisitions were purchased, not by the
> club, but by members.   The club had no money.   That route was
> typical of most of the museums in the early days.  The going rate  
> for a
> trolley car in the late 1940s was about $200 to beat out the scrap
> dealer.   Something like a West Penn 700 was probably closer to
> $350.   Put that into today's dollars ... probably $3,000 to $5,000.
> That's not exactly pocket change for most people.   And then you have
> to pay what today would be another few grand to move it somewhere.
> A worn out PRC 3800 in 1952 might have been been in the $4000 to
> $5000 range in today's dollars.    M-1 was probably cheap because it
> had no cash value other than scrap steel in the wheels, trucks,  
> motors,
> controls and copper ... the entire frame and body was only wood and  
> it would
> be burnt ... probably 40% of its weight would be
> burnt ... I'll bet it went for close to $100 back then.   Now someone
> prove I'm wrong but I suspect I'm in the ball park.
>
> We should consider it fortuitous that the guys were able to save M-1,
> 3756 and West Penn 832 out of their own pockets and to buy a few
> thousand feet of track and put up a pole barn.    Remember too that
> PRC 1138 is not exactly a critter that you find in every museum.
> There are dozens of Shaker all-electrics rusting away.   Boston PCCs
> are a dime a dozen.   SEPTA all-electrics are out there by the
> dozens.   Virtually all of the fleet that Red Arrow owned in the
> 1980s had survived.   But the earliest PCC cars are rare ... one
> Pittsburgh car survived.   One Brooklyn car is at Branford.  There
> are two San Diego cars at Orange Empire, and one more at Baltimore  
> which BSM
> wants to back date to look like one of BTC's 28 1937 St.
> Louis PCCs.   OERM has a Los Angeles P class car from 1937.   That's
> it guys.   The 1138 is in good structural condition and we should be
> glad that someone saved in in 1960.
>
> And how many really nice horse cars are there?   Both the museums in
> Washington PA and Baltimore have them.   The Baltimore one was
> rebuilt with rubber wheels to be used in parades and we are now in
> the process of rebuilding it back to steel wheels.   The Pittsburgh,
> Allegheny and Manchester car (PRC M3) was covered with tin to hide the
> decaying wood and the platforms are sagging beyond belief but it  
> looks nice.
>
> On May 6, 2008, at 4:48 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:
>
>> Since we are on the topic of "saved" PRCo cars.......
>>   Why was a 3800 series interurban never saved?? They were around
>> until 1950. It seems someone would have tried to get one off the  
>> scrap
>> pile.
>> Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net> wrote:
>>   PST 14 and 78 were not operational. The other revenue fleet was
>> marked in service but not everything was run. Of course that excludes
>> 4398, and Pittsburgh 1100 series PCC and a whole lot of stuff in the
>> Blimp Hanger which is not in the revenue fleet.
>>
>> On May 6, 2008, at 9:33 AM, Jerry Matt Matsick wrote:
>>
>>> Mark M and myself wonder what "cars" actually were operational this
>>> past weekend? Both of us would have given anything to be there as it
>>> looked like a fantastic time.
>>> --
>>> From the River City by the Sea!
>>> Jerry "Matt" Matsick
>>> "Jacksonville"
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Herb Brannon
>>
>>   Greetings From America's North Coast
>>
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