[PRCo] Re: Backing interurban cars

[Phillip Clark Campbell]

> ----- Original Message ----
> From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>


> Here is the reply from Art Ellis on back up controls on Pittsburgh  
> interurban cars:



> > The 3700 and  3800  cars  both had  backup controls.    The  
> > 3700's   could  be  used  directly,  like  on  3756.
> >
> > On  the  3800's  one  had  to  tie  down  the  deadman  handle  
> > with  a  wire  hook  (furnished).
>

This begs some questions doesn't it but I recognize since much of
the info about back up controllers is new to all of us that answers to
these questions will be elusive at best:

Just guessing that the 'front' deadman  (as same apparently didn't exist in the rear)  was tied down when using rear controls on 38s.

When did deadman controls appear on trolleys?

I was under the impression that one set of handles were available for each trolley and were moved from end to end on DE equipment.  Special configurations on these handles prevented someone from using a stick or pole to operate from the 'rear' end.  This same method could be used for simple rear controllers and apparently was on the 3750s and possibly the Brills as well.

Why the difference with the 38s?

Were problems experienced with the 3750s that prompted this change?

In reference to braking I have heard the term 'self-lapping' which is apparently easier to use isn't it; this prevents the lurch on the final stop.  What does the term 'self-lapping' actually mean?

PRC operators told me that on 10 and 11 series PCCs they were to release the brake and reapply just before the final stop to prevent lurching.  Didn't they have self-lapping brakes?  This was not true of subsequent orders of PCCs; 12s had spring applied brakes of course but 14s and 15s had wheel brake shoes didn't they.  The 16s were delivered with drums and it would seem that the smaller surface area available for braking and high rpm relative to wheel brake shoes would over ride concerns of lurching.

> >
> > During  the  War  (THAT  one)  I  was  on  a  3800  on  its  way  
> > to  Pittsburgh  from  Roscoe  when  a  young  sailor  told  the  
> > following:   A  year  earlier,  when  he  was  still  in  high  
> > school,  a  group  of  kids  were  congregated  in  the  back  of  
> > the  car  while  riding  from  Charleroi  to  Mon  City  to  go  
> > rollerskating.   As  they  were  rolling  down  the  hill  into  
> > Black  Diamond,   they  were  surprised  to  see   the  operator  
> > standing  among  them.,
> > After  gasps,  they  asked  why   he  was  there.   "Oh,  you  
> > seemed  to  be  enjoying  yourselves,  so I  thought  I'd  come  
> > back  and  join  you."     Fortunately,  his  stay was  brief,  
> > and  obviously  he  had  the   car  under  control  by  the  time  
> > they  reached  the  bottom  of  the  hill.

Pardon the observation but it was a sailor so this sounds like a ' sea story' doesn't it.  You mentioned that there was a high degree of professionalism among staff and management; while there was animosity with the unions the operators were highly professional as well weren't they.  I was always very much impressed with this.  This story goes against that grain of professionalism.  Even motormen are human so it is very possible.  I personally know someone who claims to have worked the 44/48 owl with PCCs while the motorman was keeping his girlfriend warm but I am a skeptic of that as well.  It would seem highly logical to have supervisors at South Hills for 24-hours; certainly there were roving supervisors all night.


> >
> > 3700 and 3800  cars  were  backed  out  of  Washington  terminal  
> > using  the  rear  controls.   (With  the advent  of  the  PCCs,  a  
> > local  operator  was  assigned  to  ride  shotgun  during  the  
> > backout  maneuver.)   When  local  service  was  discontinued,  the  
> > cars  looped  via  College St.,  avoiding  the  backup.
> >
Did anyone have experience at the Riverview wye?  Maybe a Donora local would assist here.


Phil



> > While  I  have  ridden  Canonsburg  trippers  which  wyed  ,  I  
> > don't  remember  the  procedure  exactly.   I  suspect  that  
> > they   depended  on  the  operator  of  another  car  to  
> > assist.     During  special  events,  such  as  Washington Fair,  
> > street  supervision  was  provided.    I  don't  know,  but  I    
> > suspect  most  of  the  wyeing  at  Donora  was  done  in  the  two- 
> > man  days.
> 
> So, until the PCC cars, all of the interurbans within memory of  
> anyone living today had back up controls.   That includes 3556,  
> 3700s, 3750s and 3800s.
> >



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