[PRCo] MU service on Frankstown

[Fred Schneider]

Here is an issue that cries out for resolution should anyone want to  
read stacks of newspapers.

Why did Pittsburgh Railways install MU cars on route 88 FRANKSTOWN   
on December 10, 1924 only to eliminate the service on April 8, 1925?

One might suspect that they converted the line to one-man operation  
so that there would no longer be a labor saving by running MU  
trains.   That wasn't the case.   While PRC was converting to one-man  
service all through the period from 1926 to 1931, route 88 did not  
get one-man cars until Feb. 9, 1930 on Sundays and October 6, 1930 on  
Monday through Saturdays.   In fact, the platform hours do not drop  
completely on October 6-11, 1930  rather obviously because they  
continued to run trailers in the rush hours on 88 FRANKSTOWN through  
August 29, 1931 and they needed conductors on the motor cars to pass  
bell signals from the trailer conductors to the motormen of the motor  
cars.

So why did they quit running the MU cars?   And why did they buy the  
5100s, 5200s and 3750s after they quit running the 5000s on FRANKSTOWN?

Maybe just reading the Sun Telly or the Press or the Post Gazette on  
or about April 8, 1925 will yield an  
answer.....................................