[PRCo] Re: Streetcar Loops

[Edward H. Lybarger]

The "car cards" are quite incomplete because no one had the foresight to
collect more than a handful of them!  They no longer exist except for those
few.

The route cards, on the other hand, were intended to be a complete history
of events of and affecting the various routes of the company.   That there
are omissions and occasionally errors is simply testimony to the fact that
humans will sometimes screw up, regardless of the best intentions.  It also
has to do with priorities...the scribe du jour may not think the same thing
is noteworthy that yesterday's writer would have included.  And the scribe
may also have been preoccupied with something on any given day, so an item
may not have made it into the record.

If we don't interpret the available evidence with the best knowledge we can
put behind it, we will have failed the future.  I'm not sure that the court
system cares a hang about that any more as long as someone is enriched.  But
that's not our purpose as historians.

Ed

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Phillip
Clark Campbell
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 3:23 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Streetcar Loops

Mr.Schneider did say just the other day that the 'car cards' of PRC were
quite incomplete didn't he; why should we think that the route cards were
any different?  PRC didn't keep records for historians nor railfans did
they; what they entered 'for the record' was what seemed expedient or
important for the moment.  The best we can say today is:  "The PRC record
shows..."  and those items are not necessarily ''the' facts' but 'may' be
considered 'best evidence' until more information is available.  As with the
court system it would be a preponderance of evidence, not one piece of
evidence, which determines the 'apparent' facts.

With all that it seems the 'preponderance of evidence' according to
equipment orders 1910-1928 strongly suggests the intention of SE operations
as time / money / real estate / etc. / etc. / etc.  permitted.  PRC had not
a small amount of DE equipment which was 'young' and a good business person
would desire to get the best value from that equipment.

I have often seen comments in the archives about this being an 'imperfect
world' haven't I - thus pure SE operations would seem elusive even with the
best of intentions.  It did eventually happen though didn't it!


http://www.davesrailpix.com/boston/htm/bos184.htm - shows an ex-Dallas DE in
Boston without one trolley pole; as I mentioned earlier these cars were
eventually SE weren't they.


Phil



----- Original Message ----
> From: Ken & Tracie <ktjosephson at embarqmail.com>
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Cc: SCOTT GREIG <m1903a1 at sbcglobal.net>; Charles Brown 
> <Charlesebrown at webtv.net>
> Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 9:37:42 PM
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Streetcar Loops
> 
> For the most part, I've given up trying to confuse people with the facts.