[PRCo] Re: Clermont - Ferrnand, France

[JERRY.MATSICK]

Jacksonville's Skyway Rubber tire Express system downtown and on the south bank, article recently said not one flat tire in all the years that  they have been operating,  my thought on the Clermont-Ferrnand Trolley bus was that having a flat on them would prove to be a task to repair, of course we don't know if the side panels open up to reveal the tires on the units?      Fred go over and check them out and give us a report!! 



Jerry M 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Schneider Fred" <fwschneider at comcast.net> 
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 5:30:52 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Clermont - Ferrnand, France 


Fix it, I guess. 

But then, Jerry, when is the last time you had a flat tire. 

Today's steel belted radial tires are amazingly durable.   I have   
lost two through road hazards, one in 1974 in Washington state and   
another when a railroad time fell off a pick up truck right in front   
of me on an expressway and there was absolutely no way I could dodge   
it. Â  That cost me more than a tire ... it also cost me a wheel. Â  Â  
That's two tires in over a million miles, Jerry. 

I also had one go bad on two go bad on rental cars but then maybe   
they don't put the best tires on their cars.   One happened in   
Scotland and the other driving a Ford over an imaginary road (or   
trail) in the Mojave Desert while trying to get to the Santa Fe   
railroad.   Maybe that is because of a** holes like me that the   
rental car companies no longer gladly give you new tires when you   
chew them up driving over rocks and snakes chasing trains. 

If we go back to the 1920s, expensive touring cars might have had one   
spare tire on each running board and perhaps some might have even had   
a third spare on the rear and they weren't ornaments either. 

Even 50 years ago flats were common.   My father had a lot of   
problems with his 1952 Ford ... the wheel rims would constantly chew   
up inner tubes (remember them?).   Called rim cuts.  He might have   
had one or two flat tires a year because of rim cuts.    The car was   
a mistake to begin with ... the dealer in Lancaster didn't want to   
sell dad a 6 cylinder automatic but dad had to have one; he ordered   
it through a Pittsburgh dealer and had it made special in Michigan. Â  Â  
What a gutless wonder.   It would do all of 15 mph on some Pittsburgh   
streets.   He solved the acceleration problems and rim cuts with a   
1956 Mercury ... he learned his less and bought at V8 (and I don't   
mean tomato juice). Â  I don't think he ever had another flat tire. Â  
And, get this Mr. Lybarger, in spite of body to frame squeaks, he did   
get 146,000 miles out of the Merc which was phenomenal for those   
model years. 


(And how many typos are in this one, Ed????) 

On Jul 31, 2009, at 5:10 PM, JERRY.MATSICK wrote: 

> 
> Flat Tires?    What in the world would you do with one?     Nice   
> looking system! 
> 
> 
> 
> Jerry M 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Schneider Fred" <fwschneider at comcast.net> 
> To: "Skip Gatermann" <biker4 at sbcglobal.net>, "May Jack" Â  
> <Jack.May at americomm.net>, "Craig Phil" <philgcraig204 at yahoo.com>, Â  
> "Bente Bruce" <bbente at bellsouth.net>, pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
> Sent: Friday, July 31, 2009 5:04:32 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
> Subject: [PRCo] 
> 
> Isn't this an interesting way of doing business ... a hybrid trolley 
> bus or a hybrid streetcar? Â  It has a guideway which 
> serves as the power return rail. Â  Therefore we only need a 
> pantograph to collect positive energy from the trolley 
> wire. Â  But apparently it runs on rubber tires and is steerable, 
> following the guideway. Â  And it's as long as a light 
> rail car. 
> 
> Occurs to me that it might be an interesting place to go have 
> dinner..... 
> 
> Clermont - Ferrnand, France. 
> 
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GweHFXI3Ak&feature=channel 
> 
> 
>