[PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh MU Car Operation

[Edward H. Lybarger]

Yes, but even with a 10% spares ratio it was a very aggressive service.  I
wish we had route rider numbers for that era. 

-----Original Message-----
From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
[mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of
Schneider Fred
Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 9:36 PM
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh MU Car Operation

Remember that the number of cars in the service probably had to include
spares but they were not saying that.


On Sep 22, 2009, at 5:18 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:

> No, nothing to do with all that.  13 trains doesn't give you a 6- 
> minute headway, it gives you a 4.5-minute headway.  And 15 trains on 
> 44 works out
> to 4-minute headways.  Now put the distances into the equation.   
> It's a huge
> amount of service on each route.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of 
> Schneider Fred
> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 5:05 PM
> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Pittsburgh MU Car Operation
>
> Might have some'sing t'do with how developed Knoxville was at that 
> time and how undeveloped the outer end of Carrick was.
>
> Remember that the Liberty Tubes are what opened the whole South Hills 
> to development and they were not opened to traffic until 1924.
>
> On Sep 22, 2009, at 3:30 PM, Edward H. Lybarger wrote:
>
>> 30 cars on Knoxville?  It was only a 3.3 mile-long line!  And 15 
>> trains would provide 4-minute headways.
>>
>> Yet only 26 cars on Carrick, which was twice as long?
>>
>> Something does not compute.
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>> [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of 
>> Schneider Fred
>> Sent: Tuesday, September 22, 2009 2:11 PM
>> To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>> Cc: Siebert Chick; Bromley John; Holland B. James
>> Subject: [PRCo] Pittsburgh MU Car Operation
>>
>> I have previously stated on this list that the Pittsburgh Railways 
>> route cards showed multiple unit car operation only for a few months 
>> after the 5000s were delivered and that the operation ended on route
>> 88 FRANKSTOWN before the 5100s arrived.
>>
>> Chick Siebert told me that he had ridden on an MU train on route 82 
>> LINCOLN but the route cards did not show any such train operation.
>>
>> The only known picture of an MU train signed for route 82 was a 
>> publicity photo taken not on that route but on the route 63, 64, 66,
>> 67 trunk at the east end of Frick Park.   That picture was published
>> in a PRMA booklet.
>>
>> One of the problems with the above information is that there was also 
>> a photograph floating around that shows a 5100 in train service on
>> route 88 in East Liberty.   But according to the route cards, the
>> service ended long before those cars were delivered.   And we know
>> that the "Scribe de Jour"  (That's a fabulous Lybarger term) wasn't 
>> always perfect when recording the facts for the "Railways Company."
>> So I didn't want to totally dismiss it.   When I typed the route
>> cards into the computer, I typed what they said but my mind was still 
>> saying, "Not everything here is correc-e-mundo."
>>
>> Well, guys, new facts.   If you have a copy of A. E. R. A. PROGRESS
>> IN CARS, subtitled "Report on Committee on Essential Deatures on 
>> Modern Cars, 1926, published by the American Electric Railway 
>> Association,
>> 292
>> Madison Avenue, New York City, then turn to page
>> 63 ....  and we have a contemporary published document that shows 
>> that PRC was running 160 multiple unit electric cars (5000-5099 and
>> 5100-5159) and that they were running a base service of every 6 
>> minutes in trains on Frankstown using 34 cars, and a rush hour
>> headway of 3 minutes using 64 cars.   Lincoln was using 30 cars in
>> the AM and PM rush hours to provide a 6 1/2 minute headway with
>> trains but single cars in the base.   And get this ... Carrick was
>> using 26 cars to provide a 6 minute headway with trains in the rush
>> hour and single cars in the base.   MU trains on Carrick?   First
>> time that was ever documented.   Another first:  The remaining 30
>> cars were assigned to KNOXVILLE for a 6 1/2 minute rush hour only 
>> headway in train operation.
>>
>> But that adds to 26 + 64 + 30 + 30  = 160 cars out of the 160 car 
>> fleet at that time.
>>
>> Now find me a pitchur of a train of 5000s or 5100s wending its way up 
>> South 18th Street!!!!!!!!!!!!
>>
>> Separate copy to Bromley since he is off list for vacation ...
>> maybe it will
>> catch up to him in some hotel in die Schweiz.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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