[PRCo] Re: Fwd: First outing for Rio 1758

[Fred Schneider]

Amazing what Wikipedia contains:   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_W._Richardson

I met him three times.   Twice at the Colorado Railroad museum, then once, after he moved back to east, he showed up on a car I was operating at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.    He was truly one of the icons of the hobby industry.   

So what is a precious artifact?   Obviously a New Orleans car isn't because there are dozens of similar cars by Perley Thomas still in museums or in service in "Nawlins."   There are half about half a dozen of those Rio de Janeiro open cars in the USA.    Red Arrow 66, Phily 5326 and 8042 are also duplicated elsewhere.   No big deal if they are injured.   And as much as I don't think a PCC is a suitable museum car, if you loose one, there are 50 more in the wings.   (Don't argue that each one is a little different ... the public doesn't know that.   The only one I would want I consider a precious artifact is the Brooklyn car at Branford because it was car 1 out of order number 1.   And if anyone had saved Pittsburgh 100, it was perhaps the first car operated in public service.   But all those other ones ... you lose one, bring another out another stand in.   

But 3487 is what I would call a precious artifact.   I'm not even sure I would like to see its pole on the wire and risk creaming it with its aged insulation.   


On Jun 28, 2010, at 10:30 AM, Dwight Long wrote:

> Ed
> 
> I actually agree with you on your point about the open car.  And the NOLA car has been a good workhorse and has proven its utility more than once by absorbing the dings and dents of outraged fate.  As one of my favorite railway museum keepers, Uncle Bob Richardson, once said, precious artifacts should never be used in daily service.  But some of the other stuff?
> 
> Dwight
>  ----- Original Message ----- 
>  From: Edward H. Lybarger 
>  To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org 
>  Sent: Sunday, 27 June, 2010 16:48
>  Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fwd: First outing for Rio 1758
> 
> 
>  Yes, it fits right in with the New Orleans car and all the Ohio stuff.  The
>  West Virginia cars were at least owned by a Pittsburgh concern (if you
>  ignore the New York holding company).
> 
>  But it's a strong marketing tool that will bring revenue and help keep the
>  doors open.  If PTM had to survive on historians, it wouldn't.
> 
>  Ed
> 
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org
>  [mailto:pittsburgh-railways-bounce at lists.dementia.org] On Behalf Of Dwight
>  Long
>  Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2010 12:35 PM
>  To: pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org
>  Subject: [PRCo] Re: Fwd: First outing for Rio 1758
> 
>  Fred
> 
>  And of course there is nothing like a Brazilian tram to illustrate the
>  mission of PTM--preserving Pennsylvania's tramway history!
> 
>  Dwight
>    ----- Original Message -----
>    From: Fred Schneider
>    To: Pittsburgh-Railways at Dementia.Org
>    Sent: Saturday, 26 June, 2010 10:29
>    Subject: [PRCo] Fwd: First outing for Rio 1758
> 
> 
>    Following photographs of the open car at Pennsylvania Trolley Museum
>  received from Dave Hamley and forwarded with his permission.
>    The car was one of a group of Rio de Janeiro open cars imported in the
>  1960s, two of which (and this was one of those two) went to the Magee Museum
>  in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.   For those who don't know the story,
>  Hurricane Agnes devastated the property in June 1972 and a few days later
>  its owner and local carpet company baron, Harry Magee suffered a fatal heart
>  attack.   His children showed no interest int he trolley and antique car
>  museum and the equipment was spread to the winds.  The other open car he
>  owned is at the Midwest Threshers Museum in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.    This one
>  passed through Florida before coming to rest at PTM.   
> 
>    "The car was purchased in 1973 by the Lionel Train and Seashell Museum in
>  Sarasota, Florida, where it was used indoors as a display and as a seating
>  area to watch videos.  In 1990, the car was purchased by the City of
>  Orlando, Florida.  It was to be used as the first streetcar (and as a device
>  to generate public interest and Federal funding) for a proposed Heritage
>  Streetcar line in Orlando.  The car was refurbished, re-numbered 1 and given
>  the nickname of "Oscar" (for Orlando Streetcar).  ...Orlando never created
>  the proposed Heritage Streetcar line, and the streetcar sat unused in indoor
>  storage for many years until being sold at auction in [to PTM] 2006."
>  [This paragraph was lifted off the internet with minimal editing.]
> 
>    Other cars imported from Rio at the same time include but may not be
>  limited to:  Number 1875 at Rockhill Trolley Museum in Lancaster,
>  Pennsylvania livery, 1850 at Connecticut Trolley Museum at Warehouse Point,
>  1794 running on the streets of Memphis converted to a closed car for their
>  heritage line, 1718 and 1779 are at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa and one may be at
>  Northern Ohio Railway Museum (NORM).   I thought that Paul Cass had one in
>  Oregon but that isn't turning up on a quick search.  
> 
>    Of course the PTM ca has been slightly altered.   The original standard
>  gauge trucks don't work.   In the process it has been lowered slightly.   
> 
>    So here is Dave Hamley note that goes with the pictures:   
> 
>    "After several years in PTM's shop, ex- Rio open car 1758 was out in the
>  sun today.  Towed out by shop switcher RG2 while the guys were still
>  painting the floor.  First public exhibit is Sunday 6/27, actual in-service
>  date probably early August.  I also took the occasion to shoot RG2, with the
>  Porter for background, and P&OC's SW1500 1545 rolling past.
> 
>    Dave"
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