[PRCo] Fw: Johnstown

[Phillip Clark Campbell]

 Phil
Without  a   'coast'   but  not  a   'cause.'



----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: Phillip Clark Campbell <pcc_sr at yahoo.com>
Sent: Wed, November 24, 2010 1:23:00 PM
Subject: Re: Johnstown


You may forward if you wish.

On Nov 24, 2010, at 12:12 PM, Phillip Clark Campbell wrote:

Thank you Mr.Schneider;  very informative.  Population today is about 1/3rd that 
of 1950;  that's astounding.  This certainly underscores that old maxim:  the 
only constant is change.  Re-reading your text in the PCC book about Johnstown 
points out the difficulty in assessing the future.  The biggest problem seems to 
be Johnstown itself:  they put all their eggs in one basket----steel.  Humanly 
we think everything shall last forever but just the opposite is true:  each item 
has its day in the sun and fades into history.
>
>List members might be interested in your comments below.  Again,  my thanks;  
>very informative.
>
>
> Phil
>Without  a  'coast'  but  not  a  'cause.'
>
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________________________________
From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>To: Phillip Clark Campbell <pcc_sr at yahoo.com>
>Sent: Tue, November 23, 2010 11:20:07 PM
>Subject: Re: Johnstown
>
>
>I doubt it but none of us ever saw their books.   There are two questions 
>here....
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>
>1)  Did they recover the costs out of the farebox?  and
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>2)  Did the pay off the cars?
>
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>I think the answer to the second question is probably yes because the company 
>probably had a large paid-in surplus at the end of World War II owing to the 
>heavy riding during the war, gas rationing, and the fact that Johnstown was a 
>heavy industrial city.   They probably paid cash for those cars ... somewhere 
>around $460,000 which would have represented about 4.6 million fares.   In the 
>five years during the war in a city of that size, they probably had several 
>million addition fares ever year above the prewar levels.
>
>
>I believe the answer to the first question is a resounding no because after the 
>war their patronage dropped like a rock.   When those cars were delivered, all 
>17 were enough for service on the mainline (Morrellville - Roxbury).  Within a 
>couple of years they had enough for all five routes with loops (add Ferdale, 
>Coopersdale and Franklin).   In a couple more years the cars were sitting idle 
>in the barn.   By the late 1950s they only need five cars for off peak service 
>and three for Sundays and those were mostly empty.   Why?   Initially people 
>used automobiles.   In a city as small as Johnstown, there was no congestion.   
>It was a cinch to get around with your own car.   
>
>
>The city had a peak population of about 65,000 plus the surrounding boroughs to 
>feed the railway.   Add in Ferndale, Southmont, Westmont, Cambria City, etc., 
>you might have had a peak population of close to 80,000.   
>
>
>Today the city is 23,000 and it might come up to 30,000 with the suburbs.   What 
>happened?   The steel mills closed and the young people moved south and west 
>hunting jobs.    Those who could hang on did ... hospital works, government 
>people.   I had a friend who was a labor analyst for the state like myself.  He 
>was finally told come to Harrisburg or be fired ... it was a state maneuver to 
>reduce staff.  By then Bill had 40 years in and quit.   But his son went with 
>the state and he is living in the capital.    The big migration, however, was to 
>the Carolinas, Texas, Arizona ... we knew because we followed were the courtesy 
>unemployment claims were being filed against Pennsylvania in the 1980s.      
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>On Nov 23, 2010, at 8:44 PM, Phillip Clark Campbell wrote:
>
>Mr.Schneider;
>>
>>Did JTC recover cost of purchase for their PCC cars?  Their
>>lifespan was brief;  after 1954 only 5-cars or less were 
>>needed for base service.
>>
>>
>> Phil
>>Without  a  'coast'  but  not  a  'cause.'
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
________________________________
From: Fred Schneider <fwschneider at comcast.net>
>>To: Phillip Clark Campbell <pcc_sr at yahoo.com>
>>Sent: Tue, November 23, 2010 6:02:22 PM
>>Subject: Re: [PRCo] WP
>>
>>The only thing that was ever done on Johnstown was
>>the little book by Ben Rohrbeck and it is less than
>>totally accurate.    No one else has ever published anything.  
>>
>>I once documented the errors ... dozens that I could
>>identify and I was not even from Johnstown
>