[PRCo] Re: PRCo Charleroi CH track

[Phillip Clark Campbell]

Please see Inserts in your message:


________________________________
 > From: Dwight Long <dwightlong at verizon.net>

> Phil

> It is always good to have visual evidence to support one’s theory, 
> and the decent blow-up of the northbound service car turning into 
> the barn seems to support your theory of the case.

The picture of 1719 shows the extent of the gantlet.  The 'extra wire' which
turns left is simply for southbound and shop moves.  Nothing to do with theory.


> Was there some sort of electric trolley frog,
No.

> Or did the operator have to manually swing the pole
Shopman or operator, presumably the shop crew.

Mr.Long -- look at South Hills -- the only electric switch was from the main line
into the yard -- all the ladder turnouts were set by shop people.  Later, shop people
moved the cars, wyed the cars, and backed them onto these tracks for AM pullout
didn't they.  This meant tending the pole for backups to insure proper tracking.  The
same was done at Craft and Glenwood and any other yard which had many stub
tracks or where cars needed to be turned / wyed for service.

> Were there so few of these moves that it was not a major hindrance?

How many cars worked the Donora local?  How many Interurbans terminated here
or used the barn over night?  3-Donora locals pulling in and not more than 5-Interurbans
doing similarly -- whether terminating here or returning from Roscoe.  One Interurban car 
is shown on schedules as going from Roscoe to Riverview and back to the barn only
one night of the week.  What actually happened is not important.  Very few cars needed
to use these turnouts.

This is not rocket science is it?  It is not even science nor math.  It is very simple.
Why do we want to complicate it after the fact?

> Neither are the feed-on and car house returns for the Riverview-Donora service.

Sopmer schedules show these cars leaving and returning to the barn.  There were very
few of those cars, weren't there.

> ... car backing out into McKean Avenue to go south off the north car house lead would
> of necessity have to have the pole on the west wire, as the east wire, per the fot,
> only accessed the south car house lead.  The contactor for the Nachod was on the
> west wire and can be seen in the fot.

This is a repetition of comments I already made below.

> The track north from that contactor was unsignaled to the south end 
> of Lockview double track, so no signaling issue there.

Thank you for confirmation of this.  I made this observation in the email I sent before
I received yours.

> Dwight


From: Phillip Clark Campbell 
Sent: Wednesday, 28 December, 2011 10:38
To: pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org 
Subject: [PRCo] Re: PRCo Charleroi CH track
I am not sure I understand your observations.  These tracks
appear in maps and many photos don't they.  The photographer
is facing south.  Donora locals leave and return to the yard using
this track.  As the Car House was used as 'part' of a siding the
northbound interurban left the Car House to continue its trip to
Pittsburgh using these tracks.
The gantlet overhead is only at the barn for shop usage as shown
by the enclosed photo.  The dual contactors in the other wire reveal
the track is unidirectional for the siding; interurban 1719 turning
into the barn is doing so as part of its revenue run.  There is another
photo somewhere showing a PCC Interurban leaving the yard from
the Car House back onto the main using these very tracks isn't there.


Charleroi housed Interurbans over night so they could go to Roscoe
on pullout.  Those cars pulling in the previous evening from Roscoe
would be facing north--all interurbans are SE--how did they turn
them to be ready for service going south?  Several ways:  NB car
goes straight thru instead of turning into the yard, throws the point (which
may need plugged if it is a spring return switch to insure it is always
set correctly for service,) place the trolley pole on the gantlet wire, then
back around the barn to the ladder track on the north side of the yard.
There are other more involved ways.

This then begs: how do the interurban cars leave the yard to head
south?  'I am told' with US&S signals a car can use either side of a
siding and all signals shall set correctly. Prc always operates to the right
through a siding--if a car needed to use the left track thru the siding
all signals still set correctly -- all opposing signals go to red as the car enters
single track.  I am not sure iff nachods operate this way as wiring from the
contactors seem more dedicated.  If the nachods have a parallel operation
to US&S style control then the cars can be parked to leave the barn on
the northbound 'siding' track in the barn.  Otherwise the interurbans need
to back out on the ladder track in the picture you supplied, then head south
making sure the trolley is on the correct wire to activate the contactors for
the nachods.


The Car House was not always used as a siding was it.  One of the tracks on
the south was added for the siding, most likely the curve 1719 is using.
Mr.Phillips sent me drawings of this if I can find them.  I don't remember the
date of the addition.  Otherwise, as Mr.Lybarger indicates, the track here
remained essentially as built.

I would hazard a guess that the siding in the Car House was instituted after
the West-side cars quit service.




Phil



________________________________
From: "Lattner, Raymond" <rlattner at pa.gov>
To: "pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org" <pittsburgh-railways at dementix.org> 
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 11:25 AM
Subject: [PRCo] PRCo Charleroi CH track

Hello, I was reviewing the latest  Charleroi PRCoTPTrackMaps and noticed there was
no mention of any tracks at the front end of the Charleroi Car House that
lead to the left (see attached pic) as you are looking at the CH.
Any idea about this track or tracks?

Regards

Ray

http://lists.dementix.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/wvp331.jpg


-- Attached file removed by Ecartis and put at URL below --
-- Type: image/jpeg
-- Size: 70k (72147 bytes)
-- URL : http://lists.dementix.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/1719-CCH.jpg