[PRCo] DC Streetcar

Sun Dec 22 14:38:13 EST 2013

Did not take any act of Congress, Herb.   The previous restriction was written into the franchise.   Once Capital Transit and its predecessors were gone, so was the need to use underground conduits.

London used a system in which the plough simply hung in a track or frame under the car which ran the entire width of the car.   The conduit then crossed the running rail to a storage area between the inbound and outbound tracks.   Outbound the car simply shot the plow … the "driver" came into the change area fast enough that the flow simply followed the conduit and shot out from under the car.   And a man on the street walked up to the car and raised the pole.   In bound the street man used an insulated fork to guide the flow to the frame under the car … he walked along beside the car as the car slowly pulled ahead and simply guided the plough into the car.  With proper timing, you probably could have done it in 15 seconds.

On Dec 22, 2013, at 12:53 PM, Herb Brannon wrote:

> Interesting is the fact that the reasons (dreamed up by Capital Transit in
> 1947) for conversion of the Benning Road service from streetcar to bus were
> first, the fact that during rush hour periods the service frequency had to
> be less than 60-seconds between cars. These lines (Rosslyn-Kenilworth;
> Washington Circle-Seat Pleasant; Washington Circle-Kenilworth Junction;
> 15th & New York-Kenilworth Junction; and Potomac Park-Seat Pleasant)
> required the use of a "plow pit" at the interface between conduit and
> overhead operation. The changeover from conduit to overhead and vice
> versatook an even 60-seconds and could not be
> speeded up using Capital Transit methods (London (UK) accomplished this
> faster than 60-seconds) Therefore headways could not be less than
> 60-seconds. Buses were the answer. Second, eastbound cars at 15th & New
> York Avenue were being delayed do to heavy traffic and the fact that
> streetcar movements at that intersection caused missed opportunities for
> cars to go on their proper routes. Streetcars were always backed up two or
> more blocks waiting for a green light to go their respective ways at 15th &
> New York. Third, traffic congestion along Benning Road was increasing and
> those two lanes of streetcar track would make more room for autos. Now,
> nearly 70 years later, suddenly traffic is no longer a concern for the
> operation of streetcars on Benning Road.
> 
> Not to mention that the new Washington streetcar system uses overhead wire,
> hanging above the streets, inside the District of Columbia. I supposed that
> this took "an act of Congress" to allow overhead wire in D.C.
> 
> I'm glad the streetcars are coming back, however, why did they have to go
> in the first place?
> 
> 
> On Sun, Dec 22, 2013 at 11:47 AM, John Swindler <j_swindler at hotmail.com>wrote:
> 
>> 
>> 
>> Benning Road from front of tour bus during recent TRB meeting.  About half
>> the span wires were in place, but no contact wire.  Work was underway at
>> turnback near Union Station.  Grading completed no construction yet on
>> carbarn at east end of the line.  A stated purpose is to help revitalize a
>> run-down area.
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>> Date: Sun, 22 Dec 2013 16:00:29 +0000
>>> From: bobrathke at comcast.net
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> Subject: Re: [PRCo] DC Streetcar
>>> 
>>> An interesting animation teaching people the things we learned from
>> parents and friends in the "old" streetcar era. Attached are a couple of
>> photos I took in Georgetown on 11/3/78. I had thought that the sign was a
>> remnant of the streetcar days in D.C., but it may have been posted later to
>> warn bicyclists of the rail that was still in the street 16 years after
>> trolleys ended in the District.
>>> 
>>> ----- Original Message -----
>>> 
>>> From: "DF Cramer" <alto_trombone at hotmail.com>
>>> To: pittsburgh-railways at mailman.dementix.org
>>> Sent: Sunday, December 22, 2013 6:26:15 AM
>>> Subject: [PRCo] DC Streetcar
>>> 
>>> 
>> http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/21163/watch-ddots-beautifully-animated-streetcar-video/
>>> 
>>> We now have to teach people how to react.
>>> 
>>> Dennis F. Cramer
>>> http://home.windstream.net/dfc1/
>>> 
>>> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Herb Brannon
> 
> 
> *In Pittsburgh.............................A City And.........A State of
> Mind *
> Let's Go Pens
> Let's Go Steelers
> 
> 
> 
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