Trustee Report January '24

This week started with quite a group that arrived from Morgantown WV for an Operator for an Hour.  I asked Sarah to fill in for me as I knew the brutal cold might be a problem for me to get around.  The group of young engineers were all connected with the WVU campus PRT system and were fascinated with our streetcars and had lots of stories about the ins and outs of operating a one of a kind transit system that dates to the early 1970s.  Sarah has lots of good stories!  Here is a photo of the  candidate with Sarah!
 

Below is a really cold day with 4004 again doing the honors as it heads out for another trip.

Last week there was considerable sanding on 1713 where Laura Wells was working on the decals for the Terrible Trolley recreation.  In that process Michael Buchta was finding a considerable layer of gray color paint.  Turns out the secret history of the car was revealed with Jack Jost’s discovery of this photo. 

 

I spent considerable time in my younger days taking lots of trolley photos.  In addition I had access to two collections of Pittsburgh trolley photos from the 60s-->the 90s and in all of that there were no photos showing 1713 in the gray roof large number scheme, a scheme that 1711 was the first recipient.

 

It is interesting that 1713 was photographed on May 10, 1953 with our West Penn 832 at Charleroi Car House as it was prepared for the trip to Ingram to join founding car M1.

 

In my recollection of the car looked like it did in this photo I took in 1966 until it was painted as the Terrible Trolley.  Oh well...I guess I spent all my spare time at the Museum.

 

 

There was also 1713 in the Parade that Lou Redman and I  successfully promoted to Jim Roddey.  In 1987, 1713 was painted in original colors for our grand opening parade with 3756 to celebrate the opening of the Mt. Lebanon line.

This post 1990 photo is the only one I found in the collections I consulted showing other than the Terrible scheme.

Be sure to scroll down to see the reports from the balance of the weaks :-} since the last meeting!

Finally, in case you missed it last month, here links to my various blog pages:

https://trolleyologyguy.blogspot.com/p/blog-page_4.html
https://trolleyologyguy.blogspot.com/2020/01/m551-acquisiton-1984.html
https://trolleyologyguy.blogspot.com/2019/12/4398s-new-decor.html

Weak 2 of 2024...

January 19:

Well, we are having another snow bomb day here in southwest PA.  I took some more photos this weak so I'm adding them on here.  I posted this page Tuesday but I did not publicize it.  Lots going on in the shop with 8042, 73 and 1713.  Yesterday, Howard, our new volunteer finished up the painting and then rust killing under 1713.  I was there on Wednesday to have coffee with Unkle Artie and said hello to Bill Fronczek who was putting another coat of varnish on the double platform sliding doors from Mon-West Penn 274.

  

Later on Tuesday afternoon I talked with Michael, Louie and Jack and discussed work projects for 8042.  Jack offered to paint the wood roof and Michael asked about installing seats.  Wednesday it was great to see that both jobs had been completed.

 

The guys also removed the next cross seat back from the center doors where we have started cleaning and rebuilding the walls and area around the heater including refinishing the steel grates and wiring.  Stay tuned for a photo of the roof.

January 13:

 I started writing this blog Saturday afternoon here at the Chateau (high above the Arden Valley tracks) during the BOMB-Cyclone.  I find it interesting that 4398, with its overpowering horn, has made several trips this morning.  4004 has been the car most all of last weekend and yesterday.  I learned that Louie Mariano was the operator for Saturday's 2 birthdays.  Not much snow laid during the day blizzard conditions on Saturday but waited until overnight. 

Jack Jost shows off new guide brackets for the rollers that go inside the control rod duct on 1713.  PCC cars have 3 rods that connect the power, brake and reverser from the motorman position to the master controller.  The controller is located under the car (no kidding!!!) just forward of the center door steps.

Above is the end result of Jack's effort.  These will be inside a duct like the one to the right in the next phase of the work.

Here's a before and after of the interior with the floor removed showing the control wiring exposed (above) and then enclosed in the new duct work which Michael Buchta and Jack Jost installed between January 9 and 14.

This is the overall picture of the rebuilding underway seen in the close-up above.

 

Shown here is the master controller that is the destination for the rods which connect to the levers near the right center of the unit.  The levers actuating the reverser, the power and the brake.

 

 In the weather

Sarah Wells woke up Sunday morning to find snow covering the ground and temps in the teens. There was a birthday party at 10 in the V&EC for which she was the operator.  She grabbed something with which to brake up the ice and freed 4398 from Track 13 of the Founders' Car House. 

 

Michael Buchta did a great job cleaning up at the W&EC so that everything was ready for the birthday party visitors in the morning and the 18 or so brave souls who visited and rode in the afternoon.

End of December and the first of the new year!

Just before Christmas the EIS (Solar) installers were wrapping up installation on the roof of  the V&EC.

 

Right after Christmas 12/28 Michael Buchta finished up the fourth of four ventilation ducts previously rotted away under Pittsburgh PCC 1713.  

 With access now available from the Eaton parking lot via a new ramp directly into the V&EC parking lot the track crew, Larry, Dan and Steve removed the tie crossing at the East end of the street.

To refresh your memory here's what the scene looks like with the crossing in place, back in March.

Sarah took time to dump the rain water out of the Volunteer patio fire pit and then turn it upside down to keep it from becoming rusted.

There were questions about the status of the Electric Way street lights, so I took this photo in less than perfect conditions.

With contract work complete Jack Demnyan has been preparing heater duct parts for 8042 which I have laid out along the wall.

For New Years Eve a group of us took a midnight trolley ride with photos along the way.

Laura took these two.

I stretched out in the back of 1711 which was brightly lighted SEPTA city style.

 

I took this selfie for a close up showing the joyousness of the occasion.

Beau & Laura and Kaitlyn brought the doggies.  Jeff was our motorman.  Sarah and  Larissa joined in.

Cindy wanted photos of our brightly lit Chateau up there in Arden Heights.

Beau used my camera to capture these photos from just inbound from the 

Bootleg Mine stop (formerly Yanavich).

Looking past the last signal before Arden Mines loop.

Back at Richfol I headed home after a couple rides and let the gang put the car away.

Bill Fronczek has been busy sanding and refinishing the double sliding doors for the NON-baggage (miners) compartment end of Mon West Penn 274.

Artie Ellis was there on January 4 after a morning trip to Wilmerding and took care of some work to the valve head for Art Rizzino who is rebuilding the heads on the Case (excavation) loader at Reliance.

Inside Philadelphia 8042 we are working behind the center doors where we started to remove seats and the first heater so that the center door pocket can be properly capped to keep out cold air when the car gets into service in the next few years.

If you click on to enlarge this photo you will see a portion of the substantial white tail deer population roaming the wetland, thicket and forest between Reliance and the Trolley Display Building.

Last but not least, here's the Ford F150 plow truck and salt spreader that Doug Zebley donated to the museum along with a dump truck and the ever popular Pumpkin Parade float truck.  THANKS DOUG!