Railfan Dylan

In 1954, Rege Cordic moved over to KDKA Radio with his iconic morning radio program. The Pittsburgh Railways Company painted up a Special Advertising Streetcar to promote his program. Here is "The CordicCar" running down Ardmore Blvd, in Forest Hills, Allegheny County.
(Photo from Mike Cook via https://www.facebook.com/groups/132768683480072/)

Men ride in an open overcrowded streetcar down a busy street between Homestead and East Pittsburgh in Allegheny County.

Streetcar traveling over a bridge between the boroughs of Avaon and Ben Avon in Allegheny County.

Trolley traveling on the Brentwood Loop behind a Boron Gas Station in the borough of Brentwood, Allegheny County.
(Photo from https://www.pinterest.com/)

Trolley passing by the Ardmore Drive-In at the intersection of Ardmore & Yost Boulevards in Forest Hills, Allegheny County in 1965.
(Photo from https://www.facebook.com/stuff.thatsgone/)

This is a Brochure of when the President Conference Committee (PCC) Car was First Introduced.

The first PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) streetcars were put into service in Brooklyn, New York in 1936

Trolley accident at the corner of North Fremont Avenue and Forest Avenue in Bellevue Borough, Allegheny County.
(Photo from Keith A Hasek via (Photo from Bob Leo via https://www.facebook.com/groups/RossHistory/)

Added a New Folder to my Trolley’s Folder on my Railfan Hard Drive. On my computer I have pictures San Diego LRV 1019 in the folder and still have to add others

For Today’s WHAT THE TRAIN!! We Ask What is Track Gauge. In rail transport, track gauge is the distance between the two rails of a railway track. All vehicles on a rail network must have wheelsets that are compatible with the track gauge. The term derives from the metal bar, or gauge, that is used to ensure the distance between the rails is correct. Here are some examples off the top of my head. Standard Gauge is 4 Foot 8 1/2 Inches. Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge or Broad Gauge is 5 Foot 2 1/2 inches and Narrow Gauge is 3 Foot apart.

Pittsburgh PATransit PCC Car #1738. First photo is from google From when 1738 was still running and the last 2 are of it at the Trolley Graveyard in PA which Sadly is no more. It’s hard to believe because this would’ve been cool to do a video about this. I feel like the property this was on should’ve gone to the State to keep these old Trolley cars there but the were sold or Scrapped for good and to me that’s Really disappointing because there was a lot of history here.

Trolly Fact Wednesday since I forgot yesterday.
Rockhill Trolley Museum Johnstown Car #311, The first car acquired by Rockhill Trolley Museum was car #311. This car is a double truck “Birney Safety Car” built by Wason Manufacturing Co. of Springfield, MA.
It was part of an order of cars for the city of Bangor, Maine, where it operated at number 14. It was sold to the Johnstown Traction Co. and went there in 1941. It served that city well, running until the end of service in 1960. Car #311 was the last Birney type car to be operated in any United States city on a regular schedule. Car 311 was chartered repeatedly by trolley fans in the 1950’s, as it was a favorite car of many.
This car was a lighter car than many and, most important to the transit companies, cut costs since it needed only one crew person to operate. Safety equipment brought the car to a stop should the operator become disabled. This development allowed many marginal transit systems to continue operating after they would otherwise have failed.
Following the last day of service in Johnstown on June 11, 1960, trolley #311 was purchased by our newly formed trolley museum. After much restoration, #311 became the first trolley to operate over the new museum line and also the first trolley to operate on any museum line in Pennsylvania. With periodic maintenance, car #311 has operated continuously at the museum for over 40 years, more years than it operated in Johnstown!

More About Car Number 311- Built in 1922 By Wason as a city&Suburban Car, Car Style double-truck Birney 'safety car, it’s Previous Owner was Johnstown Traction Company and it operated in Johnstown, PA. Car 311 is 102 Years old.

Info and Last Picture From- https://rockhilltrolley.org/johnstown-311/

Good Vibes coming from Ridgeley as our newest Lounge Car, the "Good Vibrations," received our patented circus passenger scheme overnight! ✨

Once the paint has dried, she will be lettered, and the interior will be furnished for its debut on the WMSR in the coming months.

We have been working hard to upgrade our passenger fleet, with more than one passenger car addition coming soon. 👀

Ride with us on The Scenic Line 🚂

Locomotive Leading On The Flyover. On the morning of Monday, July 10, 2024, the consist of MTA Metro-North Railroad Train 1831 was reversed before departing from Danbury, Connecticut, an event that occurs when there is a mechanical problem with the cab control car. All scheduled coach trains to Grand Central Terminal are oriented to have the cab control car leading and the locomotive trailing. The was routed over the flyover at Woodlawn Junction before passing through the station. The long closed JO Tower stands in the foreground as the train is framed by the tall arches of Nereid Avenue in the Bronx, New York.

You Tube Video: https://youtu.be/KLPKdaA_EY4

Full resolution pics and prints:
https://www.riverrailphoto.com/metro-north/e88f1458

PAT Trolley on Broadway Avenue in the Beechview area of Pittsburgh on May 26, 1974.
(Photo from Warren Walsack via https://www.facebook.com/groups/421449041235409/)

Ride back in time with the New York Central Railroad at Storm King in 1968.

Photograph by Victor Hand, collection of the Center for Railroad Photography & Art.

Western Maryland Railway GP9 number 28 and an F7A are on the head end of an eastbound AJ-2 at North Branch, Maryland, in March 1975.

R. E. Anderson photo

Become a WMRHS member for just $30 a year! Visit our website to join the WMRHS today:
http://www.westernmarylandrhs.com/join.php

Looking for a fun and educational summer outing? Visit the Pikes Peak Trolley Museum for an unforgettable experience filled with historic trolley rides and exciting exhibits.

: There's lots of activity in our Restoration Shop this month! Right now, our members and volunteers are helping us restore the following streetcars:

🚋 Philadelphia Transportation Company 8042 - Progress on 8042 is slow but steady, with volunteers Louie Mariano and Bruce Wells recently working on new baseboards for the car. Bruce also began laying out the location of the heaters and conduits for the wiring.

🚋 PAT PCC 1713, the "Terrible Trolley" - 1713 was recently lowered to the shop floor so that volunteers could work on installing its new floor! Multiple people have assisted with measuring, cutting, and installing wood panels in the car during this past week.

🚋 Red Arrow Lines 73 - Like 8042, work on 73 is slow but steady. The roof and motors are the next major areas of focus for this restoration project. In the meantime, between Terrible Trolley work sessions, volunteers have done small wood refinishing for 73.

🚋 Pittsburgh Railways M1 - M1 technically isn't in our restoration shop yet...but it will be! Earlier this year we began fundraising to support the restoration of the very first car ever purchased by our founders. It is estimated that the cost of restoration will be at least $210,000. Fortunately, long-time PTM member John Wilkins will match dollar-for-dollar donations up to $100,000! Please consider contributing to this project and helping us restore M1 the pay car: https://pa-trolley.org/support/ptm-donation-form/

Thank you again to the members, volunteers, and supporters who help to further our mission of creating a living history experience that educates visitors about life during the Trolley Era. Thanks to you, we can continue to restore and maintain our beautiful fleet of streetcars!

Trolley Fact Friday- Rockhill Trolley Museum- San Diego Trolley #1019, In 2014, the Rockhill Trolley Museum acquired Car #1019, a U2 Light Rail Vehicle formerly operating in San Diego, California on a system popularly known as the San Diego Trolley.
These vehicles were constructed by Siemens-Duewag of Dusseldorf, Germany in 1981 for the opening of the first new-generation Light Rail system in the United States and have served well throughout their three decades of service.
The acquisition of a U2 Light Rail Vehicle enables the museum to completely tell the story of the electric trolley car from its earliest forms, through the era of wooden equipment, steel equipment, lightweight and high-speed vehicles, PCC cars, and finally to the present day and the corresponding resurgence of the trolley car across the United States in its modern form.

About The Light Rail Vehicle (LRV) Car 1019- LRV #1019 Was Built in 1982 By Siemens Duewag of Dusseldorf, Germany as a City & Suburban Car and is a U2 Type LRV. The Previous Owner was Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and Formerly Operated in San Diego California.
I did the Math and When Retired in 2014 Car 1019 Served for 32 Years In San Diego from 1982 Till 2014. Siemens Duewag was already Building the U2 LRV for Frankfort Germany at the Time and at the time 1019 was Built Siemens Duewag was Dusseldorf vagon fabric. The Siemens U2 Cars proved to be extremely Reliable Cars

Information From- https://rockhilltrolley.org/san-diego-trolley-1019/

The City of York, PA operated an electric trolley line from 1892 to 1939. York, like many other cities in the country abandoned their trolley operations in favor of operating busses on the city streets. York Railways 163, a car from that system, was constructed in 1924 and turns 100 years old this year. We are celebrating this milestone at our museum on August 3, 2024, at 10:00AM.

Car 163 is the only operating trolley car from York anywhere in the world. Over the past seven months, our volunteers have been working on freshening up the car for this celebration.

Come visit the museum on Saturday August 3 to celebrate a 100-year milestone of York transportation history.

A few Videos From Today

I want to give the Staff and volunteers at the Rockhill Trolley Museum A big Thanks For Today. Got to take a tour of Car Barn 2 and see the rest of the Trolley Collection. I got to see what it’s like switching the Trolley Poles on Car 311 and got it on the Wire first shot and also got to Throw a couple Track Switches to get a feeling what that was like. This was a Great Experience I had today and thought I’d Share. It was cool to learn about the area’s History. Really Made this Railfan Happy as can be. I really enjoyed visiting the Museum

Special Fact Saturday- Rockhill Trolley Museum New Jersey Transit PCC Car #6.
TCRT Car #325 became PSCT #6 and the entire fleet of 30 cars was placed in service between December 1953 and January 1954 on the City Subway, sending the last of PSCT’s conventional cars, all of which were over 30 years old, to the scrapyard. After the abandonment of streetcar service in Atlantic City in 1955, the City Subway became the last electric trolley line in New Jersey and would remain so for more than 40 years.
The PCC cars received excellent maintenance in Newark and received very little modifications over the years. The center window on the left side was modified so that it could be kicked out in the event of an emergency, which was a state requirement for buses as well. The cars retained their original interior configuration including window guards, crank operated windows, arm rests, and foot rests. The backup controllers were eventually disabled and the remaining 24 cars received an overhaul in the 1980s to extend their service life after a decision was made to not to pursue new equipment due to the outstanding reliability of the PCC car fleet. Perhaps most importantly from a long-term preservation perspective, the cars operated entirely on private right of way and were stored out of elements under Penn Station in Newark. Public Service Coordinated Transport was reorganized as Transport New Jersey (TNJ) in 1975 and TNJ became part of New Jersey Transit (NJ Transit) corporation in 1980. Car #6 eventually was repainted from PSCT gray and cream to TNJ red, white, and blue and finally in NJ Transit colors after its overhaul.
By the 1990s, the cars and the city subway itself was like a time machine, as the last entirely PCC car operation in North America. After years of studies and plans, modernization of the City Subway to a modern light rail line began in the late 1990s. The line was rebuilt with overhead catenary, and the PCC cars were modified for operation with pantographs. The PCC cars also were used to test new features being considered for the massive light rail cars that would replace them. Car #6 received a new style of resilient wheels in 1997 to test their operation. The end of PCC operation in New Jersey was planned for around 2000, but was later delayed until August 2001. NJ Transit officials decided to repaint one car in 1954 PSCT colors in early 2001 to celebrate the end of PCC car service. After receiving significant body work, Car #6 was selected to receive the ceremonial colors. A gala celebration was held on August 24, 2001, and Car #6 became the second to last PCC car to operate in the City Subway.
A few days after retirement, Car #6 was briefly displayed in Hoboken, NJ before being placed in dead storage at the new City Subway (later renamed Newark Light Rail) maintenance facility in Bloomfield, NJ. Car #6, along with two sister cars, were selected for preservation in New Jersey based upon the maintenance personnel’s recommendation that it was one of the best three cars. After a number of years in storage, plans for a transportation heritage museum in New Jersey fell through and Car #6 became available for museum preservation elsewhere. After more than a year of planning, Car #6 was sold to the Rockhill Trolley Museum via the Friends of the New Jersey Transportation Heritage Center in April 2011.

About PCC Car #6- Car 6 Was Owned and operated by NJ Transit in Newark NJ. She was Built in 1946 By The St. Louis Car Company as a City & Suburban Car.

Technical Specifications- Car 6 Execrates at 4 1/2 Miles Per Hour Per second (MPH/S) And the Power Petal will choose from 99 different Ex*****on points Automatically and She will dynamic Brake down to 3/4 of a Mile Per Hour with Electrically Spring release Brakes to being the car to a final Stop.

Information and Pictures from- https://rockhilltrolley.org/new-jersey-transit-pcc-car-6/

Technical Specifications from YouTube video- https://youtu.be/j2yXEyKnwlE?si=xGn6IS5dIxIs-_Up at time 3:30 in the video.