Visit to Arden

Frank writes...

Business had me in Pittsburgh again last weekend, so as I typically do I proceeded down to Washington PA to darken the door of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Bruce Wells and his family were gracious hosts as always and were kind enough to show me around so that I could see all of the progress being made.

One piece of equipment that wasn't in the PTM shop the last time I visited was Shaker Heights 94, a PCC built new for that line by Pullman-Standard. These cars were 9' wide, the same width as Chicago PCC cars, so this thing bears something of a resemblance to the now-extinct cars built by Pullman for the CSL.

The back end of the car looks less like its CSL counterparts, though: no back doors! These Shaker cars were actually the same length as Chicago's cars as well as being the same width but they lacked the Chicago door arrangement (though they did have never-used left-side doors). This particular car, though not operational, is being cosmetically restored by PTM volunteers from Cleveland. As late as Shaker Heights ran their Pullmans, they were in pretty rusty condition towards the end so only a couple are preserved in decent condition and none currently operate anywhere.

Philadelphia Peter Witt 8042 is one of the current long-term projects at PTM. The front end of this car has been completely rebuilt.

The PTM "trophy wall" consists of a number of dash panels from various pieces of equipment. Here we see dash panels from a Pittsburgh weed sprayer, what I think is a Red Arrow Brilliner, and a Pittsburgh low-floor car which is currently in the PTM operating fleet.

The highlight of the visit was definitely West Penn 832, the only Cincinnati curve-side car that was preserved intact. This car was the subject of a years-long frame-up restoration effort. Major work concluded in 2018 but motor work took until this summer to finish up, so the car is only now being put through its paces before being put into regular use. The restoration job on this car is really gorgeous and it is a true showpiece. It's also a very historic car, as one of the last - and most modern - curve-side cars built by Cincinnati.

As for my father, he's away from the museum this week. This past weekend he was, unlike me, contributing to the common cause by helping out at the second Day Out With Thomas weekend. The photographic proof is above, courtesy of Matt Gustafson.