The Bulletin THIRD AVENUE BUILT ITS LAST TROLLEY CAR
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ERA BULLETIN - JANUARY, 2015 The Bulletin Electric Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated Vol. 58, No. 1 January, 2015 The Bulletin THIRD AVENUE BUILT ITS LAST TROLLEY CAR Published by the Electric 75 YEARS AGO Railroaders’ Association, Incorporated, PO Box 3323, New York, New After the company was reorganized on Jan- placed in service on the long, straight Web- York 10163-3323. uary 1, 1912, it always had difficulty making a ster and White Plains Avenue Line, with only profit. In the early 1930s, the company was two right-angle turns. It derailed frequently on operating a fleet of slow, obsolete wooden the curves and was soon taken out of ser- For general inquiries, contact us at bulletin@ two-motor cars and 100 newer single-truck vice. erausa.org. ERA’s cars. But the company could not afford new In 1930, the company bought the first ten- website is equipment because the city insisted on main- year-old car, 1702, a high-speed interurban www.erausa.org. taining the five-cent fare with universal trans- with blue plush seats. Because the car had Editorial Staff: fer privileges. narrow front Editor-in-Chief: Therefore the and rear doors, Bernard Linder company decid- it was a slow Tri-State News and ed to modernize loader and was Commuter Rail Editor: its fleet by buy- not suitable for Ronald Yee North American and World ing ten-year-old heavy city ser- News Editor: second-hand vice. From July, Alexander Ivanoff cars, rebuilding 1933 to August, Contributing Editor: its single-truck 1934, we ob- Jeffrey Erlitz cars, and build- served the car Production Manager: ing new cars. A in service on David Ross few years later, the Webster most of the and White modern cars Plains Avenue ©2015 Elect ric Railroaders ’ were in service. Line. The car Association, But New York was returned to Incorporate d City’s Mayor the shop, where LaGuardia, who Car 1201 on Melrose Avenue at E. 149th Street, February 23, 1942. the platforms favored buses, Bernard Linder collection were rebuilt with refused to re- wider doors and In This Issue: new the franchise unless Third Avenue the plush seats were replaced with rattan agreed to convert to buses. The company seats. The car was rebuilt with equipment Toward complied and stopped building new cars. On similar to the equipment in all the company’s Underground February 11, 1940, we observed the last new cars. In 1934, it was renumbered to 1250. (and car, 685, in service. On November 9, 1940, From 1933 to 1935, Third Avenue was busy Underwater) the company was forced to accept a fran- buying modern second-hand cars that were Rolling Stock chise that required it to substitute buses for in good condition. A January 15, 1934 news- streetcars on one-fifth of the lines in each paper photo shows a Richmond Railways (Continued) four-year period. Staten Island car being loaded on a Balti- ...Page 2 The ten-year modernization program began more & Ohio Railroad barge at Proctor and with the purchase of 1701, a single-truck Gamble’s Port Ivory Dock. The car was un- convertible built by Brill in 1929. It was (Continued on page 4) 1 NEW YORKERA DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN—JANUARY, OCTOBER, 2015 2000 TOWARD UNDERGROUND (AND UNDERWATER) ROLLING STOCK: THE ALL-STEEL REVOLUTION by George Chiasson (Continued from December, 2014 issue) (Continued on page 3) 2 ERA BULLETIN - JANUARY, 2015 Toward Underground (and Underwater) Rolling Stock (Continued from page 2) 3 NEW YORKERA DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN—JANUARY, OCTOBER, 2015 2000 Third Avenue Built Its Last Trolley Car 75 Years Ago (Continued from page 1) Car 1215 at E. 243rd Street and White Plains Road, September Car 1216 at Burnside and University Avenues. 15, 1946. Note the rebuilt front end . Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection Car 1228 on University Avenue, 1936. Car 1229 at E. 161st Street and Park Avenue, 1942. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection Car 1230 on Bailey Avenue enroute to Fordham Road and Car 1234 on University Avenue Line, July 21, 1934. Webster Avenue, 1943. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection (Continued on page 5) 4 ERA BULLETIN - JANUARY, 2015 Third Avenue Built Its Last Trolley Car 75 Years Ago (Continued from page 4) Car 1253 at E. 242nd Street and White Plains Road. Car 1256 at Fordham Road and Third Avenue. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection Experimental car 1701. Another view of car 1701. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection Car 1702 at E. 243rd Street and White Plains Road, April 3, 1934. Car 1702 at Tremont and Webster Avenues, Winter 1934-5. Bernard Linder collection Bernard Linder collection (Continued on page 6) 5 NEW YORKERA DIVISION BULLETIN BULLETIN—JANUARY, OCTOBER, 2015 2000 Third Avenue Built Its Last Trolley Car 75 Years Ago safety car controller handle, cars were equipped with a self-lapping brake valve housed in a spring-loaded ped- (Continued from page 1) estal-operated mechanism. Brakes were released by loaded at E. 125th Street and the East River and was depressing the foot pedal, which served as a “dead transferred to the 65th Street Shops for rebuilding. We man” control and also closed the entrance door. Also do not know how cars were transported from distant installed were rear exit door treadles, which were inter- cities. locked with the brakes. The rebuilt cars were equipped with full safety car The rebuilt cars were placed in service in 1934, 1935, straight air brake equipment. Instead of the standard and 1936. Roster is as follows: CAR NUMBERS BUILDER YEAR BUILT PREVIOUS OWNER 1201-25 Osgood Bradley 1924 Richmond Railways, Staten Island, New York 1226-7 Osgood Bradley N/A Northern States Power Company, Eau Claire, Wisconsin 1228-9 Wason 1922 Androscoggin & Kennebec Railway, Lewiston, Maine 1230-9 (A) American Car Company N/A San Antonio Public Service, San Antonio, Texas 1240-9 (A) St. Louis Car Company 1925 San Antonio Public Service, San Antonio, Texas 1250 (ex-1702) (B) St. Louis Car Company 1924 Kankakee & Urbana Traction Company, Kankakee, Illinois 1251-6 American Car Company 1923-5 Lake Superior District Power Company, Ironwood, Michigan 1257-8 (C) Wason 1925 Interstate Street Railway, Attleboro, Massachusetts 1260-2 Brill 1926 Sunbury & Selingrove Railway, Sunbury, Pennsylvania (A) San Antonio’s 3 foot 6 inch narrow-gauge trucks replaced by Third Avenue standard-gauge trucks (B) This 13-window car was the same length as all the other 12-window cars (C) These 11-window cars were the same length as all the other 12-window cars. Cars 1201-58 were placed in service gradually in 1934. We observed the first car on March 2 and the last car on December 1. Cars 1260-2 appeared in April, 1936 FROM MY VANTAGE POINT: ROCKAWAY PARKWAY INTERLOCKING by Michael Ditkoff Vantage Point: a position or place that allows one a wide or go straight into Rockaway Parkway if the track is open. favorable overall view of a scene or situation If not, the train will cross over to P2 at the 5 switch (set I participated in the ERA August 2, 2014 Catskills trip in the R position). (The 51 switch isn’t available. The 51 that included the Trolley Museum of New York. A very switch can only be used for trains crossing from P1 to interesting artifact on display was the interlocking tower P2 leaving the station.) control board that controls the switches and signals at The bottom row levers are even numbered and control New York City’s Rockaway Parkway subway station in the home and distant signals connected to the switches. Canarsie. A home signal is the signal right before the switch. The There are two main tracks, P1 (southbound into the distant signal is the signal before the home signal. All station) and P2 (northbound to Manhattan) at the top of other signals are automatics and will display a signal the board. Both tracks are signaled in both directions based on traffic conditions. L indicates that the lever can between the E. 105th Street and Rockaway Parkway only be moved to the left for trains entering the station. stations to facilitate train movements. The first row of R indicates that the lever can only be moved to the controls is odd numbered toggle levers, which are used right for trains leaving the station. For a train on P1, af- for the switches. There are two positions. N (normal) is ter the 51 switch is set in the R position, the levers for for straight through movements. R (reverse) is for cross signals 8 and 50 will be thrown to the right and the Train over movements. A train to Manhattan leaving on P1 will Operator will get the lineup and signal to leave the sta- cross over to P2 at the 51 switch. The 51 switch lever tion. (The signals and the switch are now interlocked.) will be set in the R position. (The route is always set However, the signal indication is not permission to first.) The 51 switch lever will be set in the N position for leave. Below the “THROW SWITCH AT EACH INTER- trains leaving on P2 because the train is already on the VAL” sign, there are controls for “starting” and “next Manhattan bound track. Trains on P1 can also use the 3 train” lights on each track. “Next train” lights notify pas- switch to cross to P2 when the 3 switch is in the R posi- sengers of the next departing train. (It can be difficult to tion. know the next departing train if the doors on both tracks th A train leaving E.