Horsecar 101 Album
Car 101/3/M3 at Station Square in the 80s & 90s
More famous M275 ran on the Sarah Street in the South Side
The mule drawn car famous in a series of photos from 1923 is M275, numbered as such by Pittsburgh Railways in the Miscellaneous series. PRCo records show its original number as 102. It shows both horsecars as built in 1893. I theorize that this was the year these 2 cars had their platforms and end plates changed to the size and style to match that of electric cars. The traction company also changed the side pedestals on both cars so that both cars had the same equipment. It is my belief that both cars had bodies originally built in the 1870s. Car M275 operated on Sarah Street which was Pittsburgh's last horsecar line. I have heard that after retirement the car was placed at the Brashear Association.
M275 had 7 windows and is a Brill built car. In my opinion, the difference in numbers could be attributed to their assignment in different districts. Case in point it is known that Pay Car M1 was built at Manchester CH shop and served the United Traction Company (a consolidation of primarily North Side street railways) An Electric Railway Journal article of the time details their construction of M1 (preserved at PTM). Car 101 served a line in that district. Again theory, when M numbers were assigned they started with the cars at in the northern district much as they did with the route numbering system.
M275 had 7 windows and is a Brill built car. In my opinion, the difference in numbers could be attributed to their assignment in different districts. Case in point it is known that Pay Car M1 was built at Manchester CH shop and served the United Traction Company (a consolidation of primarily North Side street railways) An Electric Railway Journal article of the time details their construction of M1 (preserved at PTM). Car 101 served a line in that district. Again theory, when M numbers were assigned they started with the cars at in the northern district much as they did with the route numbering system.
The car preserved by Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (#101/M3) was last operated on the Union Bridge line. The Union Bridge was a wooden covered bridge at the Point in Pittsburgh that was replaced by the Manchester Bridge in 1909. Legend has it that the animal powered railway was retained as it was feared that sparks from electric cars could set the bridge on fire.
M3 (101) has 8 windows and was a product of the Stephenson Car Company in New York City. After it was no longer in service it became a display at the Exposition Hall located in a park near the Point. The photo below is an 8 window Stephenson car showing the original platform arrangement. This car is operating on the Pittsburgh Allegheny & Manchester route and could be our car or a sister to it, we have no way of knowing.
The photo below shows a 7 window horsecar on North Avenue at Federal. We have no idea how they came up with the paint scheme for the below exhibition hall display but there is some similarity to the Pleasant Valley car in this photo. The Bentley Knight was an early conduit and troller electric line that climbed Perrysville Avenue, following the route of the 8 Perrysville line.
Exposition Hall was the next stop for our car which is shown below. The Exposition was a world's fair style building of glass and ironwork. For display there, a variation of Federal Street and Pleasant Valley lettering and scheme was used as shown in the above photo. This line served the Charles Street valley which is bordered by the Uniondale Cemetery on it's northern edge. It traveled from downtown at 5th and Liberty, to 6th Street and Federal Street to North Avenue where it passed the park (think Aviary) and then wound through the War Streets (Mexican-American war circa 1846) Monterey Street etc...It is interesting that the car above uses Cemetery and our car uses the plural. Highwood is a second cemetery on Brighton Road just beyond Marshall Avenue. Brighton road was where the Pleasant Valley line extended with the advent of the electric car eventually reaching Bellevue via the High Bridge. This may explain this difference. Anyway...Food for thought.
From the photo below it appears the Exposition was a "Hall of Progress" kind of place. In the photo you are looking at the Pittsburgh Railways corner. The new electric streetcar to the left is likely a 4200 or 4700 series car with the year being approximately 1914 when those cars were new. Our car was on exhibit of "past transit". The sign hanging behind the car reads How we Rode 25 years ago.
After acquisition someone made a deal with our friend Albert Miller, co-founder of the Meadows and owner of the Meadowcroft Village in Avella to store the car there under cover. Over time they built a building that held the car. In exchange the Museum stored a Norfolk and Western caboose that was destine for display next to the Adios statue near the Meadows along with a Union Pacific passenger car they had acquired. The car was moved by Benkart and Sons in 1971 to Meadowcroft Village where it received covered storage.
The car came over the hills through pastures from Atlasburg on PA 18.
The next step in the journey came in 1977 when the car was brought to Arden and we started the restoration, but that'll have to wait for another day of blogging.
Exposition Hall was the next stop for our car which is shown below. The Exposition was a world's fair style building of glass and ironwork. For display there, a variation of Federal Street and Pleasant Valley lettering and scheme was used as shown in the above photo. This line served the Charles Street valley which is bordered by the Uniondale Cemetery on it's northern edge. It traveled from downtown at 5th and Liberty, to 6th Street and Federal Street to North Avenue where it passed the park (think Aviary) and then wound through the War Streets (Mexican-American war circa 1846) Monterey Street etc...It is interesting that the car above uses Cemetery and our car uses the plural. Highwood is a second cemetery on Brighton Road just beyond Marshall Avenue. Brighton road was where the Pleasant Valley line extended with the advent of the electric car eventually reaching Bellevue via the High Bridge. This may explain this difference. Anyway...Food for thought.
From the photo below it appears the Exposition was a "Hall of Progress" kind of place. In the photo you are looking at the Pittsburgh Railways corner. The new electric streetcar to the left is likely a 4200 or 4700 series car with the year being approximately 1914 when those cars were new. Our car was on exhibit of "past transit". The sign hanging behind the car reads How we Rode 25 years ago.
After serving in this exhibit the car was relegated to Pittsburgh Railways special events. It also received a change of paint scheme to Central Traction. It was used in parades and towed by a 140 horsepower low floor.
Carnegie Museum of Art photo
Sarah recently found this photo of our car used to promote a program at the Nixon Theater. This is the first find of a photo showing the car in the scheme applied for the Exposition. This photo points up the fact that railings on the body are another missing detail that we need to apply one day. Another missing element worth mentioning is the glass dome and lamp for the center of the car. Artie has collected a body of information regarding this detail.
There are a couple other photos showing the car in it's second paint scheme, but I can't find any of those at this time.
The next stop for our little car was South Park where it was again available for display. This post card shows it at the Museum building. The car was later evicted at some point but put into a pavilion over by the Buffalo Inn along Brownsville Road. There, over the years, it was heavily vandalized. I visited it during the County Fair in 1966 when I got my 10 cent ride on the Skybus. For this event Port Authority had it sent a crew to the horsecar and rough repairs were made. By this time the sliding bulkhead doors had disappeared. Two by Fours were nailed in place to reinforce the bulkhead walls. By 1970 it was pretty beat up as you see in the photos of the car as we received it.
Lou Redman had his eye on getting this car going back into the 50s. I always joke that it was something the group wanted in the worst way. When it got that bad Allegheny County donated it to us...Thankfully because it did preserve the car...Member Dave Wright (a county employee) was instrumental in this acquisition.
The Move to Meadowcroft Village
The car came over the hills through pastures from Atlasburg on PA 18.
The car comes to Arden 1977
The car left by the same route which it came, this time hauled by my Brother, Larry. It was returning to the Museum to be restored for display at Station Square with grant money from the Allegheny Foundation.
Restoration has proceeded to the point where bonnets need to be attached.
The move to Station Square
The night before the trip we pushed the car by hand
from the shop to the Founders' Car House.
Bill
looks after Horsecar 101 while his kids play in the grass near the
platform. The car is loaded onto a rented trailer pulled Larry Wells's
"Crackerbox" GMC tractor for the trip to Station Square in the summer of
1980. Thanks to Vaughn for the heads up about the Crackerbox and the
fact that it was kind of a Museum piece in it's own right.
Bill, Ralph, Homer Woessner, Larry and Uncle Louie
Outside the Horsecar Larry was sizing things up for the wet ride to Station Square
From the shop looking over the top of Monongahela Railway motorcar 39.
The way motorcars were intended to be.
Looks like we used timbers for a ramp, and we put tram rail on the stringers. The car is mighty light and only gives one a fight when you try to push it around a curve.
Making new bonnets was a great seat of the pants learning experience for me.
On the way on the Parkway at Greentree Road
Pulling into Station Square from Carson Street.
Under cover of the canopy behind the Gandy Dancer Saloon
the place the car would call home until 2000
