The Presidents' Conference Committee ( PCC ) is a streetcar design that was first built in the United States in the 1930s. The design proved successful domestically, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many remain in service around the world.
105-512: W6 may refer to: W6 (tram) , a class of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board. a particular width for a structural steel I-beam a postcode district in the W postcode area Wizz Air (IATA code W6) 7th step of the W0-W6 scale for the classification of meteorites by weathering W6 (loading gauge) on
210-625: A batch of 25 for the San Francisco Municipal Railway , manufactured by St. Louis and delivered in 1951–2. A total of 4,586 PCC cars were purchased by United States transit companies: 1,057 by Pullman Standard and 3,534 by St. Louis. Most transit companies purchased one type, but Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, and Shaker Heights ordered from both. The Baltimore Transit Co. (BTC) considered the Pullman cars of superior construction and easier to work on. The St. Louis cars had
315-425: A circle. An arm rotating in the circle center had rollers on either end which cut out field resistance to increase speed as it was rotated a total of approximately 180 degrees rotation. This same accelerator also was used for dynamic braking ; when the accelerator pedal was released, the resistance wheel sought optimum braking for the speed, which prevented a lag when the brake pedal was depressed. Westinghouse's design
420-722: A combination of economics and a desire to help revive the Girard Avenue corridor with a more "romantic" vehicle led to the agency restoring the old vehicles for about half the cost of new cars. SEPTA uses Kawasaki vehicles on the rest of its trolley lines, including the Subway-Surface Green Line linking West Philadelphia with Center City and its 69th Street Transportation Center with the western suburbs of Media and Sharon Hill via light rail routes 101 and 102 . San Diego ; started 2011; number in service: 2. San Diego Trolley currently uses 2 PCCs and
525-712: A competitive design—the Brilliner —to market in 1938. Because Raymond Loewy designed elements that were very similar to the PCC look, the Brilliner attracted no large orders, being built only for Atlantic City Transit and the Red Arrow Lines in suburban Philadelphia. Fewer than 50 were sold. A significant contribution to the PCC design was noise reduction with extensive use of rubber in springs and other components to prevent rattle, vibration, and thus noise and to provide
630-484: A fully restored W5, number 774, on display at Hawthorn Depot . The SW6-class were introduced in 1939 and were followed by the W6-class which were produced between 1951 and 1955, 150 were built in total. At their introduction, W6-class trams were popular with passengers and crew alike for being fast, smooth and comfortable. The cab controls are the same as of other W-class trams. The first 40 had flip-over wooden seats in
735-883: A group of cars on October 1, 1936, followed by CSL on November 13, 1936. Production continued in North America by St. Louis Car Co. and Pullman Standard until 1952, with 4,978 units being built. Under license to use the designs patented by TRC, thousands more PCC and partially PCC type cars were produced in Europe through the last half of the 20th century. The cars were well built, and many hundreds are still in operation. The majority of large North American streetcar systems surviving after 1935 purchased PCC streetcars. The systems which eventually terminated streetcar operations often sold their cars to surviving operators. The Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) in Australia
840-439: A length of 46 ft 5 in (14.1 m). Other body differences were a recessed windshield and wider doors. There were far fewer variations of this style, width being the most common. Most double ended cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) long by 9 ft (270 cm) wide, were larger than standard, with different door arrangements. Only Dallas ordered standard size double ended cars. All double ended cars retained
945-418: A level of comfort unknown before. Wheel tires were mounted between rubber sandwiches and were electrically isolated so that shunts were required to complete a ground. Resilient wheels were used on most PCC cars, with later heftier versions known as "Super-Resilient". Gears were another source of considerable noise, solved by employing hypoid gears which are mounted at a right angle to the axle, where three of
1050-435: A maximum deceleration of 9 mph /s (14 km/h). Compared to a maximum of 14 points on older equipment, the PCC was considerably smoother. Most PCCs employed three pedals with a dead man's switch to the left, brake in center, and power pedal on the right. Depressing the brake about half-way and then releasing the deadman pedal put the PCC in "park". Lifting the deadman alone would apply all brakes, drop sand, and balance
1155-411: A more aesthetically pleasing design with a more rounded front and rear, compound-curved skirt cut-outs, and other design frills. When a wire is placed in a magnetic field and an electric current is passed through it, the wire will move. If this wire is wrapped on a spool and placed in a magnetic field with an electric current passed through it, the spool (rotor) will rotate, creating an electric motor. If
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#17328021115031260-464: A professional driver is to cover the brake at all times). The left pedal applied the power and the heel interlock had to be engaged at all times since it was the deadman; only when the brake was in "park" could the deadman be disengaged. St. Louis is unique in that all 300 of their PCCs are All-Electric with the 1500s ordered in late 1939, the 1600s ordered late 1940s and the 1700s in January 1945. SLPS
1365-547: A short section of track and 4000 is used for rides in rotation with others streetcars in their collection. Most PCC-based systems were dismantled in the post-war period in favor of bus-based transit networks. Of the rail transit systems that survived this period, most had replaced their PCCs with modern light rail vehicles (LRVs) by the early 1980s. Beginning in the late 1990s, several cities began to make use of historic PCCs to serve historic streetcar lines that combined aspects of tourist attractions and transit. This table lists
1470-429: A sloped windshield to eliminate nighttime glare, redesigned back end, forced-air ventilation, and other features. Dynamic brakes were the service brake on all PCCs; when almost stopped, friction brakes completed the stop and held the car in "park". Dynamic brakes slowed the "Air" cars to 3 mph (4.8 km/h) at which point a lock-out relay allowed automatic application of air-applied friction brakes against each of
1575-446: A smoother and quieter ride. These wheels came from scrapped S and T class trams. These larger wheels made the tram body sit higher, and the floors in the drop centre were ramped to reduce the step into the saloon. During the 1960s the trams developed cracks in the frame which held the motors and all were withdrawn from service by 1969. Four W3 trams (661, 663, 667, 668) are preserved by heritage organisations. Preserved car W3 661
1680-607: A speed of 50 mph (80 km/h), adequate for their system. When Clark stopped building railroad equipment in 1952 PCC trucks were no longer available, Boston and Cleveland then used non PCC trucks with 28 in (710 mm) wheels. Chicago ordered the first of 770 (720 + 50 double-ended) 6000-series cars in 1948 (before the standard, which they influenced), Boston (40, then later 100) in 1950, and Cleveland (70 + 18 double-ended) in 1952. Chicago's first 200 cars were entirely new, but in 1953 they started using components salvaged from new, but no longer needed, streetcars. Toronto, on
1785-778: A subsidiary of the French Alstom) allowed the trams to coast under their accumulated kinetic energy. Two main body standards were made – 1936 and 1945, sometimes called pre-and post-war – the most prominent difference being the windows. The pre-war cars usually had a right side arrangement of front door, five windows, center door, five windows, and one large rear quarter window. These cars were 46 ft (14.0 m) long and 8 ft 4 in (254 cm) wide. There were variations, Washington, D.C. ordered shorter cars, at 44 ft (13.4 m), with one less window, while Chicago ordered longer and wider cars, at 50 ft 5 in (15.4 m) by 8 ft 9 in (267 cm), with
1890-622: A suitable condition for tourist operations. Of the 237, 17 were operational for use on the City Circle line or the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant, 25 were in good overall condition and suitable for W8 upgrading, six were privately owned, 11 had historical significance, 20 were former Transporting Art trams, and 24 were of poor or incomplete condition but suitable for donors and spares. Trams with historical significance were to be kept and made available to museums, augmenting
1995-482: A three-door arrangement. Chicago cars were built with the centerline of the carbody to the right of the centerline of the tracks, so the widened cars could pass on the existing trackage. Post war cars had a rationalized window arrangement. The windows and pillars were narrower, and there were small "standee" windows above each window. Right side arrangement usually was front door, seven windows, side door, four windows, and two rear quarter windows. Most post-war cars had
2100-438: A tram for $ 1,000 plus the cost of transport, with owners having to explain how they would restore, repurpose and maintain the trams for use. A panel was established to assess applications, with priority given to maintaining public access. Trams were expected to be used for purposes like cafes or classrooms. More than 1,500 applications were received through the process. The first two W-Class trams to leave Newport Workshop under
2205-544: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages W6 (tram) The W-class trams are a family of electric trams built by the Melbourne & Metropolitan Tramways Board (MMTB) between 1923 and 1956. Over the 33 years of production, 752 vehicles spanning 12 sub-classes were constructed, the majority at the MMTB's Preston Workshops . A small fleet continue to operate on
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#17328021115032310-593: Is in the process of determining viability of a third car as of 2016. They are in use on the Silver Line which opened in 2011 and runs in a clockwise loop around Downtown San Diego . San Francisco ; started 1995; number in service: 27 . The F Market Line (historic streetcar service) in San Francisco, opened in 1995, runs along Market Street from The Castro to the Ferry Building , then along
2415-695: Is the original purchaser. Toronto's first PCC streetcar entered service on September 22, 1938. All new PCCs purchased by 1951; second-hand by 1957. The TTC now owns and operates only two PCCs for private charter: numbers 4500 and 4549. One PCC, #4612, was donated in operating condition by the TTC to the Edmonton Radial Railway Society in 1997; the society has two additional PCCs from Toronto (4349 and 4367) awaiting restoration. The Halton Country Railway Museum (near Milton Ontario) owns 3 retired TTC streetcars, 4000, 4386 and 4426. They operate
2520-447: The B2 class (although the previous Z and A classes had enabled withdrawal of W2s), with the remaining weather blind trams being removed by 1993, all of the 1980s SW5 conversions besides no.728 (which remained in service until 2011) by 1994, and many SW6/W6/W7 classes. In 1998, all Ws remaining in service were withdrawn due to a strike, and, although unintended, this would become the end for
2625-863: The Colonial Tramcar Restaurant service which operated three meal services daily. As of October 2018, Yarra Trams has declared the restaurant trams to be too unsafe for use on the network. The W-class tramcars are highly popular trams in preservation, both throughout Australia and around the world. W-class trams were used in the filming of the HBO mini-series The Pacific , including W3-class tram number 667. A number of W-class trams have been sent overseas, including five that were sold to Seattle between 1978 and 1993, where they operated as Seattle's own heritage streetcar line, George Benson Waterfront Streetcar Line , between 1982 and 2005. Since 1990, public outrage has forced an embargo to be placed on
2730-550: The Embarcadero north and west to Fisherman's Wharf . This line is run by a mixture of PCC cars built between 1946 and 1952, and earlier pre-PCC cars. Due to its success, a second heritage line was inaugurated in 2015, the E Embarcadero , which serves to facilitate a one-seat ride from the Caltrain San Francisco station to Fisherman's Wharf. Although San Francisco had removed PCCs from revenue service when
2835-581: The Expo 58 : they were single-body non-reversible two-bogie cars. Articulated trams arrived since 1965: first two-body non-reversible trams (series 7500) then two-body (series 7700–7800) and three-body (series 7900) reversible ones, the last one delivered in 1978. The last single-body PCC tram in commercial service in Brussels ran in February 2010. All series 7500 trams were converted to series 7700 by addition of
2940-547: The Memphis MATA both run W-class trams on their downtown streetcar services. A highly modified W class tram began running in 2009 along River Street in Savannah, Georgia , its AC motors powered by biodiesel-fueled generators. Memphis MATA Trolley has 10 W-2 and 1 W-5 cars. In the 1980s, W2 520 was bought by the musician and composer Elton John in what he described as one of "my drug-induced moments". John exported
3045-599: The Seashore Trolley Museum . Dallas ; started 2003; number in service: 1. The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority in Dallas, Texas, owns three PCC cars, two from Toronto, one from the former Tandy Center Subway. One of the ex Toronto cars is currently in service. El Paso ; started 2018; number in service: 6. Officials in El Paso expressed their desire to preserve the history of the city by refurbishing
3150-1007: The United States by the St Louis Car Company (SLCCo) and Pullman Standard . Clark Equipment built the only aluminum-body PCC as well as all narrow gauge B1 trucks for Los Angeles, all the standard and broad gauge B2 trucks both air- and all-electric, and the B2B trucks used under PRCo 1725–1799 and Toronto 4500–4549. SLCCo built all B3 trucks, both standard and broad gauge. PCC cars for Canadian cities were assembled in Montreal , Quebec by Canadian Car & Foundry from bodies and trucks supplied by St. Louis Car. Westinghouse ( Westinghouse Electric , Westinghouse Air Brake Company , Canadian Westinghouse Co.) and General Electric both supplied electrical packages and brake components which were designed and built in cooperation with
3255-676: The tramway network of Melbourne , Australia, where they are used on the City Circle tourist route. The W-class tram is a cultural icon to Melbourne: those that remain in the city are classified by the National Trust of Australia . As well as Melbourne, W-class trams operate on tourist and heritage systems across the world. A number of older variants have been withdrawn from service and later sent to cities such as Copenhagen , San Francisco , Savannah and Seattle , and by private enthusiasts. In 2018, 134 W-class trams were offered to
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3360-536: The "Transporting Art" program. In 1981 W2 442 was converted for use with the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant , entering service in November 1982. The last W2 to run in regular service in Melbourne ran in December 1987 on route 93 La Trobe Street to Bundoora , although a small number were used well into the early 1990s during extended tram shortages. No.442 was used by the Colonial Tramcar Restaurant until 2006 when it
3465-462: The 1880s required a standing operator at a four-foot-high vertical controller "stand" to rotate a handle to one of ten electrical resistance points within the stand to provide trolley acceleration. The resistors were not very large and were mounted adjacent to one another along the outside frame bottom of the trolley to provide cooling as they would get very hot. For the PCC however, there were more than ten resistance/speed points; Westinghouse developed
3570-653: The 34 W-class trams already on display throughout Victoria. Five trams were kept for potential gifting and nine for other potential future uses. Former art trams were to be kept in storage for future public display. The balance of trams, 134, had a condition or significance that did not lend itself to being preserved for operations in any way. These trams were offered to the public by the State Government under an expression of interest process, with trams offered for free to schools, community groups and non-profit organisations. Private buyers and business could purchase
3675-569: The 53 trams retained. When the network was privatised in August 1999, 30 W-class trams were allocated to M>Tram and 23 to Yarra Trams . In mid-2000 all operating W-class trams were removed from service following a series of incidents involving brake problems. Some returned to service in May 2001 on the City Circle route, with 25 operating in September 2003. The return of another 30 W-classes
3780-500: The Australian public for new uses. As of December 2021, only 11 W class trams remain in service in Melbourne, all of which are W8 trams operating on the City Circle tram route. W-class trams were introduced to Melbourne in 1923 as a new standard design. They had a dual bogie layout and were characterised by a substantial timber frame supplanted by a steel underframe, a simple rugged design, and fine craftsmanship (particularly
3885-660: The British rail network Weltmeister W6 , a Chinese car See also [ edit ] 6W (disambiguation) [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=W6&oldid=1240243458 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
3990-579: The Brooklyn order would have all cars equipped by General Electric , and Clark Equipment Company pressed for one car to be made by them of aluminum for delivery to B&QT. Agreements among the parties were reached whereby St Louis Car Company would build 101 essentially identical cars and Clark would build one of its own body design. Brooklyn received its first car number 1001 on May 28, 1936, PRCo took delivery of car number 100 on July 26, 1936, and Baltimore received its first car on September 2, 1936. In
4095-467: The ERPCC. The customer specified the equipment, which was to be installed, performance was similar, and most cities ordered from both suppliers. Since Westinghouse was home based near Pittsburgh, PRCo ordered 75% of its PCC fleet with Westinghouse equipment, the balance with GE. Indeed, PCCs are often identified as either Westinghouse or GE. The last PCC streetcars built for any North American system were
4200-497: The MMTB's "number one" bogies. The driver's controls were made by Westinghouse , Dick Kerr controllers, and Clyde Engineering controllers. The W2-class also had many variant gears within the tram bogies, the spur-geared W2 classes were notable due to their humming sound. Two of the W2-class had their roller blind doors converted to sliding doors and were reclassed SW2. Four W1-class were converted directly to SW2-class. Towards
4305-503: The MMTB's vast fleet during their heyday from the 1940s to 1960s. Most class members had been converted from the earlier W and W1-classes. The trams featured two enclosed saloon areas at either end of the tram and an open "drop-centre" section in the middle. A trademark feature of these vehicles until the 1970s was their uncomfortable wooden bench-style seats, a feature they shared with most other Melbourne trams of that period. Mechanically, they had four under-floor motors powering two sets of
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4410-724: The Netherlands; and particularly the Czech ČKD Tatra , who built the largest number of the PCC type in the world, supplying a number of Central and Eastern European countries. Trams such as the Tatra T3 and its variant Tatra T4 , together the most numerous of any tram model ever produced, are still in service today in many of the regions where they were first introduced. Modern variants of the Tatra T3 are still produced today by some manufacturers, such as KOS Krnov. The Polish Konstal 13N
4515-601: The P.C.C. car to out-pace the average automobile which, in America, is of substantially higher performance than the typical British vehicle." This, however, is only true when compared to the automobiles of that period. The system of acceleration and braking described above means that the original PCC cars were (when in movement) always either accelerating or braking. A later improvement on the Brussels trams (built at that time under license by La Brugeoise et Nivelles and ACEC, now both subsidiaries of Bombardier Transportation, itself
4620-727: The Route 15 Girard Avenue line in Philadelphia in September 2005 after a 15-year "temporary" suspension of trolley service in favor of diesel buses. The line uses restored and modernized (by the Brookville Manufacturing Company) PCC cars, known as PCC-IIs (now upgraded as PCC-IIIs), painted in their original green and cream Philadelphia Transit Company livery, rather than SEPTA's white with red and blue stripes. Modernization included all-new control systems, modern turn markers, HVAC system (which accounts for
4725-548: The W2 design, which all earlier Ws were upgraded to. A handful were upgraded to the SW2 design with sliding doors, which were followed by the unsuccessful W3 and W4 designs. All were supplemented in the late 1930s by 120 W5 (or "Clyde") class trams with wider cabins, and more powerful motors. However, they were notorious for being difficult to drive smoothly. After this came the SW5, initially only
4830-521: The W3- and W4-class trams. Production continued until 1939 and included five CW5-class trams under construction being converted before release to traffic. Many of these W5-class trams were allocated to Essendon and (the new) Brunswick depots as a result of the mid-1930s conversion of the Elizabeth Street cable trams to electric traction. Most cars numbered above 800 had "swept corner" windscreens. From
4935-510: The Ws which were not running on routes 30, 78/79 and 35. In 2014, all non-city circle Ws were withdrawn, in 2018, the restaurant trams, and in 2019, the remaining non-W8 class trams. This left only the upgraded sliding door W-class trams, modernised from 2013 onwards, which were designated the W8 class. In 1992, an official mass withdrawal of the W class was announced by transport minister Alan Brown . That
5040-467: The XD-323 underfloor rotary accelerator for the PCC's motor control with 99 resistance points. It was installed in the first Pittsburgh car, number 100, and minor modifications allowed use in the last PCCs produced in North America for San Francisco in 1952. The sitting PCC operator had a foot accelerator on the floor, much like that of an automobile, with linkage to underfloor resistance ribbons mounted in
5145-634: The city's light rail was transformed into the Muni Metro system in 1980, they had made occasional festival trips in the ensuing years before being returned to full-time service. Car 1074 is painted in Toronto Transit Commission livery, but was never owned by the TTC. Toronto ; started 1938; number in service: 2. The first PCC cars in Canada were operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in 1938. By 1954, Toronto had
5250-623: The claim that this could generate revenue for investment into the public transport system. Following a change in government, in May 2011 $ 8 million over four years was allocated for the restoration of eight W-class trams, with options for new routes to be considered. The restoration is occurring at Preston Workshops (where many W-class trams were originally built), with the resultant tram being dubbed W8s, they are receiving full rebuilds and many upgrades, including modernised braking and suspension. The first, W8 946 entered service in March 2013, while
5355-631: The committee, initially considered buying the cars, but increased metal prices due to the Korean War made them prohibitively costly. Brooklyn, who had bought the first five prototype trainsets, also did not buy any production trainsets. 240 PCC rapid transit cars were built in four years, from 1948 to 1952, then 438 cars with non-PCC trucks until 1957, the last of Chicago's 570 cars built with salvaged components were delivered in 1958. Some Chicago cars were in regular service in 1990, car number 30 made its last revenue run in 1999. The operator listed
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#17328021115035460-589: The custody of the Skjoldenæsholm Tram Museum . In October 2016, the government announced the formation of a reference group to formulate a strategy for the over 237 in store at Newport Workshops . In 2018, the results of the condition audit were published as part of the Daniel Andrews State Government's Retired Trams Strategy . The audit found there was 237 W-class trams in storage in 2018, with most not in
5565-445: The design committee formed in 1929. It was renamed the "Electric Railway Presidents' Conference Committee" (ERPCC) in 1931. The group's membership consisted primarily of representatives of several large operators of U.S. urban electric street railways plus potential manufacturers. Three interurban lines and at least one "heavy rail", or rapid transit , operator— Chicago Rapid Transit Company —were represented as well. Also included on
5670-422: The doors so they could be pushed open easily. Chicago used "bicycle-type levers" for power and brake but converted some cars to two pedals. St. Louis Public Service Co. (SLPS) used two pedals, both with heel interlocks. The right pedal is the brake; depressing this pedal about halfway while lifting away from the heel applied "park". Once the brake is released the heel need not be engaged with the interlock (although
5775-482: The drivers found it difficult to see the steps. Four W4 trams (670, 671, 673 and 674) are preserved by heritage tramways in Australia. Five CW5-class trams, numbered 681 to 685, were built at the Preston Workshops in 1934/35. They had wider bodies, based on the previous W4-class, but utilised electrical equipment recovered from scrapped Maximum Traction C class trams (hence the "C" prefix). They were
5880-422: The drums from releasing which would prevent power application, a fail-safe feature. Drum brakes were quite popular and greatly reduced maintenance thus some "Air" cars were retrofitted with drums. Four magnetic brakes, one between the wheels on each side of each truck , applied additional braking for emergency stopping where all brakes were generally employed. "These performances [acceleration and braking] enable
5985-458: The early 1970s, many cars had their little-used, narrow centre doorways panelled-over, and most had their original windshields replaced with SW6-class types, which had "swept corners" with half-drop side windows, but not all of them received the deeper fascia. During construction in 1939, the last ten W5-class trams were modified with sliding doors, like as the first of the SW6-class trams which
6090-400: The eight wheels. On All-Electric cars the dynamics were effective to 0.75 mph (1.21 km/h) where the lockout relay then allowed a spring-applied friction brake to engage a drum on each of the four motor drive shafts; this completed the stop and held the car in park. Drum brakes were released by an electric solenoid operating from low-voltage battery power; a power failure would prevent
6195-429: The end of their useful lives, many class members were converted to service (non-passenger) stock such as carborundum rail scrubbers, permanent-way vehicles, railgrinders and breakdown units. A large number of units were also sold to museums and public transport operators in Australia and around the world, with some still running today. From 1978 until 1982 many W2s were painted by well-known Australian Artists as part of
6300-525: The end saloons, the remainder having upholstered bus seats. All had wooden seats in the centre saloon until the 1970s when the entire class was refurbished with upholstered seats throughout. W6-class trams initially begun as a sub group of the SW6-class trams, but later became their own class. The W6 differed from the SW6 in having quieter wheels and gears plus additional soundproofing. PCC streetcar The Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) originated from
6405-570: The final 40 W-class trams (W7) emerging from Preston Workshops by 1956, when the need to provide something more capable of dealing with Olympic Games crowds than Bourke Street 's buses prompted the last expansion of the network. In April 1971, W7 1024 became the first tram to carry all over advertising livery when it was painted for the State Electricity Commission of Victoria , followed by Heinz (June 1971), Preston Market (August 1971), and Channel 0 (October 1971). It
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#17328021115036510-490: The findings, and ultimately produced a set of specifications for a standardized and fixed design. It included a modest list of available options with ample room for customer customization but was to be built with standard parts as opposed to a custom designed car body with diverse parts added depending on the whims and requirements of the individual customer. Numerous national and international users operated large fleets of PCC cars for many years. Many design patents resulted from
6615-484: The first W5 was withdrawn in 1987, and the last in 1994. During the mass withdrawal of W-class trams in 1994–96, the majority of SW5-class trams were retired in preference to the higher numbered trams, ostensibly due to the discovery of asbestos in the controllers. As of January 2020, there were no SW5 or W5 trams remaining in service, with the majority stored. However, nine W5 and three SW5 trams are preserved with heritage tramways in Australia and New Zealand, including
6720-483: The inner city revenue services would be phased out by 2012, claiming that they were no longer suitable for revenue service and would be replaced by more modern trams. This prompted a new campaign from the National Trust of Australia to retain the W-class trams in service. It was also proposed that unused W-class trams could be better utilised by refurbishing and leasing them as "roving ambassadors" to other cities, with
6825-500: The largest PCC fleet in the world, including many purchased second-hand from U.S. cities that abandoned streetcar service following the Second World War . Although it acquired new custom-designed streetcars in the late 1970s and 1980s (and which was replaced by modern LRVs by Dec. 2019), the TTC continued using PCCs in regular service until 1995, and retains two (numbers 4500 and 4549) for charter purposes. The PCC license
6930-479: The last ten W5 trams fitted with sliding doors before entering service, but by the 1990s the majority of the W5 fleet, having been upgraded. The SW6 followed on, and became the most popular W-class tram with crews and passengers alike, because they were fast, smooth and comfortable, compared with earlier W variants. After experimentation with a PCC streetcar , construction of Ws resumed in 1951, with more SW6 and later W6 and
7035-514: The late 1936 discussions of operating experience, it was noted that the Brooklyn car had run 3,000 miles by the time the Pittsburgh car had run 1,000 miles. One of the key patents was filed by Dan H. Bell on January 8, 1937, and granted on July 5, 1938, and entitled, "Rail Car or Similar Article," Patent No. 110,384. The first car to be placed in a scheduled public service was PRCo 100 in August and B&QT launched its first scheduled service with
7140-526: The line's bridges cannot support heavier light rail vehicles (LRV) operated on the MBTA's Green Line . Not considered historic equipment, the PCC cars in use on the Mattapan–Ashmont line represent the oldest cars still in revenue service, originally built between 1943 and 1946. These cars are also the only air-electric PCCs still in regular service in North America. Several retired PCCs from Boston are now at
7245-442: The longest at 55 ft (16.8 m), and narrowest at 8 ft 4 in (254 cm), Cleveland had the widest at 10 ft 4 in (315 cm). Trucks were a major focus, both Clark and St. Louis developed trucks with 28 in (710 mm) wheels and a 70 mph (110 km/h) maximum speed, but only Boston used them, Clark B10s on 40 cars. Chicago used streetcar type trucks, with 26 in (660 mm) wheels and
7350-438: The majority but could easily be changed for special situations. Windows were spaced to match seating. While some of the components in the PCC car had been used before— resilient wheels , magnetic braking , sealed gears, and modular design to name a few—the ERPCC redesigned, refined, and perfected many of these while developing new acceleration and braking controls and put them all in one package. PCC cars were initially built in
7455-538: The membership roll were manufacturers of surface cars ( streetcars ) and interested component suppliers. ERPCC's goal was to design a streamlined , comfortable, quiet, and fast accelerating and braking streetcar that would be operated by a seated operator using floor-mounted pedal controls to better meet the needs of the street railways and appeal to riders. ERPCC prepared a detailed research plan, conducted extensive research on streetcar design, built and tested components, made necessary modifications and revisions based upon
7560-411: The more unique examples due to the installation of overhead wires being prohibited within the city limits, necessitating the use of conduit plows that collected current using a plow lowered into a slot between the rails contacting positive and negative rails under the street. A pit was located at the boundary line of the city limits, over which cars would stop to have their power collection changed from
7665-600: The noticeably larger roof enclosure), and ADA compliant wheelchair lifts. The line runs from Haddington to Port Richmond down the median of Girard Avenue. It crosses both the Broad Street Subway and the Market–Frankford Line , and stops at the Philadelphia Zoo , among other landmarks. SEPTA had originally planned to run modern Kawasaki trolleys along the line once service was restored, but
7770-668: The old PCC streetcars that once made their way through Downtown from 1949 to 1974. They operated on the international streetcar line that connected El Paso, Texas in the United States, with Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Originally, the line operated until 1973. Six cars in total have been restored, regular revenue operations began in late 2018 for the downtown loop. Kenosha ; started 2000; number in service: 7. The Kenosha Electric Streetcar in Kenosha, Wisconsin , has been operating six ex- Toronto Transit Commission PCCs (five since 2000 and
7875-463: The older models). The W class was the mainstay of Melbourne's tramways system for 60 years. A total of 752 trams of all variants were built. The original variant (W) was a typical Drop-centre design tram, which was also used in Adelaide , Brisbane , Sydney , and later Bendigo, Ballarat and Geelong following movements of earlier Melbourne trams. The W1 was created with no centre doors, and changed to
7980-474: The only W-class trams with only 2 motors (instead of 4), and were not considered successful. Fleet numbers 686 to 719 were reserved for 34 more of the type using equipment from the remaining C-class trams, but no more were constructed, and all CW5s were converted to standard W5-class trams in 1956. In 1935, the first of 120 W5-class trams entered service, with the same body as a CW5-class tram, but were equipped with equal-wheel, 4-motor bogies based on those used on
8085-575: The pre-war style body until the end of production. There were four rapid transit companies on the committee, but the primary focus was streetcars, rapid transit development was slower. The difference in operations between the systems also made standardization difficult. By 1940, Brooklyn had five three-section articulated trainsets with PCC components, after WWII Chicago ordered four similar trainsets . Chicago ordered two from Pullman and two from St. Louis, with different equipment, so that competing manufacturers could be directly compared. Experience from
8190-626: The process were acquired by the City of Launceston in Tasmania in 2019 to be restored and used in a public space. There were 200 W-class trams built from 1923 to 1926. They could seat 52 passengers with room for 93 people standing. They were built by the MMTB's Holden Street Workshop and Preston Workshops . Some were also built by private companies including James Moore & Sons of South Melbourne , and Holden Body Builders of Adelaide . All 200 were converted to W2s between 1928 and 1933. No. 380
8295-697: The sale of these trams to any overseas interest. Three of these trams have been sold to Loop Trolley for use in St. Louis. In February 2004, after some years of negotiation, a W6-class tram, Melbourne 930, was shipped to Edmonton as an ambassador for the City of Melbourne. The tram, which is owned by the Edmonton Radial Railway Society , operates as part of the High Level Bridge Streetcar fleet, connecting Old Strathcona to Downtown on 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of track. The Dallas MATA and
8400-625: The second, W8 959 returned from 18 months of work performed at Bendigo Tramways in June 2013. These have since been joined by W8 957 and W8 1010. As at February 2017, 981 and 983 were under overhaul in Bendigo. As at March 2017, 12 W-class trams are in service on the Melbourne tram network, All run on the zero-fare City Circle tourist route at any time during operating hours. The last examples on routes 30 , 78 and 79 were withdrawn in late 2013. Three W6 class trams were converted for use on
8505-408: The six teeth constantly engaged the main gear, reducing lash and noise. All movable truck parts employed rubber for noise reduction as well. "Satisfactory Cushion Wheel of Vital Importance; Develop New Truck Design; Generous Use of Rubber" are headings within a paper that Chief Engineer Clarence F. Hirshfeld both presented and published. After a specification document suitable for purchasing cars
8610-548: The sixth since 2009) and one ex- SEPTA car since 2009. The Kenosha Electric is unique among modern PCC operations in that PCCs had not run in the city before 2000—the original rail system was shut down in 1932 before any PCC cars had been built. Two of its cars are still painted in their original TTC colours, while the rest have been re-decorated in the liveries of several U.S. cities including Pittsburgh, Johnstown, Chicago and Cincinnati. Philadelphia ; started 2005; number in service: 18 . SEPTA restored trolley service to
8715-418: The strength of the magnetic field or the amount of current running through the motor is increased (or both), the motor's speed will increase. With a trolley, the speed is controlled by several resistors placed in the wire running to the rotor. Removing circuit resistors one at a time will increase the current in the motor's magnetic field and this will increase the motor's speed. Prior streetcar speed control from
8820-464: The trainsets influenced the following car standards. Cars were to be approximately 48 ft (14.6 m) long (the Chicago maximum, Boston had some 55 ft (16.8 m) long) with one cab per car arranged in "married" two car sets, a double ended single car variant was possible. Number and type of doors and windows, interior layout, and width of cars varied with each system. Boston had two sizes,
8925-402: The tram quickly. However, in cold and wet weather the openings were only covered by pull down blinds. Passengers were looking for more comfort and these trams were later converted to the W2 design. Four SW2s have been converted back to W1 in preservation. The W2-class was introduced in 1927 and remained in service until its final withdrawal in mid-1987. The 406-strong class was the backbone of
9030-528: The tram to England where it stands in the grounds of Woodside , his country house in Berkshire. In 2005, W6 965 was restored at a cost of $ 25,000 and given as a wedding present from the Victorian Government to Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark. Shipping line Maersk transported the tram to Denmark free of charge, waiving the estimated bill of $ 40,000. It was placed in
9135-696: The transit agencies that still employ PCCs in revenue service, as opposed to a short-run or intermittent heritage railway. Boston ; started 1941; number in service: 4. The Mattapan Line in Boston is a light-rail extension of the MBTA 's heavy Red Line . It runs from the Ashmont terminus of the Red Line to Mattapan , and runs PCCs exclusively. The line was shut down for reconstruction from June 24, 2006, until December 22, 2007, but PCC cars have resumed operation since
9240-502: The trolley pole to the conduit plow and vice versa. "The PCC car was not just another modular vehicle but the result of the only systems engineering approach to mass producing a rail car." Research into passenger comfort resulting from vibrations, acceleration, lighting, heating and cooling, seat spacing, cushion height, space for arms, legs, standing passengers, economies of weight affecting maintenance, cost of power, reduced wear of components and track. Dimensions were established to fit
9345-491: The work of ERPCC. These were transferred to a new business entity called the Transit Research Corporation (TRC) when ERPCC expired in 1936. Although this company continued the work of research on improvements to the basic design of the car and issued sets of specifications three times in the ensuing years, because TRC defined a PCC car as any vehicle which used patents on which it collected royalties, it
9450-407: Was announced in September 2003, but on more limited routes than before their withdrawal from service. All 53 had been returned to service by late 2003. The reintroduction followed the installation of new braking systems, speedometers, and the imposition of a 40 km/h (25 mph) speed limit. The trolley poles were subsequently replaced with pantographs . The condition of the W-class fleet
9555-621: Was being built at the same time. They also had metal-framed, full-drop saloon windows with quarter lights. In 1956, W5-class trams 785 and 787 were converted to SW5-class (type 2), following accident damage. Parts from the cancelled order for more W7-class trams were used in the repairs, and the two cars featured half-drop saloon windows, with quarter lights. An additional 83 W5-class trams were converted to SW5-class (type 3) trams between 1983 and 1986. They were fitted with aluminium sliding doors, but retained their original wooden-framed, full-drop windows. Apart from those severely damaged in accidents,
9660-547: Was converted back to original condition in 1988 for the Heritage Fleet. No. 220 is undergoing conversion by the TMSV Bylands from W2 class back to the original W class tram. There were 30 W1-class trams built between 1925 and 1928. They were a variation on the W-class trams and used a different seating arrangement. The middle of the tram was open like the earlier cable cars and allowed passengers to get on and off
9765-549: Was criticised by the Australian Rail Tram & Bus Industry Union in September 2008, with a demand for the State Government to repair or withdraw them. A Yarra Trams spokesman said that the fleet met maintenance standards, but required more cosmetic work than other trams due to their wooden structure and age. In January 2010, it was announced by transport minister Martin Pakula that the 26 W-class trams operating
9870-508: Was damaged in an accident involving a motor vehicle on 10 March 2019 in Ballarat. The damage from the accident means that the tram requires extensive repairs to the frame and body. There were five W4-class trams built between 1933 and 1935. They had a wider body and lower floor than the W3, and had transverse seating in the saloon. They were all withdrawn by 1968. The wider body of the tram meant
9975-413: Was fitted with 400 light bulbs on its roofline. It was joined by W6 900 in 1973. In 1977 W2 546 was fitted with an experimental Siemens pantograph . The W7 class with its pneumatic sliding doors and softer suspension proved popular with passengers. It was not until the 1990s that the W class was finally considered surplus to rolling stock requirements. Mass withdrawal came with the introduction of
10080-498: Was formed for the primary purpose of controlling those patents and promoting the standardization envisioned by the ERPCC. The company was funded by its collection of patent royalties from the railways which bought PCC cars. The company was controlled by a voting trust representing the properties which had invested in the work of ERPCC. One participant in Committee meetings, Philadelphia trolley manufacturer J.G. Brill Company , brought
10185-504: Was generally due to the fact that over 200 W class remained in service, while the newer Z-class trams were in storage in varying locations, after being displaced by the newer A and B class vehicles. Protests over the disappearing icons brought about a reconsideration of the withdrawal policy, and it was decided 53 Ws would be retained for tourist purposes. The popular zero-fare City Circle tourist route commenced in April 1994, using 12 of
10290-608: Was generated by TRC, orders were placed by eight companies in 1935 and 1936. First was Brooklyn & Queens Transit Corporation (B&QT) for 100 cars, then Baltimore Transit Co. (BTCo) for 27 cars, Chicago Surface Lines (CSL) for 83 cars, Pittsburgh Railways Co. (PRCO) for 101 cars, San Diego Electric Railway (SDERy) for 25 cars, Los Angeles Railway (LARy) for 60 cars, and then Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) for one car. In late 1935 or early in 1936 Westinghouse Electric Corporation pressed for one car to be equipped with their electrical equipment for testing in Pittsburgh, since
10395-947: Was keen to build two new tram routes after World War II, and these routes would be served by PCC Streetcars. The MMTB decided that it was too expensive and Melbourne only ever had two PCC streetcars, of which one was a prototype for a completely different class. Several dozen remain in public transit service, such as on the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line in Boston , as well as in Philadelphia , Kenosha, San Diego and San Francisco following extensive overhauling. All other surviving and functional North American PCC cars are operated by museums and heritage railways. Several retired PCCs from Boston, Cleveland, and Philadelphia were purchased as scrap and have been privately stored just outside Windber, Pennsylvania since 1992. The PCCs built for Washington, D.C. were among
10500-622: Was not built under license. Only models with direct references to the original American PCC streetcar are included here. Later models of a particular series such as the Tatra T5 were adapted and modernized further. Note that the country listed only covers areas where the cars were initially delivered; references for these areas can be found in the text. Belgium ; introduced 1951; number built: 125 (both models) . The first PCC cars in Brussels (series 7000–7100) were built in prevision of
10605-596: Was remarkable and innovative in that it allowed motor control by floor pedal similar to that of an automobile. General Electric also developed a control system for PCC cars that mirrored the Westinghouse scheme in function although not in simplicity or maintainability . With the GE commutator motor controller operating by air pressure, it had to be redesigned with the advent of the All-Electric PCC. Acceleration
10710-457: Was the rolling laboratory for All-Electrics and what was learned here was applied to the post-WW2 All-Electric demonstrator in the fall of 1945. From 1936 to 1945, PCC cars were "Air-Electrics" with friction brakes , doors, and windshield wipers operated by air pressure. PRCo PCC 1600 of 1945 was the post WW2 All-Electric Demonstrator which eliminated the air compressor and associated piping while incorporating such features as standee windows ,
10815-669: Was used worldwide after World War II had ended which resulted in adaptations based on the American PCC design. Two such licensees were successful, namely the Belgian company La Brugeoise et Nivelles (since 1988 a subsidiary of Bombardier Transportation , itself since 2021 a subsidiary of the French Alstom ), who built both standard-gauge and meter-gauge cars based on the PCC license for many networks in Belgium, France and
10920-445: Was variable between 1.5-to-4.75-mile-per-hour per second (2.41 to 7.64 km/h) depending upon the depression of the power pedal with the accelerator advanced automatically by a low-voltage pilot motor. Service braking was also variable and the maximum dynamic application decreased speed by 4.75 mph per second (7.64 km/h); pressing the brake pedal into emergency also brought the friction and magnetic brakes into play providing
11025-535: Was withdrawn. While the majority of W2 class trams were sold to private owners or overseas, 26 W2 and 5 SW2 class trams are preserved by heritage tramways in Australia and New Zealand. The W3-class trams were built between 1930 and 1934. These were the first trams to use an all steel frame. There were 16 trams built at Preston Workshops. They were built from parts and equipment which had been intended for building Y1-class trams. They had larger wheels, 33 inches (838 mm) in diameter, which were designed to provide
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