Capitol Transit, Washington, DC

[daveklepper]

On 3/19/20, Jack May <[e-mail]> wrote:
> Nice work.  Thanks.
>
> We were in Georgetown on M Street on February 29, visiting our older
> grandson, who's a freshman at the university.  We drove around the
> neighborhood and remembered exactly where the route 20 cars went on O
> and P Streets.  The fact that the tracks are still there helped!  The
> old DC Transit headquarters (ex Capital Traction) is still extant, and
> it is now a Georgetown University building, called the Georgetown Car
> Barn: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgetown_Car_Barn
>
> By the way, the campus is now closed because of COVID-19 and this past
> weekend Alex packed up and returned home to Manhattan by Amtrak.
>
> Jack
>
> Here are views from Google Maps showing the tracks today.  They do add
> some ambience to the area, but then, I'm prejudiced.

The p;hoto I am posring now is not directly fron Google Maps but could be at a different time with different weaher conditiohs at the same location as one of their photos.  Oudtside of Londoh, is there any other place in the World where condouit streetcar track can sstill be seen?

 

[daveklepper]

Hello Mr. Klepper,

The National Capital Trolley Museum acquired an original PCC streetcar recently and arranged for me to take photos of its beautifully preserved conduit plow carrier still attached to the rear truck. It even has the insulating material intact! I hung a conduit plow from their collection in the carrier and photographed it in position. I wanted to plug in the leads, but they wouldn’t go in the sockets of the plow. The leads do not appear corroded, so I suspect the collet-like parts of the sockets are too stiff from disuse. For those who may not know, the plow weighs over fifty pounds, and needs to be lifted to shoulder height when one stands in the plow pit. I tried to imagine doing that every few minutes, all day long. This is not to mention of course, being constantly exposed to inclement weather and high voltage.

The photos were mostly taken from the maintenance pit, which is deeper than the plow pits, so I actually had to heft the thing above my head to get it in position. I understand now why the plow pits were so shallow–you have to be able to reach the leads easily, in case the plugs are balky!

Please post these images on the blog, they are my work and I release them for non-commercial re-use.

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

Gratefully,

 

Paul Pallansch

Dot-Connector, Dioramist,
Up-Close Realism

cell: 240-277-8887
facsimile: 301-649-7525

 

 

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

recently scanned:

 

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

And one more:

[daveklepper]

And more:

[pennytrains]

So many of those could be "Anytown U.S.A." and if we had our way they still would be! 

[daveklepper]

And another:

[rcdrye]

The last photo illustrates one reason why many cities with excellent streetcar systems were still pro-bus.  The person waiting to board 1344 is only a foot or so away from the Ford in the left lane.  Pedestrian accidents were common, and safety islands only helped a little - in cities that still have them they frequently get struck by vehicles.

[daveklepper]

Mure:

 

 

 

 

[daveklepper]

And more:

[daveklepper]

 

[daveklepper]