QUOTE: The Nearside Car A Classic Juice tech story Since the beginning of public transportation, fare collection and how it was handled has always been a determining factor of car design.When horse cars were first introduced the driver handled the horses and the conductor collected the fares from the passengers as they entered the rear of the car and exited at the front. This is ( was known) as pay as you enter. ( PAYE ) This continued into the electrification of the street railways.The conductor would signakl the stop and starts for the motorman via bell signals.Howerevr because passengers entered at the rear of the car the motorman did not always have a clear view of them and accidents were unfortunatly common as the motorman would start off and passengers would grab for a handrail etc miss and fall. This resulted in injuries sometimes deaths and lawsuits against the company. To combat these problems and lawsuits, an English born Thomas E. Mitten ( who was the acting chairman of the executive commitee of Philladelphia Rapid Transit, initiated and oversaw the design of a new type of car.This car was ultimatly named the "Nearside" car.Passengers boarded and departed through the front doors on these cars, this gave the motorman much better control. The conductor sat behind the motorman and called out street names and destinations as well as still collecting the fairs and issuing the transfers.Passengers could still exit the car via the back doors if they wished In the days before the Nearsides the car would pull through the intersection to line up the back doors for the passengers to board. So they stopped on the farside of the intersection. Mitten's design called for the passengers to enter at the front, so the cars stopped on the "near" side of the intersection, hence the name. For political reasons trhe first cars of this design were built by J. G . Brill of Philladelphia. Both cars were sent to Buffalo and tested there for assesment as Buffalo's street railway was once served by Mitten as General manager. The first prototypes #6000 and 6001 were built in 1912. The standard specs for these cars was as follows 45' 6" in length over the anticlimbers.width of 8' 5" ,top of the rail to top of the roof 12' 0". The original design called for the use of Brill's maximum traction truck 33" driving ( powered ) wheels and the second axel with 22" non powered. IN typical Brill fashion the cars had a high arched roof for summer time ventilation. The Brill records show that slightly more than 2000 of these casr were built. Used by Buffalo,Chicago,Philladelphia,Atlantic City ,and Lincoln Nebraska. One of these cars was made for Canada for the British Columbia Electric Railway ( BCE ) in Vancouver. It was number 501 and was to be the prototype no more were ordered however. Philly not supprisingly had the largest fleet numbering 1500 cars The Nearside was the first of two major fare collection induced design changes for streetcars. the next happening in 1920 by peter Witt of Cleveland. That story will come later. Rob
QUOTE: Originally posted by BudKarr Good Day Gentlemen, I have returned and feel that a bit of explanation is in order. The thing I do to pay the bills has me on a rather short string. They call, I go. The calls have been coming rather frequently. I am still interested in your rendezvous in Toronto and also that trip to Hudson Bay. Timing of course will determine my ability to join you. Thank you to all who provided some elaboration on the APT. Although I am now not so sure what the question was! Caveat: This was begun nearly two weeks ago. Interruptions have prevented me from completing this endeavor in a timely fashion. Original lead in: I wi***o commend our Proprietor and barkeep once again for the outstanding efforts put forth in keeping us all reading about Classic Trains. The fallen flags and nostalgia pieces (as you refer to them) are very captivating and in keeping with the premise you put forth for us all. The contributions, particularly from CM3 and others, are also enlightening, educational and reminiscent of days gone by. Thank you for sharing them with us. I should also mentioned Sir Nick in West Wales and the information coming from that quarter. Truly makes this an international place of interest. Thank you as well. Sad to say that one of your number is a rank ignoramus when it comes to recognition of not only your efforts, but those of others. With all of the postings that have been made and his only reference is to a URL, well that speaks volumes. Are you positive this person really deserves the honor bestowed upon him? I for one applaud your policy of not rewarding bad behavior. Now, I had put together one of those submissions that took me quite a bit of time, only to have it gobbled up by those gremlins you have referred to. I had it in my word processor as well, but erased it once I thought the posting went through. Unfortunately, they are both now in the ether, so to speak. Gad zooks, is the phrase that comes to mind. Another go is in order. The endeavor: A Man Named Pullman There are volumes that have been written about George Mortimer Pullman (1831-1897) and the long lasting contributions his innovativeness of the railroad car and management of them made to North American railroading. Some highlights are in order: (1) Born into a Brockton, NY family of farmers and mechanics in 1831, it is appropriate to state that he was NOT the inventor of the sleeping car. That distinction, according to history, goes to the Cumberland Valley Railroad, who began operation of those types of cars several years before Pullman’s birth. (2) His first venture into the adult world was as a cabinet maker, turned contractor. The latter brought him to Chicago where he met a man named Benjamin Field, who would become a long time partner and associate in the rail car management, design and operation business. (3) The first railroad to adopt the Pullman-Field approach to sleeping cars was the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad in 1859 when they accepted the offer to have two of their coaches remodeled into sleepers. (4) In 1865, the largest and most costly car of the day was built by Pullman himself, appropriately named the Pioneer for the westward expansion of the railroads to the Pacific Coast. This car had the distinction of costing $20 thousand, about 5 times the cost of a coach, had 16 wheels, and 12 sections of sleeper units. IT was longer, wider and higher than the standard coaches of the day. In fact the Pioneer was used in President Lincoln’s funeral consist and required the stations along the way to make structural changes to their platforms in order to accommodate the passing train! The Pioneer was credited with having the first fold down berths, and while perhaps not the most luxurious in design and accommodations, was at least as well appointed. (5) By the end of 1866, every major railroad serving Chicago signed on the Pullman-Field sleeping car operation. Field decided that Pullman was better off on his own, and stepped aside. (6) Early in the 1870s, 800 of Pullman’s cars operated over 30,00 miles of track in an association between his company and the ACL, CRI&P, DL&W, MP, NP, AT&SF and SP. It was to be that Pullman’s “Empire” would buy up the contracts of the association railroads, thereby providing him with the sole access desired. (7) Upon his untimely death in 1897, the heirs of the family took over and moved forward with the innovations many take for granted even to this day: (a) PULLMAN 12-1: Usually this heavyweight trailed the streamlined consist – with the exception of a heavyweight lounge car midway in the string. The car was a 12 section, 1 drawing room Pullman rather common back in the 40’s. (b) PULLMAN SECTION SLEEPER: Provided the most basic in terms of sleeping accommodations for the first class traveler. This arrangement may be posed an awkward situation for some, as complete strangers wound up sharing the unit. The protocol was passengers who purchased the upper-berths were obliged to sit in the rearward facing seats during daytime travel, whereas the lower berths entitled the passengers to the forward facing ones. The upper berth was without windows, and was accessed by a ladder. Heavy, dark curtains provided privacy for the sleepers in each unit. (c) THE ROOMETTE: A 1937 innovation provided the privacy and space demanded by the traveling public. These were smaller than double bedrooms, but much more affordable for the single traveler. By day, there was a wide, plush seat with a toilet facility. At night, the bed folded out of the wall, covering the toilet, but gave a window level, wall to wall, bed. This accommodation became the most popular following the end of WWII. (d) THE DOUBLE BEDROOM: This was the choice for traveling couples. With two beds, two collapsible day chairs and a fully accessible toilet (at all times), a cozy environment was provided for the train travelers. There were two types: (1) a couch that folded into a bed, crosswise to the rails, with a second bed folded down from the ceiling. (2) Then there were the fold down bunks parallel to the rails. (e) MASTER BEDROOM: Some referred to this as a “cousin” to the Drawing Room. Both featured three beds, but the difference was the fully enclosed shower in the Master Bedroom. The bunk beds were perpendicular to the rails, whereas the third bed was at window level and parallel to them. (f) PULLMAN RESTAURANT CAR: In the 1930s, Pullman converted many heavyweights into “Parlour – restaurant” or “restaurant-sleeper” cars. This was done to supplement the operating railroad’s usually full dining cars. Pullman’s own employees were assigned to these cars and they quickly became the “car of choice” for Pullman travelers. Elegance in dining was commonplace at these tables. (8) THE END: The Pullman Company ceased collecting money and staffing cars after December 31, 1968. Shortly thereafter the maintenance for the cars ended, thereby leaving the host railroads with a choice: staff them on their own, or discontinue the sleepers. POST SCRIPT: There is so much not said within this submission about this fine company. Those who created it, nurtured it and operated it have a place in railroad lore, just as well as those who staffed and maintained those wonderful Pullmans of days gone by. BK
QUOTE: Originally posted by trolleyboy Okay now for the next installment of ... Classic Juice... The Peter Witt Story As previously disscussed . Mr Mitten's nearside car improved the continents ( NA) street railway system,by instituting the PAYE or pay enter way of collecting fares. This improved rider safety by where the cars would stop and improved the street railways bottom lines by #1 getting fares ( in the daysof the conductor walking up an down the side running boards with the "coffee canb" fare box was not only inefficient but many a rider could and would jump on or off woth out paying. And #2 by having a fixed farebox the conductor could conduct there by giving better service to the riders, transfers stop information etc etc. In 1912 a young man by the name of Peter Witt was elcted to the possition of Traction Commissioner for the Cleveland Railways. He was always seeking ways to improve ridership and ruder satisfaction. The one major drawback of the PAYE cars was that they tended to have very long dwell times at stops. With passengers entering amd exiting the cars via the same doors paying the conductor etc. Some people were still amaging to not pay and the exsessive wait times slowed down the flow of traffic and the shcedules of the transit system. So he devised a car design which modifed the cars in that the rear doors were moved to the center of the car. Passengers would enter the front move back to the conductors position just in front of the centre doors where he collected the fares. The conductor controlled the center doors which were the exit. Thus pay as you pass came to be. It sped up the dwell times, and ensured that all fares were collected and transfers meeted out. Peter Witt supervised the first cars construction at the Cleveland railways Lakeview shops in 1914. The first of these new cars came into service on Dec 1 1914. As built they had longitudinal seats in the front section , followed by cross seats in the rear. Thes cars were also built as single ended controls with two man crew operator and conductor. As more and more of these cars enterd service officials from the other street railway systems came to look at them and quickly began producing simialr cars for their own systems. These cars came to be known as "Witt" cars on the major systems of North America. In Cleveland they were known simply as the "Car Riders Car " Many street railways built there own cars to this design and Brill , Can Car Ottawa car Company , Preston Car and Coach, Kuhlman and others began producing this type of car under license. Peter Witt recieved a royalty of $10 per car built outside of the Cleveland shops. Thes cars served all the Major and some of the minor systems. Including Detroit ,Chicago,Kansas City,Providense, Toronto ( 375 cars 75 trailers ),Baltimore,Cleveland, Buffalo , Rochester NY ,Toledo,Birmingham,Kitchener waterloo (ex Cleveland Cars) Regina ( EX KW cars ! ),aand likley several others. Witts came in two sizes. The Large or standard Witt were 53'0" long 8'5" wide and 12' tall ( rail to trolleyboards ) these cars were lower geared and had strait pipping for trailer hauling. They could and did run solo as well. Few street railways used the trailer cars. The small Witt was 47'0" same height and width but were geared for higher speeds. Single service cars( hauled no trailers) used for rush hour and lighter use lines. From what I can gather Toronto was the only company to have the two types of Witts ( as an aside our museum has 4 toronto witt's two large and two small ) The Witt cars ran for years in Cleveland from 1914 to the early 50's in Toronto from 1921 to 1966. Similar life spans were enjoyed else where. Not untill the PCC car came about in 1936 was there such a universal streetcar design. The PCC continued the Pay as you pass method of fair collecting which is still in use today. Most Witts were converted to single man operations in the 30's and 40's with the farebox moubted bus style beside the operator. Rear tredle doors were installed as well as operator control of the rear doors once they were converted to single crew. As with Birney safety cars the tredles or operator center or front door controls could not be operated while the car was moving. Deadman switch controllers were also part of the safety package as well. So there you have it the Peter Witt, the car and the man. If you got to my railimages account you can see several pictures of our museums Peter witt's. Large witt 2424 ( lovingly refered to as Bertha or the beer car ) and small Witt's 2786 and 2894. Rob
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