El Paso, TX to get Street Car Line

[CMStPnP]

http://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2014/06/El%20Paso%20streetcar%20project%20funding%20advanced.aspx

[MikeF90]

Thanks for piqueing my interest, although the above article is for magazine subscribers only. :-( 

Apparently El Paso has a long history of trolley false starts:

http://www.elpasoinc.com/news/local_news/article_baf61888-f8e6-11e0-874e-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=story

http://www.sunmetro.us/streetcar.html

https://www.facebook.com/EPTROLLEY

http://elpasodevwire.blogspot.com/2014/06/sudden-funding-for-downtown-streetcar.html

The project would start with refurbished PCC cars. Uh, oh.

Can they be equipped with modern air conditioning?  Hmmm.

Unless this line replaces a heavily used bus line, I would be skeptical about its utility and ultimate success. 

[Anonymous]

The McKinney Avenue Transit Authority air-conditioned at least three of its trolley cars.  It placed air conditioning units on the roofs of the cars. Although they take away from the authenticity of the historic cars, they keep them livable in the Texas summer.  

I rode the McKinney Avenue trolleys to and from work for several years before they were air conditioned.  Going home on a summer afternoon or early evening was like riding in a steam bath.

The McKinney trolley cars are much older than the PCC car(s) proposed for the El Paso Street Car Line. I would think that the PCC cars could be air conditioned in the same manner as the McKinney Avenue trolley cars.

[daveklepper]

The Philadelphia PCC cars operating on the 15 Garrad Avenue line are all air-condidtioned, successfully withoutt problems.   The Washington Silver Sightseer was the first, 60 years ago.

I think the Boston Mattapan cars are also.    SF and Kenosha probably don't need air conditioning.

[gardendance]

Closer to El Paso, Fort Worth's Leonard's M&O-Tandy subway was 2nd hand ex Washington DC PCC's with added air conditioning.

Closer still to El Paso, their last streetcars were also PCC's, but without air conditioning. Although many would not consider it a good idea, many hot weather places used non air conditioned PCC's.

[wanswheel]

http://webapp1.dlib.indiana.edu/cushman/results/detail.do?query=state%3A%22Texas%22+AND+city%3A%22El+Paso%22&page=2&pagesize=20&display=thumbcap&action=browse&pnum=P10510