During research for the model of our plan 320 Pullman in HO that we are producing i am unable to establish how the Pintsch gas lighting system worked, in the car we have two chimney holes and a central hole about the same diameter, did the lights have an external gas pipe or were they charged by hand, and what was the central hole for, the lights were supported by four legs.

Mike Pannell
Cheyenne WY

[quote="car57"] i am unable to establish how the Pintsch gas lighting system worked, in the car we have two chimney holes and a central hole about the same diameter, did the lights have an external gas pipe or were they charged by hand, and what was the central hole for, the lights were supported by four legs.

The Pintsch gas lighting system used manufactured gas stored in a high pressure cylinder mounted longitudinally under the car a diaphragm type regulator also mounted under the car reduced the pressure to about 1/2 psi. the gas was piped to the individual fixtures.
"Car builders' cyclopedia of American practice 1895" MCB may be read or downloaded from Google books http://tinyurl.com/yh8e4ts shows the components of the Pintsch system
(pages starting 415).

Additional information about the manufacture of Pintsch gas can be found at
http://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/sdgas.Html

KenC

The Pintsch system remained in service for some time. OERM has a "Harriman" coach from 1911 that still has its Pintsch system (and a later electric add-on lighting system) -- the car was retired in the later 1940s and sold to one of the movie studios. The UP even had one of the shorty (40') RPO cars running out of Spokane with Pintsch lighting late enough to get the yellow paint scheme.

The SP's Oakland (Calif.) coach yard had a underground delivery system for charging the storage tanks.

Thanks for the replies, the car builders Cyclopedia doesnt show how the pipes ran to the lights, nor do our Pullman plans, were they external on the roof from one central line into the center hole or were the legs on the lights supply pipes, did the pipes run internally on the ends through the lavatories etc ? Does anyone have ancient roof shots ?

Mike

Based on an old textbook, Pintsch gas was primarily carbon monoxide. One photo I have seen showed the low pressure gas pipe running length-wise on the centerline above the roof. I have no knowledge as to how it was piped from the regulator/storage tank to the roof.
Alex Huff

taken from the catskill pagehttp://www.catskillarchive.com/rrextra/sdgas.Html

The drawings I've seen of Pintsch gas lighting always have the supply pipe on the outside of the roof, to one side of centerline. At each fixture a branch pipe went through the roof and formed one of the four legs that supported the lighting fixture. The pipe was typically routed down to the tank and regulator at one end of the car along a convenient bulkhead.

Typically there was one central vent over the light globe. Pairs of vents were typical of oil lamps, which were often arranged in pairs on a common bracket. I would consider that the car had both at different times during its life.

There were illustrations of Pintsch equipment in most of the Car Builder's Dictionaries / Cyclopedias from the first years of the twentieth century. The 1903 and 1919 editions are available on the web someplace, and the 1922 edition is available on CD from Rail Driver:

http://raildriver.com/products/cyclopedias.php

It's well worth the price.

I just took a look at the 1906 Car Builder's Dictionary, and It shows a sectional view Pintsch gas lamp that has two legs protruding through holes in the roof; one for the supply pipe, and the other just for mounting. Indeed, since this is a sectional view, it may really indicate that all four legs go through the roof.

Guys,

i remember back in the days of the printed Loco & Railway Preservation the magazine had a series of articles on wooden car electrical and Pinsch gas illumination systems.

Do not recall the exact date; maybe someone with a run of them can look through again. What a great resource they were!

Ted Miles

Every pintsch gas car I have worked on clearly showed signs of all lamp mountings going completely through the roof. Given the propsensity of wooden cars to start to work and rack as wood shrank, expanded and shrank again over and over a good idea......unless you want passengers assaulted by falling lamps and fixtures.

Is that a Miller Hook coupler in the woodcut?

dave

In Victoria, Australia, we had cars built with Pintsch lighting as late as the 1920s, most of which survived in use until the late-70s or early-80s.

These were built to the standard EMU suburban trailer design, but were built with both electric and Pintsch lighting to allow them to be used in excursion and overflow service outside the metropolitan area, where they'd be steam-hauled. In later years the Pintsch lighting was put out of service, but these cars retained the roof plumbing to their withdrawl in the late-70s and early-80s in some cases.

These shots may be of interest. They come from the website run by premier Victorian Railways historian Peter J Vincent, (found here http://www.pjv101.net/ ) and are taken by, and credited to Peter.

The shots (except for the full-view of one car) were taken when the cars were out of service, prior to being disposed of by burning.











I hope these are of some use in providing detail.

Cheers,
Matt

Awesome pictures Matt, thanks very much, we will find evidence of the pipe run on top when we strip the roof covering back, but not yet. but with these pictures i can carry on with the model.
Thanks again

Mike Pannell

Pleasure, Mike.

I've been following the progress with 57 and you should be congratulated for the fine work you're undertaking. All the best with it.

Cheers,
Matt

Matt,
Interested to see someone else from Australia interested in this subject. Are you familiar with the Pullman car being restored in Canberra?
Regards, Bob Hall

G'day Bob,

I haven't read about the Canberra Pullman, but it sounds like something I'll have to look up.

Cheers,
Matt