Yep. The Rockhill site has a better photo than the ERJ article. The steps do not appear to widen out at the bottom like the ones currently on 76.

I may be mistaken in my advancing age, but I believe the original design of the (1)60 cars had the traps and steps at the center of the car at the center door. I am pretty sure I have seen that feature in photos. I have read about at least one occasion when one of these cars went as far up the connecting Lehigh Valley Transit Liberty Bell Route as far as Lansdale when the assigned LVT car broke down.

By the way, at least one of the cars that went to Keokuk Junction is now at the New York Museum of Transportation near Rochester. It has been modified with a set of steps and trap on one end, though I don't recall how the door works now.

Hello, Wayne. They had a center platform height door but the steps/traps were only on the platforms. I'll try to post the photo from the Rockhill site:

I stand corrected. Obviously, my memory was incorrect.

That's P&W 70 (Brill 1929), before it was rebuilt into 170. P&W used steps and traps only in Norristown although I'm told they often went to Rink Siding (still in Norristown on Markley St.) on the LVT, and as mentioned, one got as far as Lansdale. On the P&W itself all the other stations had (and still have) high level platforms.

As you see the end steps do not fold. The steps are inset within the clearances of the RR to clear switchstands etc. The purpose of the trap is to provide a level floor when the steps are not in use. Folding steps are used when the step in the boarding position is outside the clearances, such as the center doors of PST 76, which also has nonfolding steps and traps in the motorman's cabs.

64/164 was built by Brill close to the time PST 76 was built by Brill. Shouldn't the steps and traps on 76 be very similar to those that were on 64 before it was rebuilt into 164?

Phil Mulligan

Phil, I’ve seen a photo that appeared to clearly show a folding bottom step. This feature may have only been in use for a very short time or was not used across the whole order. The steps on 76 have flared sides which I do not see in the above photo, but again it is hard to say. And as I said we wouldn’t have to necessarily mimic the original design exactly, especially with a folding component.

One up, one down.

Interesting. It sure looks like 61 has an auxiliary step on the end away from the center door at the Brill plant. But the other end has three fixed steps that go lower and no auxiliary. Were they testng an idea?

Here's 60 (the prototype) also at the Brill plant:

http://www.ectma.org/erj160.html

Three fixed steps at both ends. 70 (the last car built) has three fixed steps at both ends in its photo too.

It's a puzzlement.

As an aside, part of the controller is inside the car on a bulkhead. It was neat to ride a Bryn Mawr Local and listen to the controller notch up.

Phil Mulligan

Phil, not to argue the point but how do you know the other step on 61 is fixed? One end has a closed door and retracted step. The other end has an open door and (possibly) deployed step.

Upon further review, the step on the left by the open door does look like the down version of the one on the right. I wonder how it worked.

Phil