Might as well beat others to the punch:

The Baltimore Streetcar Museum this week finally proceeded with the long-planned demolition/dismantling of the "firewood" snow sweeper dragged down from Philadelphia to Baltimore some years ago. Unlike sister snowsweeper C-145 which has been restored to operation (albeit with a broom at only one end), this car was destined only for parts donation, and, as one wag commented, "firewood for the shop for the winter." The badly-deteriorated shell had begun to collapse on itself after several years' open storage along Falls Road next to the former Maryland & Pennsylvania freight house (now the BSM shop).

At the moment, four other "surplus" cars are stored about the property, including a PCC probably destined for parting out/scrap, two ex-NJTransit "Newark Subway" cars (a work car and a snowsweeper) stored for others temporarily, and a PCC supposedly destined for California.

{I tried to attach a photo taken yesterday, but the notice says "board attachment quota reached". So I go dust off that long-neglected Flickr account....)

First!!!!!!


(Sorry, couldn't resist) LOL :-)

Rob

I hope they at least salvaged the trucks and other components visible in the photo, including what appears to be a set of broom hardware. I understand the museum only has one end of its working sweeper functional, so that might come in handy there.

You can't exactly get some of this stuff anymore.

The entire point of dragging that pile of scrap down from Philadelphia was specifically to salvage stuff like the broom frame and axle, the transmission mounts, and other such hardware. You don't spend a grand or four dragging them southwest on the highway just to smash it up, after all. (For all I know, there was a "ya gotta take both those hulks if ya want 'em" provision as well.)

For what little it's worth, a few dozen feet from this carnage sat (and still sits) the char-topped single truck of one of the snowsweepers that perished in the National Capital Trolley Museum carbarn fire several years ago. I'm not even sure why it's still there, now that there's an all-but-fully-functional PTC snowsweeper on the property.

If there's anyone that can come up with any good use for unneeded trucks, castings, etc. from this exercise, I'm sure the powers that be at the BSM will entertain any serious offers; they've proven over time to be quite adept at the parts-swapping and horse-trading game that keeps such operating museums alive, even as a Baltimore-centric museum. (Offers to put said truck in your backyard for free will probably not be entertained.)