With a set of seats from a Chicago El car, trucks from a Boston trolley, and a Wheeling (WV) Traction Co. body built by Cincinnitti Car Co. in 1924, she was cobbled together by the guys at Seashore Trolley Museum after she was a doctor's office in Ohio for years.

Why am I posting this? Because I was sure you wouldn't mind seeing a picture of a pretty car. She was out Saturday for the Trolley Parade. Click here.

Marty -

One heck of a great looking chicken coop! Thanks for posting.


Les

Any before or during restoration photos?

What a nice photo. Thanks.

Looks very nice! Wish that route was still running. Jack Syphert, one of the last Wheeling Traction motormen, gave a great presentation at the Ohio County Library two or three years ago.

Here are some of my pics from last year after my visit the day after moxie day (remember that thread?). Just touched them up this afternoon

Very nice restoration.

What made this restoration of a Cincinnati Curve Side car "doable" was the fact that this particular order of cars did not use the Cincinnati arch bar truck, which is virtually extinct in the preservation world. The trucks, a Standard Steed (?) product, were very common on Boston cars.

The folks at Seashore should be commended. I also see that their DC Transit PCC also made it out of the shop recently.

These photos are bittersweet to me; I'm from Wheeling originally.

Now, I have to confess, both trolley systems (one standard gauge, the other "Pennsylvania" gauge) were gone before I was born (the standard gauge lines in 1938, the broad gauge in 1947, with a fair amount of dual gauge track in the downtown area), but they still remind me of how things used to be, even when I was a child, and some parts were still visible (including a bridge just demolished in the past year). One of the interesting bits was a triple crossing of two Pennsylvania spurs crossing each other to reach adjacent factory buildings--this crossing was in the middle of the street between the railroad and the buildings--and a broad gauge trolley line running through the middle of this crossing! The effect was something like this:

--X--

....the X representing the two Pennsy spurs, and the dashes the trolley line. This was there for decades after the rest of the trolley line had been pulled from that street, and wasn't removed until the Pennsy line went away; no doubt this would have been an expensive piece of special work to replace just for some spurs.

Sadly, this and too many other things, both rail related and not, all of them either replaced with dull, ugly stuff or simply just parking lots or weeds, are now gone. . .

Aerial view of Wheeling from the 1930s, location is almost above the mouth of Wheeling Creek where it joins the Ohio. B&O passenger station and west fan or throat on elevated structure over streets and Wheeling Creek partially visible at far right. Another set of B&O team tracks (apparently reached by a switchback operation in the street just to the north), pre-civil war B&O freight house, and riverside PRR freight house visible in lower center. Ramp down from the passenger station’s elevated tracks to street level and an interchange yard with the PRR out of the frame, at bottom left center. B&O freight house demolished for one of the ugliest Civic Centers I’ve seen in the 1970s; large warehouses adjacent to street track age demolished for parking garage in the 1990. These buildings occupy the site of the first B&O passenger station from 1852, which looked like a smaller version of Camden Station in Baltimore:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... photo1.htm

Taken from the elevated platforms at the B&O station, looking north; Knights of Pythias building visible at right. Also note dual-gauge trolley tracks (standard 4’8 ½ “ and broad 5’ 2” Pennsylvania gauge) and trolley safety island in street. The location of the Pythias building is now an open plaza in front of the B&O station building, which is about the only piece of railroad left. All the trackage, all the bridges except the stone structure leading to Tunnel 1, and including this elevated platform, are gone:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... photo3.htm

Wheeling in the 1890; note not only the Suspension Bridge from before the civil war that’s still there, but the Pennsylvania Railroad station and (pre-1890) train on the riverfront:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... rpers0.htm

Looking downstream from the “new” steel trolley bridge (ca. 1890, demolished in the 1960s), which was just a block south of the suspension bridge in the view above. Waterfront to the left, PRR station out of sight to the left as well:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... ROWN76.HTM

From the same steel bridge in 1904--newer (compared to 1890 engraving) PRR station visible to the left. Only some walls remain following a fire in the 1960s, when the station was a coffee house:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... harf01.htm

From the suspension bridge in 1922, looking downstream at the steel bridge; note old cars and trolley, too:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... s/whg1.htm

Upriver view from the suspension bridge in 1922; PRR right of way is visible and a very long gone railroad yard can be seen to the left:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... s/whg3.htm

Suspension bridge and steel bridge visible near top center; PRR station would be to the left of the steel bridge by about one block. So, so much is gone now:

http://wheeling.weirton.lib.wv.us/histo ... /whg04.htm

I live in the wrong time. . .

I am very pleasantly surprised that my innocent picture of a Wheeling Traction car brought out so much, I guess the word is emotion. I just drove around Wheeling for the first time a month ago. I would never have guessed.

David, I'll post a pix of the D.C. Transit PCC soon if you can tell me why she is painted in Caribbean colors. Her renovation is nearing completion Unfortunately what needs to be done I can't do. She was also out Saturday.

Marty,

Those "colors" you speak of are the "jazzy" DC Transit colors of the O. Roy Chalk era. I kind of like them, very stylized.

Regarding DCTS 1304 - Roy Chalk owned Trans Caribbean Airways and the new DCTS uniforms resembled the pilot uniforms for his airline. The jazzy paint scheme was adapted from a paint scheme on a GM bus on display in NY. The legend is that Mrs. Chalk saw the bus and influenced the decision to select the livery for DC Transit. The buses and street cars carried a small decal "An Affiliate of Trans Caribbean Airways" by the front door.

Wesley

Yes, O. Roy Chalk purchased Capital Transit from Louis Wolfson and renamed the company DC Transit also owned Trans Caribbean Airways and thus the PCC's Caribbean colors.

Here's the picture I promised also from the trolley parade Saturday at Seashore Trolley Museum. Click here.