West Penn 832 has returned to the Pa Trolley Museum after extensive restoration at the Brookville Equipment Co.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleyn ... 50452.html

http://web.mac.com/cuzinbrucie/Laptop_P ... gress.html

This is wonderful to see; this car had always been a favorite of mine, even though I never saw it run, much less rode it. Maybe I'll get to do that soon.

Now, to dream about seeing that 700-class car they have roll again; cars of that design ran not only on West Penn, but on associated properties, too, including Monongahela-West Penn and Wheeling Traction, both in West Virginia.

Pennsylvania Trolley Museum has preserved West Penn center door car 739, the last of the 40 such cars on the main WP system. The car is undergoing a slow cosmetic restoration--as time and $$$ permit.

Could this car be restored to full operation? The answer is "unlikely," due to the odd design of the car's propulsion and braking. To those not familiar, the 700s (and many other West Penn car series) were early "all-electric" cars. There was no air system on the cars. The braking was done by a combination of dynamic, track brakes, and hand applied shoes. The track brakes, similar in concept to those on a PCC, were attracted to the rails by electrical current. When so attracted, they operated brake shoes via a system of levers. For warning devices, the cars had only a hand operated gong.

The controller used on these cars was the B50 type, pretty much unique to West Penn. A single example exists in the PTM collection, and much searching has not revealed a second example. There would be a very extensive amount of design and fabrication involved in not only the controller, but also the track brakes and other components of the braking system. We do have a pair of the correct trucks for the car.

If someone with very deep pockets appeared and said "I'll fund an operating restoration of 739" it CAN be done. But until that happens, the priorities at PTM are aimed toward cars that can be restored with components at hand. With a collection of over 50 cars, the inescapable conclusion of many is that there will be a certain percentage of cars for which a full operating restoration is not justified.

To add to Dave's comment, the unique propulsion and braking system of the West Penn 700 class cars would require a specialized operator training program for one car that would preclude this car from being run other than for an occasional special event.

This can be a problem even with supposedly standardized cars. For example, every postwar PCC car I have ever tried to operate has the battery cutout switch in a different location.

The fact that a West Penn center door car is saved and will be cosmetically restored is enough to warm the hearts of fellow traction preservationists. The fact that the car will, most likely, never run is unfortunate, perhaps. But the car is saved!

Here at our Museum we saved back in the late 1970s the sole remaining Minnesota classic interurban car, Mesaba Railway No. 10 (Niles, 1914). It's a classic interurban of composite construction, but mostly wood. It's eminently restorable but only time will tell whether it'll be restored. However, it's saved and even in its current condition it tells a story and visitors to our Excelsior demonstration railway are fascinated by the "big car" sitting over in the shadows of the carbarn. Minnesota had only two true interurban lines and Mesaba No. 10 is the very last car known to exist.

There are quite a few examples of cars that are restored, some in operable condition, that don't turn a wheel except of rare occasions. Several at Seashore Trolley Museum and the Shoe Line Museum in East Haven has several ancient relics housed in the display barn that don't run at all, or only on rare occasions. This is all understandable given the car's age and rarity. Comes with the territory.

Thanks!

PS. Great job on No. 832. Looking forward to riding it some day.