We are talking about the -thing- around the trolley retriever.
It looks like you can swivel it up and it has legs to support it while in use.

I've driveled answers and poked questions around so I am trying here.

These cars can be MUed.

My best possible answer is when being MUed, this device is swung up and supports the MU cables, keeping them from drooping being damaged from movement, off the anti-climbers and couplers.

The cars are former Lake Shore cars on the Des Moines and Central Iowa.

ideas?

dinwitty -

Well, I don't have a clue as to what that device might be. What I DO know, is that this is one great photo. Shows what electric lines were really like. Probably a station, or possibly a car shed, behind the photographer, with the track snaking between two structures to get out to the street for some street running. Wish we saw this type of replication at rail museums.

Hope you are able to come up with an answer to your question.

Les

My guess would be a Headlight platform. If I remember correctly, this was an Iowa interurban, and Iowa required full sized locomotive headlights.

Jeff

Seems when folded out it would be way too high to have anything to do with the MU jumpers.

Here's a question... Did this car have a front pole? To me it looks like a folding backrest, when folded up it would keep a guy leaning out the window guiding the pole when backing from falling out the window if the car jolted or stopped suddenly.

ITS 1565, the Class B locomotive at IRM, has end doors, but outside of them are semi-circular railings just below shoulder blade height that serve the same purpose.

Here is the other end of the same car:



No pole, and you can see what they used for headlights. The unique thing about the Iowa interurbans was the state requirement for a full size locomotive BELL, rather than a gong.

Dennis' suggestion that it has something to do with back-poling is a good one. One possibility (a wild guess) is that it could be a platform from which the motorman could change out a trolley shoe. Of course, every other interurban line seemed to do fine without a platform for this purpose, so I don't know.

Same thing on car 1710:


Googling "Des Moines and Central Iowa railroad images" Brings up photos of these 1700's both with and without front poles, and a few rear views without the folding - whatever it is. However, this tiny photo confirms when the cars had the folding apparatus, they did not have a front pole:

Got to give the link to the larger size version of this one:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/photolibrarian/4969760460

Look at the length of that pole! There is no way a man could reach the end, even standing out on that extended platform... any repairs to the pole have to be done with it swung around over the car roof.

It almost looks like it is intended for a guy to sit out there to get a decent angle on the retriever rope to guide the pole when backing... But that's crazy. Then again, the road did eventually fit the cars with front poles, so whatever the intended use of the folding platform, it must not have been wholly satisfactory.

I would agree it would be a platform for the motorman to stand on, but instead of fixing the shoe or backpoling, I imagine it would be for resetting the retriever after it had gone into full retrieve.

Hi

Cool photos, what I am curious about is why are there two trolley hooks (on the roof) at one end of the car ?

The platform is odd, and it looks like two legs sticking out off to each side for supports.

Neat. I "like" it.

Cheers,

karl j.

I'd agree it was probably a standing platform either for changing out shoes or possibly closer access to a pole whose rope had broken?

I'm not familiar with this particular operation, but I can see the platform useful if there were trestles with no walkways on the road

There were some interurbans that ran single ended cars that had two poles at the rear. One had a shoe (slide) for regular operation and the other had a wheel for back-up moves. One would be on the center-line and the other was off to the side.

I don't know if this was one of the lines.

I dunno, seems like it would be awkward to climb onto that platform and stand on it. Besides, there are step pegs to access the roof and pole. But I can't even venture a wild guess as to what that device is.

The two trolley hooks are interesting as well. I can't find any photos of either the Lake Shore Electric or the Des Moines operation using two poles. The Texas Electric used the rear two pole system as Brian described but that included a second base and pole along with the second hook.

Yeah, I wish that too.

The two trolley hooks are so you can hook the pole from either direction without having to grope around to find the hook.