>anno domini MCMXCIV+XXX>there are still two (II) streetcar lines with PCC cars doing regular serviceDare I say unfathomably based and trolleypilledImagine getting to ride a glorious PCC every day as part of your commute. Also post more ancient rolling stock in regular operation
I've probably spent 50-75 hours driving various PCCs, and another hundred+ hours riding in them.Not sure I'd still want them in regular service for my commute, unless they've been VERY well maintained, or they've spent a lot to update them in the last decade or two. Also PCC motors are expensive as fuck to rebuild these days.
>>2025589>Not sure I'd still want them in regular service for my commute, unless they've been VERY well maintained, or they've spent a lot to update them in the last decade or two.Why tho, you find them uncomfortable or unsafe?Also neat that you've driven PCCs, might I ask where?
>>2025590half a dozen different museums in the USand mostly because many of them are old enough that the interiors are in such shitty condition unless they've been meticulously maintained or replaced regularly.More modern light rail can have MUCH better air conditioning/heating systems, and noise isolation from rail noise. (though this depends, some modern light rail is dog shit plastic garbage that rides like a brick) If I had the choice for my commute between vintage PCCs or a decent modern light rail vehicle, I'm going with the modern pick. I work in rail preservation, PCCs are great for their era, but that era ended 40+ years ago for most areas. Knowing how much it costs to restore a PCC car, and even maintain them when they're already in good condition, I can't see how it wouldn't be cheaper to buy something new if you're dealing with an entire transit system in scale.
>>2025599Well most of what you say is inherent to vehicles from three quarters of a century ago. However when I got to ride them in San Francisco I was amazed at the ride quality and comfort. Especially low-floor LRTs tend to have hard suspension, awkward seating arrangements and are shaky when taking corners. From the perspective of a passenger, a PCC seems more comfortable to me than the average low-floor tram. Saying this from a European perspective ie utilitarian non-meme tram systems.In general I don't get the 100% low-floor meme. It just makes for awful ride quality and interiors. Much better to just have a low-floor section and the rest of the vehicle high-floor.
>>2025631>inherent to vehicles from three quarters of a century ago~90 years for the early ones PCCs were produced from the mid-1930s to the early 1950s in the US.The NEWEST US-produced PCCs are ~72 years old. And yes, i'd agree it's generally a terrible idea to use any vehicle that is this age in regular operating service.
>>2025672>And yes, i'd agree it's generally a terrible idea to use any vehicle that is this age in regular operating service.*laughs in Ventotto*
>>2025564When I was living in Lisbon I needed to take a trolly to get to the English Language mass. I would have kept going but everyone there was Filipino or black so I just learned Portuguese to go to regular mass instead
>>2025715THIS. The Milan cars felt amazing. Haven't ridden a PCC(yet) but from the new shit I've ridden I bet PCC is akin to the Milan surface metro.
The Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh.The upper station includes a museum and you can see the control mechanism which consists of a nut that travels on a worm gear in sync with the cars' position on the track. As the nut travels across the gear, it triggers a series of switches which control the speed of the cars.
>>2025778The Milan cars are pretty rough tbqhwy, and the rails not always being in the best shape doesn't help, but at this point it's just part of the charm.PCCs are far comfier than Ventottos.
Not counting some funicular cars, the oldest rail vehicle in regular service in Switzerland is the lone rail car on the short Rheineck to Walzenhausen rack railway. This small rail car dates from 1958, when this line was converted from funicular+tram to a single rack railway line.Since this line is theoretically below the threshhold of economic viability (revenue covers less than 30% of operating costs) it was considered closing it altogether, but due to the line being important and iconic to the town of Walzenhausen they made an exception and decided to keep it. It is planned to replace the aging rail car with a new driverless railcar to save on costs. This is expected to happen around 2025-26.The car is not air conditioned, but thanks to high platforms it is wheelchair accessible.
