| Comments: These were originally center aisle open
cars built by the first Portland Railway Company. They were featured
in a 1904 article in the Street Railway Journal. Hagenah's
inventory referred to them as having originally been cable cars, but their
length proves that wrong (unless they were built from spliced cable cars,
a fact which would not have have been omitted from the SRJ article).
Perhaps the inventory confused them with Portland Railway's unique hybrid
electrified cable cars. They originally had Fuller type dual lever
hand brakes similar to those used in cable cars (see No.'s 303-310). Original
numbers were 85 (No. 241), 101-04 (No.'s 242-245) and 105-110 (No.'s 246-251).
Their nickname comes from later years. They were hastily enclosed
in 1919, but the lack of bulkheads and underseat heaters apparently made
them very drafty, cold trolleys during winter months.
The photo above was taken at the Piedmont Carbarn (odd, since it is
known that they were used on the Willamette Heights Line on the other side
of the river in early years). The photo below, taken in 1925 at N.
Williams and Oregon on the Irvington-Jefferson Line, shows what these cars
looked like after enclosing. They do have a drafty appearance.
Retirement: 1927
Technical Notes: No. 251 seems to have been the guinea
pig for enclosing this series, although precisely when is unclear.
It was listed as closed in a 1910 inventory (11 years before the others),
but this may be an error. It is more likely that the car became available
for experimental rebuilding following extensive damage in a 1912 accident.
This may explain a conflicting note that indicates this car was to be enclosed
for a one-year experiment in 1916.
All received Nelson fenders in 1912.
Several changes were made during conversion to closed cars in 1919;
the cars were remodeled for one-man operation, doors, steps and heaters
were added to each vestibule and seating capacity was reduced to 36.
The lower seating capacity was due to removal of the short longitudinal
seats in each vestibule. These seats were small since they had been
installed in an unusual back to back position with space in between for
the motorman.
No.'s 248-49 and 251 had G.E. K-11 controllers early on, with the rest
of this series changed to K-11 by 1924.
Motors from several of these cars were removed and placed in No.'s 431-39
in 1926.
A 1922 field check describes this series as having been built in 1903
rather than 1902. They were also said to have hand brake levers at
this time. |
