BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Further:

Baltimore's "UNITED"/"BTC" "kitbashed" articulateds came in two varieties:

The "8100s" were rebuilt from semi-convertible cars; the "8500s" were rebuilt from older open cars.........

"NYO"

"'BTC"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cleveland also operated articulated cars for a number of yeas; these were the formidable "5000" Series units.

On the NewDavesRailpix site, on the Cleveland page, there is a link to na photo gallery showcasing the "5000s" (tried to link the page, but, for some reason, it would not hotlink)

As can be seen from those photos, though, you can see that these cars were HUGE..............

"NYO"

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

In 1925, "CHICAGO SURFACE LINES" put into service a lone experimental articulated unit, #4000.

Like the articulated units in Baltimore, this car was built using the bodies and components of two older cars.

The car, with seating for 91, went into service on Cicero to serve the Western Electric plant during rush hours.

This unique (and handsome) car was scrapped in 1937,......

"NYO"

["CSL"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also..............

Recall that the ungainly "Two Rooms" (retired by early 1920s) units were the only articulated cars to run in Boston until the Boeing LRVs arrived in the mid-1970s.

Interestingly enough, through the 1970s, Budapest operated a large fleet of fearsome-looking (prewar) double-truck "Two Rooms" units...........

"NYO"

["J.G. BRILL"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

These sleek, articulated 1960s-era trams in Vienna clearly were PCC-inspired.........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?9015

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?8930

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?8955

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["4686"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

It certainly can be argued that the "KEY SYSTEM's" modern, smart-looking "Bridge Units" were indeed the ancestor of the modern-day, articulated LRV.........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?16124

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?16125

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["A"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Earlier, I'd mentioned trailers........

The last city in North America to operate trailers was Toronto; the trailers were hauled by the very last "Peter Witts" in operation anywhere in North America.

Many cities once had trailer operations; after trailer operations ended in Brooklyn in the early 20s, they later were converted into one0man motor cars.

Interestingly, the very last trailers in Baltimore were identical to Boston's iconic center-entrance cars (built by BRILL)..........

"NYO"

["UNITED RAILWAYS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also.........

It is interesting to note that the BERy's center-entrance trailers PRE-DATED the MOTOR cars by several years; the motor cars, in fact, were but motorized versions of the earlier trailers, which were built by three builders:

BRILL

LACONIA

KUHLMAN

Oddly enough, the center-entrance trailers were never hauled by their motorized brothers; they were hauled exclusively by Type "4s".

Scrapping of the trailers began in 1936; by the time trailer operation ended in 1943, only 12 remained on the BERy roster...........

"NYO"

["SUFFOLK DOWNS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

PSNJ trailer operation.........

These trailers featured the more-modern "turtleback" roof (like the one-man open cars)

One of PS's many interesting historical "quirks" is that the company did not BEGIN trailer operations until the 1920s; as I had noted earlier, by 1935, trailer operation ended, and the car bodies were re-purposed as waiting shelters.

Trailers only operated on the ESSEX Division (during rush hours) on the busiest Newark lines (to date, I've only seen TWO photos of PS trailers in operation)

"NYO"

["ENTER AT FRONT-PLEASE HAVE FARE READY"]

[Cyberider]

PE also had some trailers. They were referred to as "sleds." I don't know whether this term was used elsewhere or not.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[Cyberider]

PE's "Long Beach Twelves" included a number of trailers. The 1200's were amply powered and could handle them without slowing things down significantly.

Quick online research didn't give me any results but I believe a few of the earlier wood 800-class were also trailers as well as a few of the "blimps." Without doing some book research, I'm not sure whether they actually ran any of the blimps as trailers.

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

As I had mentioned earlier here, the B&QT converted a number of obsolete trailers into one-man motor cars.

A new front door was installed opposite the motorman, and the center doors on the offside were sealed, and seating installed over the plated-over stepwell.

These unusual cars ran until the later 1940s.............

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?117695

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?31215

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?40003

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["FLATBUSH"]