Dockside car pusher update

Thanks to Rick Rowlands, who sent me a copy of an original Baldwin/Westinghouse data sheet on the locomotive, I've been able to add quite a bit of information to the listing for Pennsylvania Railroad #3. This is a 3'6" gauge car pusher, a small electric locomotive that was used at the Pennsy's Whiskey Island coal loading facility to push hopper cars around. In between the "real" railroad tracks were narrow-gauge tracks where these car pushers operated; that way they could easily run around cuts of hoppers. They didn't couple but rather used retractable arms to shove the hoppers around.

Anyway, three of these Pennsy car pushers are preserved: one in North East, PA, one in Bellevue, OH, and one at Rick's organization, the Youngstown Steel Heritage Museum. The other two were built by Atlas making #3 the only one of the survivors built by B/W. It was acquired by YSHR in 2016 from the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. (The locomotive is pictured above as of 2003.)

So here are the specs, if you're interested:
Length: 24'8"
Height - over frame: 2'10-1/2" - over platform: 2'11-1/2" - over cab: 10'0"
Wheelbase, driving: 12'0"
Width overall: 5'6-1/2"
Wheels, tread: 4-1/4" - flanges: 1-1/4" thick x 1-1/8" deep - tire rim: 2-1/2" thick
Frames of: cast steel bar type - Cab: steel
Journals: 6-1/4" diameter by 6-1/4" long
Push poles - no couplings - center of push pole 3'-3" above rail
Motors: 2, no. 910, voltage 250 - gear ratio 17:73 - gears solid - press fit on axle
Controller: Type "HL" - Master, type 15-B4
Diverter, no. 438004 - frames 4
2 x third rail shoes
2 x fuse boxes, style no. 91348 and 4 no. 91355 fuses
Snap switches: 2, style no. 2435 (Perkins)
1 - switch group, type 264-I-6
1 - reverser, type 176-H-3
1 - motor cutout switch, type 364-C-2
1 - control switch, type 494-A
1 - control switch, type 495-A
1 - set control resistance s.o. 438007
1 - junction box, type 4-26 DS S# 134218
1 - type "D" 300 amp switch, DPST, S# 15731-A
1 - Sangamo watt hour meter type "D", and shunt, serial # 150903
1 - complete Westinghouse SM brake equipment with D-2 compressor
Destination of locomotive: West Breakwater Improvement, Cleveland, Ohio

HELP NEEDED: anyone have any information on the operating history of this locomotive, or the two surviving Atlas-built locomotives? And I'm also in need of dimensional and mechanical information on the two Atlas car pushers.

Lake Shore Electric restoration work

So I recently came across this post from a blog about Lorain County, Ohio history that details some progress made on Lake Shore Electric 38. The car in question is a steel freight motor, homebuilt in Sandusky in 1920, that was retired in 1938 and moved to a fish and game club in Vermilion, Ohio. It remained there for 70 years until it was purchased by a fan of the LSE in 2008 and moved to its current home in Avon Lake, just east of Lorain in Lake Shore Electric territory.

During the past few years the car has been sand-blasted, repainted, had new (albeit house) windows installed, and it sounds like there are plans to put it on trucks and made it the centerpiece of a new LSE-themed museum. If and when that happens I'll update the car's ownership information, but for now it's just nice to see that it's being well kept up. Of the four LSE freight motor bodies in existence, this one is probably in the best shape (identical steel car 39 in Homerville is derelict while wood cars 42 at Northern Ohio and 46 at Mad River & NKP, both ex-coaches, are in tired condition).

UPDATE: As it just so happens, just hours after this post Laddie Vitek e-mailed me a link to an article with updated information on car 38. It has indeed been placed on trucks and is now on display in front of the Artstown Gallery shopping center on Lake Road in Avon Lake. I'm updating the car's owner to the shopping center, a public entity, rather than leaving it listed as under private ownership (even though it hasn't really changed owners so much as changed locations). Click here for the article.

Chicago streetcar history

Today's update includes some changes to the record for Chicago Surface Lines 1137, a body which was rescued in 2016 by the recently-formed Lost Railway Museum in Grass Lake, Michigan. Following some research, and backed up by photos posted online, it's been established that car 1137 was renumbered by the CSL in 1937 and before that was car 1288 (originally Chicago Union Traction 4817 when built by St. Louis in 1905). Intriguingly, that means that of the three "Matchboxes" of this type preserved, no two were built as part of the same order. The car in Michigan is the "middle child," having been built early in 1905 on SLCC order 541, while CSL 1278 preserved as a body in Wisconsin was built a year earlier on order 452A and fully-restored car 1374 at the Illinois Railway Museum was built late in 1905 on order 715. Obscure information, but it's always gratifying to be able to add these sorts of details to the PNAERC roster to make it more accurate.

Photo gallery

Photo gallery uploaded for the purpose of hosting photos of preserved electric cars.

Chicago Transit Authority 1 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Arizona Smelting & Refining 1 - photos taken January 2018 by Frank Hicks

Helena Light & Railway 3 - photo taken August 2012, courtesy Pam Attardo

South Brooklyn Railway 4 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

New Jersey Transit 5 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Inland Lime & Stone 6 - photos taken September 2015 by Bill Wulfert

Los Angeles Railway 7 (left) and Denver Tramways 79 (right) - photo taken January 2018 by Frank Hicks

Red Arrow 07 on display in 2023 - photo by Bruce Wells

Red Arrow 07 under restoration c2022 - photo by Bruce Wells

Newport & Providence 9 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Capital Traction 09 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Santa Barbara 12 - photo taken January 2018 by Frank Hicks

Pacific Gas & Electric 14 - photo taken December 2023 by Cambridge Lutece

Laconia Street Railway 17 - photos taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Red Arrow 18 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Five Mile Beach Electric 20 - photos taken 1997 by Joel Salomon

Capital Traction 27 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Lake Shore Electric 46 - photos taken by Laddie Vitek

Mobile 49 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Roanoke 51 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Yonkers Railroad 59 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Manchester Street Railway 60 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Waterville Fairfield & Oakland 60 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

Waterville Fairfield & Oakland 60 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

Peninsular Railway 61 - photo taken December 2023 by Cambridge Lutece

Philadelphia & West Chester 62 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Oshawa Railway 82 - photo taken 2007 by Stephen Cobb

Red Arrow 85 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Rochester & Sodus Bay 113 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

Cedar Rapids & Iowa City 118 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Oregon Electric 133 (later Black Hills Central 20) - photo taken September 2016 by Doug Anderson

Boston & Worcester 149 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

York Railways 162 - photo taken September 2011 by Stephen Cobb

Lake Shore Electric 171 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 0986 or 0996? (left) and NYCTA 175 (right) - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Virginia Electric Power 194 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

SEPTA 203 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

SEPTA 208 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Boston Elevated 0210 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

West End Street Railway 235 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

West End Street Railway 235 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Atlantic City 299 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Interurban Electric Railway 358 - photo taken December 2023 by Cambridge Lutece

Staten Island Rapid Transit 366 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Rochester 394 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Boston Elevated Railway 396 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Tri City Railway 483 - both photos taken October 2024 by Dan Fenlaciki

MBTA 0514 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Boston Elevated Railway 0517 and 3234 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 0521 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 0575 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

CNS&M 606 - photos taken April 2024 by Nick Kallas

Montreal & Southern Counties 610 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

SEPTA 618 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

TARS 634 - photo taken 2020, courtesy Alfred Fleissner jun./Wesley Paulson

TARS 640 - photo taken 2020, courtesy Alfred Fleissner jun./Wesley Paulson

Cincinnati & Lake Erie 648 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Cincinnati & Lake Erie 648 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Washington Railway & Electric 650 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Brooklyn Rapid Transit 659 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Pacific Electric 680 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Boston Elevated Railway 0719 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Key System 804 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Harrisburg Railways 811 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Ottawa 825 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Third Avenue Railway System 830 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 0986 or 0996? - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

MBTA 0997 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Brooklyn Rapid Transit 999 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 01000 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Delaware River Joint Commission 1023 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

West End Street Railway 1059 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

DC Transit 1101 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Muni 1155 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Connecticut Company 1160 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Connecticut Company 1199 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

New York State Railways 1213 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

New York State Railways 1402 - photos taken April 2017 by Frank Hicks

DC Transit 1430 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

DC Transit 1540 - photo taken August 2018 by Thomas Petersen

Connecticut Company 1602 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 2026 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Cincinnati Street Railway 2105 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Philadelphia Transportation Company 2289 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Public Service Coordinated Transport 2431 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

SEPTA 2709 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority 3037 - photo taken July 2023, courtesy Seashore Trolley Museum

Boston Elevated Railway 3083 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 3221 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 3246 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

MBTA 3299 - photo taken June 2018 by Randy Hicks

MBTA 3321 - photo taken June 2018 by Randy Hicks

MBTA 3328 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

MBTA 3328 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

MBTA 3331 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

MBTA 3331 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

MBTA 3332 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 3344 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

MBTA 3344 - photo taken March 2024 by Richard Schauer

IRT 3352 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

MBTA 3424 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Detroit Street Railway 3876 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Detroit Street Railway 3876 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Long Island Rail Road 4137 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Toronto Transportation Commission 4404 - photo courtesy Tom Twigge/Wesley Paulson

Public Service Coordinated Transport 4584 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 5122 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Pacific Electric 5123 - photo taken January 2018 by Frank Hicks

MBTA 5138 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

United Railways & Electric 5748 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Boston Elevated Railway 6131 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

United Railways & Electric 6144 - photo taken March 2024 by Bill Wulfert

Chicago Transit Authority 6599 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Chicago Transit Authority 6600 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Brooklyn & Queens Transit 8111 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

South Brooklyn Railway 9161 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Abendroth Foundry "Amy" - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Philadelphia Transportation C122 - photo taken August 2018 by Frank Hicks

"Berkshire Hills" - photo taken August 2016 by  Frank Hicks

Interborough Rapid Transit S62 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

SEPTA W56 in Baltimore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

SEPTA W61 in Baltimore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Mystery car 1 at Seashore - may be Southwest Missouri 39 - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Mystery car 2 at Seashore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Mystery car 3 at Seashore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Mystery car 4 at Seashore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks

Mystery car 5 at Seashore - photo taken August 2016 by Frank Hicks