According to Transit Expert Bill Vigrass, the only streetcars that should be called Peter Witts are two-man cars with front entrance and a seated conducted adjacent to the center exit door. Passengers occupying the front half of the car would pay when leaving, while those in the rear would pay as the passed the conductor. The vast fleets of such two-man single-ended cars in Detroit, Philadelphia, Cleveland (originator), Pittsburgh, Chicago, Toronto, Buffalo usually had spartant seating, usually just a long bench on each side, in the front half, and comfortable two-by-two forward-facing seating at the rear. This encouraged passengers to spread out their payment and use the rear seats. The standee loads were usually carried mostly in the front, but the possibility of finding seat as another passenger left encouraged people to move to the rear. This situation does not exist, of course, on the typical one-man center-exit car, many of which (Brooklyn had the largest fleet, over 500) were double-end and which usually had equally comfortable seats front-half and rear. PCC’s and typical transit buses included. This often leads, even today, to passengers unable to board at the front because of crowding while the aisle at the rear is only sparsely occupied. Some companies, like Dallas, Texas, stayed with end-door cars, even ordering PCC’s with only end doors. (The Dallas PCC’s were used second-hand in Boston for many years and one survives there as work car.) The 75 Arab-sector bus line close to my Yeshiva in Jerusalem has only end-door large buses (and small single-door limo-type buses). The problem with this arrangement is people wanting to leave by the front door interfering with people boarding. Chigago and Milan and Sao Paulo solved the problem with three doors on the side! Many of use do try to be helpful by asking fellow passengers to move to the rear so others can board, in the ty
Hi Dave - In Chicago, they were very careful to refer to these cars as “Sedans” and not (officially, at least) as Peter Witts. Art
I am glad I had the chance to ride them in the summer of 1952.
Anther transit problem fans and riders can help are those youngsters sitting on the edge of high platforms at rapid transit and commuter railroad stations, with legs dangling in space occupied by trains. I have not come up with the right language for aplication for all situations so far. Can anyone help?
Recently, at the Hebrew U. bus station, I saw one of my fellow Yeshiva students (like me. modern clothes with yarmulke, not the Hassidic clothes), sitting on the platform with legs on the roadway. Not a high platform, just normal sidewalk height. (Most buses are now low-floor MAN.) I pointed out that sitting in that location did not win him respect, which as a religious person he probably wishes the world to give him. He did get up (but of course he is a friend), but what gratified me is that some of the secular HU students also got up!
Hi Dave - your ride had to be very close to the bitter end for the Sedans on Cottage, as the pre-war PCCs took over the line during the summer of 1952 and would run the service for about three years until it was converted to bus in mid-1955. During the process of introducing the PCCs, there were apparently times when they had to bring an older one-man (1721-type or similar) car over to cover the service, as Bob Mehlenbeck shot one of these passing a pre-war PCC at 93rd/Cottage around that time. Art
I worked at EMD (with Bob Konsbrook) June, July, and August 1952. I think it was Bob that suggested I ride the line while the Sedans were still operating. Didn’t they also occasionally run on Madison?
Hi Dave - when new, the Sedans were on Clark-Wentworth and Madison. With the arrival of the 1936 PCCs, there were still some Sedans on Madison and Madison-Fifth. Traffic was heavy enough that it required all 83 PCCs plus these older cars. With the postwar PCC deliveries, the Sedans moved to Cottage Grove, intermixed with various conventional car types (Pullmans, etc.). Funny you should mention Bob Konsbruck; happened to mention him to an EMD retiree I’d met last week. Art
Bob also introduced me to the North Shore, and we were together on the South Shore fantrip with the Little Joe and shorty trailer coaches, including South Bend street running. Bob and I rode the locomotive for much of the trip.
Hi Dave - In 1950 and 1951 IC employee picnic specials ran over the South Shore with a Joe as the power and a long string of IC Harriman cars. Made a fine-looking train! If I remember correctly, 1951 was the last year that was run over the SSL. Art
Latest on feet off seats: I usually only use “Lo Yapheh” (not nice) when I think there is a chance of success. On the way from the apartment to the Yeshiva Friday afternoon, across the aisle was a punk rocker, black jersey, silver skull and crossed bones, slicked standing hair, the works, with of course, feet on the seats. I decided not to bother, because I doubted I’d get a positive resonse. So I kept silent, rode to the stop before the actual end of the line, where the bus driver decided that since it was his last trip, he would turn and get a shortcut back to the garage, OK with me only about 200 feet short. The punk rocker got off at the stop for the Hadassah Mt. Scops hospital, about two stops earlier. And I didn’t say anything.
But I like to be consistant. What to do in the future? I had plenty of rest time to think aobut it over the Jewish Sabbath. I finally decided that in the future (if I have the opportunity) I’d first say the usual (for secular youngsters) “Lo Yafeh.” Then if I don’t get a good response, I’d follow with (the English translation): “Arab youngsters don’t put feet on seats on Arab buses!”
Which happens to be true. Of course the Jerusalem Arab sector bus lines (I ride the 75 now and then) are all with face-forward seating, but I don’t have to tell the kid that.
Is this “racial profiling”? What do you think?
I tried it out as a question on one of the most Zionist Nationalistic youngsters at the Yeshiva. He said (translation) “If you’re not scared, Duvid, go right ahead! But suppose the youngster himself is an Arab?” I didn’t reply, but generally Arab Jerusalem kids do not dress lilke Punk Rockers. The kid I saw was probably from Tel Aviv, since few Jerusalem Jewish kids dre