An American Icon: The PCC Trams - Overview

[@luislaplume8261]

First PCCs in service were the 1000 series for Brooklyn in October 1936. Last ones were for San Francisco in 1952. Chicago had the biggest , 3 blinker door sets and length of 50 feet 5 inches. Boston had PCCs that can be coupled into 2 or 3 car seats. Some of the cities had folding doors and some had blinker doors Brooklyn had 2 sets of blinker doors. Sill running when me and my family immigrated to NYC. ON August 1956. Last trolley to run in NYC and state was the Queensboro Street Railway from Queensboro Plaza to 2nd Avenue and 59th st. terminal via Queensborough Bridge on April 1957.

[@kevinwong6588]

Last in state at least until NFTA light rail opened in Buffalo in 1984.

[@joannabanana8431]

Some at the beginning and at the end, which say TTC on them that stands for Toronto Transit Commission here in Toronto, Ontario , Canada. The first subway trains (Red Rockets) were made in England and shipped by sea over here. All these babies are all replaced now. Nice to remember them as they were. :~)

[@michaeljacobs1022]

Kitchener,here....loved riding them as a kid when i went from downtown Greyhound to ?Humber Loop then to 1st street in New Mimico...now as KW they are the crimials from Bombadier

[@hakanhellgren]

I live near Gothenburg in Sweden. They still use the PCC trams. This trams were delivered in 3 series. The first in 1958 and last in 1972. It´s amazing that they are running after so many years. I trhink they will last longer than the Italian trams that were set in service in the beginning of 2000.

[@TohaBgood2]

Well, yes. The PCCs were built with such insane structural reserves that they last literally forever if maintained properly. San Francisco's Muni is now pretty adept at fixing them up and adding modern safety and communications equipment. They're basically planning on running these forever with their internal replacement parts fabrication.

[@roberthuron9160]

Nice to see,stalwarts,never say die! And don't forget the transit versions,Chicago,Boston,New York,as they pioneered the lightweight revolution,still extant even today! Thank you,for the refresher course!! Thanks again!

[@lindavainomae3489]

Wow - great PCC footage! It is good to see them so well maintained too - positively gleaming. I Melbourne we had a single PCC car built by the tramways here in 1950, using trucks and electricals from St Louis fitted to a locally built body. It is now in our tramway museum.

[@glenatkinson1230]

I understand the Melbourne Tramway Company balked at the price so stuck with their tried and true trams. My city Toronto had the most numerous fleet at one time, buying up PCCs from American systems that were converting to bus.

[@lindavainomae3489]

@@glenatkinson1230 I fondly recall riding on Toronto trams when visitng my grandmother in Canada.

[@TohaBgood2]

I think Muni actually has a PCC with the Melbourne livery. But it might be a different Australian city.

[@joestewart8914]

Hats off to the St. Louis Car Company 1887-1974.

[@luislaplume8261]

@@joestewart8914 They built their last passenger railway cars in the R44 subway cars for the New York City Transit Authority in 1974. My old hometown.

[@litlgrey]

Boy, this is fun! I know that Newark, NJ riders miss their beautiful (though noisy) PCCs to this day... as well they should.

[@richardwallace853]

Note that first streetcar wears the colours and badge of the Toronto Transit Commission. 60 years of use and still fondly remembered.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Kenosha also has a PCC in TTC colours which you can see on the left at 9:26. Unlike the San Francisco car at the beginning, the Kenosha car actually came from the TTC (as did all other streetcars in Kenosha).

[@richardwallace853]

@@OntarioTrafficMan And in Toronto, I think there is only two PCC streetcars left - and those only for special charters.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@richardwallace853 Yep, they are cars number 4500 and 4549. They were also used in regular service on route 509 on Sundays up until a couple years ago when they converted the route to run on pantographs, which the PCCs don't have.

[@richardwallace853]

@@OntarioTrafficMan what is a pantograph? 🤔

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

@@richardwallace853 A T-shaped power collector, as opposed to a trolley pole, which is I- shaped. At 8:37 the PCC is using a pantograph and also has a trolley pole folded down at the back

[@osmariobrito7776]

Simply spectacular. These trams can never go out of circulation.

[@Pauley_in_GP]

I have fond memories of riding the Boston subway and trolleys growing up in the 50s and 60s. It's nice to see all those PCCs still going and in revenue service. Thanks for posting.

[@robertchuang2469]

Nice video on these streetcars! I live in San Francisco btw which has the most PCC streetcars. They shut them down during the pandemic but now they are back. I’m glad to live in a city like this!

[@moparman5058]

How reliable are they at this point? Our ttc has a couple they dont really bring them out much.

[@peteralbert1485]

@@moparman5058 They seem to hold up pretty well. They're maintained by a team that includes very passionate volunteers, so there's that.

[@johnfitzgerald7618]

I rode PCCs in Toronto for many years. They were great in the summer when you could open the windows, hang your arm out, and enjoy the breeze while the car was moving. In winter, though, they could be a trial. The UTDC and Bombardier cars that replaced them keep you warm in the winter, but I miss the summer experience.

[@TagusMan]

Was about to write the same comment. Those trams were clearly more aesthetically pleasing. Seats were more comfortable. They made cool noises. The ride was far more interesting. Hanging your arm our the window and feeling that evening summer breeze. And the city just looked better with those old streetcars roaming around. Old school is still the best school.

[@BAAWAKnight]

A number of those were sold to Kenosha, WI for its streetcars.

[@arnomrnym6329]

I hope they will run for a looooong time. Thanks. 👍🏾😎Greetings from Berlin 🇩🇪

[@scottyerkes1867]

Awesome!! Philly is my hometown and PCCs were on almost every street. Thanx Tim👍👍😄😄💚💚

[@LordZontar]

New Orleans picked up a number of decommissioned PCC cars for the chassis. Those are now the basis for the red cars running the Riverfront, Canal St./Cemeteries/City Park and Downtown Loop lines. Don't know what happened to the shells, though.

[@mikemaslowski4070]

great video great info brings back memories of a great time in public transit history.

[@JohnM1774]

That is a very relaxing video. You actually feel like you were there. Keep up the great work.

[@mortdk]

What a revelation they are in the city scape. Like Art Deco in motion.

[@AlexCab_49]

I rode one of those in San Francisco! I rode it from the ferry building towards fisherman's warf amd I really liked the ride. Even more than thr cable cars!

[@navigator0634]

Not only on the tracks but also on the rubber wheels, the PCC Streetcar design has also been applied to the public bus and trolleybus bodies both in North America and in Europe🚎 Brill and Fiat-Ansaldo/Fiat-CGE/Alfa Romeo-Ansaldo trolleybuses are the fine examples of these adaptations. The PCC Streetcar designs seems to bring comfort and ergonomy to the driving staff including seating, using pedals as in other motor vehicles, being in a closed area rather than standing in a semi open working area, plus coping with asphalt traffic rules with tail stop lights and turn signal devices😊🚋

[@andrewpalm2103]

The Presidents Conference Committee streetcar was a real leap forward in tram technology (foot controls, magnetic track breaks, etc.), and I'm very glad to see this compilation of them in service. When I rode them during a visit to Toronto many years ago, I was very impressed with their smooth and quick acceleration, too. Even better, most of them in this video have proper trolley poles! Cheers from Wisconsin.

[@jonathanbaker4936]

Should come and visit Kenosha and maybe get a chance to ride a PCC street car. Cheers from Kenosha, Wisconsin

[@jasonervoes1326]

Great videos totally awesome streetcars😊

[@oldmuppet191]

I spent a week riding and walking around San Francisco in 2017 and enjoyed the PCC cars, the best PCC driver was one of the youngest - he rolled up on a skateboard at Jones St, opened the car up and then drove it like silk back across town. Most modern low floor streetcars are a collection of 4-wheel modules with sections suspended between them, so they suffer high axle load (some of them 26,000 lb/axle with a full load of passengers) and they don't curve as well as a vehicle with rotating trucks like the PCC. The PCC must be about 14,000 lb/axle with full load of passengers, so between the rotating trucks and the low weight it will wear the rails a lot less and be a lot quieter when its curving. The Tatra T1 was based on the PCC, the T1 led to the T2 and the T2 to the T3, the T3 has led to the Pragoimex EVO1, which seems to be about the only modern attempt to build a PCC like streetcar. Its a pity that there don't seem to be many EVO1's running - everyone buys the heavy axle load low floor and probably pays for it in rail wear and power consumption.

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Low floor cars usually have 12 wheels (3 four-wheel sets)

[@RainbowSpinDashIsawesome]

A icon that will never die

[@gojoe2833]

They are still running on major lines in Boston and some outer towns. The styling reminds me of the GM "Old Look " buses built from 1940 through around 1958.

[@guselias2287]

Absolutely Lovely. Old and actual. The best combinación. Thanks 4 Sharon this valuable material.

[@cubdukat]

I got to ride those guys a couple times when I was in San Francisco last month.

[@F40M07]

9:25 oh so that’s what heaven looks like

[@gmaneis]

My memory may be out of whack here, since I was 5 years old at the time, but I seem to remember getting on a PCC in Boston in the fall of 1952, a few minutes after seeing presidential candidate Dwight Eisenhower waving to crowds lining Commonwealth Avenue. Regardless, they sure are fun to ride and watch.

[@thomasstockfleth9780]

Between 1962 - 2015 the class DT2 of the subway Hamburg (Germany) was in operation. Like the PCC Streetcar the class DT2 were operating with pedals to drive. The class DT2 had a maximum speed of 70 km/h (44 mph)

[@delurkor]

As far as I know, San Francisco Muni is the only one that put a second pole on single end cars. I assume that was to facilitate turning on a Y rather than back poling. They added front end poles to both the Philadelphia cars and the Newark cars. When I first went to S.F. in the Sixties it was a little jarring after seeing single pole cars in Philadelphia. Side note: except for the double ended cars, most if not all the PCC cars are Philadelphia or Newark. Muni stored their cars in one of the Bay Piers and forgot about marine salt air(oopsie). The Philadelphia cars had to be re-trucked as they were not standard gauge. Other side note: I was able ride the Brussels version of the PCC again in the Sixties. I would travel from near where my parent lived on either the No 4 line(went downtown near the Grand Place) or the No 16 which went along the north side of the city center and ended at the old worlds fair expo grounds, near the Atomium(sp).

[@dennisschafer4883]

Nice Tram´s , Thank You

[@TimLindsay]

Definitely some old TTC streetcars there. CIty of Toronto had tonnes of these up til the mid 70's til they shipped most of them to Egypt. my Grandfather and father both worked for the TTC for many many years..

[@michaelroark3263]

When I was a kid, six-plus decades ago, my grandparents lived in Washington DC a couple of blocks from the end of the 40 and 42 lines. Washington was an infinitely safer city in those days and I rode those PCC cars many times into the center of town. Washington prohibited overhead wires in the first and second alphabets, that is the streets named with letters and with two-syllable names, about fifty blocks each way. Once in a while my grandmother would take me to the old Glen Echo amusement park. We'd connect to the Cabin John car, line 20 I think, that came to a halt where they pulled up the power collector and put up the trolley pole. Hadn't thought of any of that for a long time.

[@janettemcclelland2959]

I was lucky to ride the PCC cars in LA on the P(Pico/1st St),S(San Pedro St/Avalon Blvd) and V(Vermont Ave) when I was an infant. Including the last day in 1963. Always rode the Muni PCC cars on the N Judah and K Ingleside when we would visit our relatives in San Francisco. The K,L and M used to enter/exit the tunnel at Castro before the subway got built. And they always seemed to lose power between Forest Hill and West Portal.

[@Tuckaway]

My favourite American tramcar, I rode them Mexico City in 1962 and Boston, Mass in 2018.

[@paulgreen6921]

I love the old PCC’s. I hope to get to ride one soon in Philadelphia. PWG

[@robotx9285]

It's amazing how these street which were built back in the 1930s are still running. Think about how many generations of bus have pasted.. Oh man. I don't think there's that many heavy rail trains that are as old as pcc' still running in regular operations.

[@k.h.4698]

I loved riding the PCC cars for many reasons. While the new LRVs certainly were sophisticated with all the computer enhancements, the elements of the ride on a PCC reflected a more analog circuitry. You can hear the hum and clicking of the rotor accelerator transferring jolts and jumpiness all the way to the wheels. The suspensions on the PCC cars had a fun reverberating sway laterally which feels lacking from the steady gliding of the LRVs. There is lot of folklore about the “streetcar sway”, that I won’t take on here. On top of all the propulsion sounds, add in the melodic gong of the PCC, and it produces a memorable song, whether on surface streets or in subway. Thanks to San Francisco for preserving this part of history in their living streetcar museum, embodied in the F-Market line of MUNI.

[@TransportSimulatorNationTSN]

I hope they keep these things generations to come

[@davidbarnes1563]

The tramway authorities in Melbourne,Australia, imported PCC bogies/ trucks and control equipment for installation in one of their trams no.980, about 1950, and was given the class title PCC, and driver cabin modifications to make it 'look' like an Aussie PCC. have heard that it became the fastest on the network, quick tto accelerate and an enthusiast favourite When the Z were ordered for Melbourne in the 1970s, PCC inspired equipment was installed. Tramway proponents in Sydney repeatedly asked the state government to look at the PCC concept when ordering new trams in the late 1940s, to no avail

[@michaelw.458]

To clarify, PCC's were Trolley's, not Trams. Trolleys were so called because of the troller-wheel type power collector that was used. Trams use a pantograph to collect power. I know. I'm nit-picky. But, those are the proper terms for the types.

[@afcgeo882]

Before you try to “clarify” something, actually research to make sure you’re correct. In this case, you are not. Whether it’s streetcar, a trolley or a tram is dependent SOLELY on who you ask, and has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the power collection. Whether it used a troller wheel or a pantograph, it was always called a “tram” in Europe, starting with the first one in Wales (horse-drawn) in 1807 and the rails they operated were called “tram way”. In the Eastern US, they were called “streetcar” until electrification, when they started being called “Trolley”. In Canada and points West in the US the term “streetcar” stuck around until today. The European term “tram” has, however, spread to most of the world and applies to all forms of light urban rail, regardless of how it’s powered.

[@teddawg327]

my brother drove the 23 car in Philadelphia. Then worked on the overhead wires

[@atatexan]

Very fine footage

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

Minneapolis/St. Paul had a fleet of these up until 1954 when the system was closed. Think I remember hearing they got sold to Toronto. Wish we still had them, hopefully we’ll get back there someday

[@kevinwong6588]

The Twin Cities cars went to Newark and ran to 2001, some sold to SF Muni.

[@mxr572]

the old TTC car moves faster in SF than the new cars on Toronto. slow as molasses.

[@glenpower1677]

Great article in August Railfan and Railroad on the PCC cars.

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

Prior to a couple years ago, Toronto ran a PCC car in service on Route 509 Harbourfront on Sundays. Since then the overhead wires were converted for pantograph operation so the PCC can't run there anymore. I think there are plans to put pantographs on the PCC fleet (2 cars) but it hasn't happened yet.

[@TheBurlingtonTransitFan]

Can't forget the PCCs were invented in Toronto. :/

[@blue9multimediagroup]

@@TheBurlingtonTransitFan They were not. Stop saying that.

[@peters1127]

Thank you for an informative and entertaing video.

[@waltertomashefsky2682]

These cars are spotless; they look brand new. It’s a shame that the MBTA in Boston can’t keep the Ashmont line up to these standards.

[@dk50b]

SEPTA returned 8 PCCs to service on the 15-Girard line July 16. They will hopefully remain in service until replacements are procured as part of the Trolley Moernization Program.

[@roberthuron9160]

Addendum; how to spot a SLC or Pullman PCC,at a glance! The SLC car,has an eyebrow,over the front end,while the Pullman is straight cut! Very obvious,and easy to spot! Examples-any F line car in San Francisco;and Pullman-any car running on the Mattapan-Ashmont! An exception were the ex-Dallas double enders,as they were SLC! One irony,most of the second generation transit cars,in Boston's subway, came out of SLC! Also add,the orphan of the PCC fleet 3001,as the first PCC,it was from SLC! Thank you for your attention! Thank you 😇 😊!

[@theodeman5314]

we have here in the hague stil one pcc in use for rail repair ( rail inspetion pcc tram ) and some museum trams

[@jonathanbaker4936]

Kenosha, Wisconsin's PCC streetcars also represent different cities that had PCC streetcar systems, but all the streetcars, but one came from Toronto and a lone one from SEPTA in Philadelphia. There are plans to expand the streetcar route to about 4 miles.

[@729MendicantTide]

All but one of Kenosha's running streetcars came from Toronto. They were repainted in their respective liveries upon being sold to Kenosha. (The "but one" is the SEPTA car which was kept in its paint scheme upon reception - Kenosha actually has a second SEPTA unit which is kept for spare parts)

[@JacobMartinez2040]

I hope they'll use LRV 4 on F line in San Francisco

[@edwardmiessner6502]

And a Munimetro Boeing LRV, a Toronto CLRV, and a Boston Type 7

[@blue9multimediagroup]

They can't run on simple overhead. Plus the F shares wire with trolleybuses so nothing with pantographs can run on it.

[@janettemcclelland2959]

@@blue9multimediagroup Which is why the J Church isn't running downtown along Market after Muni made it surface only.

[@marieanna904]

Мне нравиться дизайн таких трамваев. Спасибо за видео.

[@afcgeo882]

А Татры Т-3 которые ходят по всей России того-же дезайна.

[@thevoid5503]

Also an icon in the Netherlands. The Hague used them until 1993.

[@mxr572]

used to see new models at the CNE on display. they were fast and comfortable if not crowded. a lot faster than new low floors. PCCs were great USA technology.

[@allyreneepenny9447]

So true 👍🇺🇲

[@richardwallace853]

I fondly remember taking the "red rocket" to the CNE with my grandmother. We saw the " new" Canadian made Hawker Siddely cars that were to replace the PCCs when they were unveiled in 1978.

[@TheBurlingtonTransitFan]

The PCCs were invented in Toronto! UGH!

[@richardwallace853]

@@TheBurlingtonTransitFan No. The PCCs were the design of the Presidents' Conference Commission.

[@mrAhollandjr]

Good video. However I was hoping to see the PCC cars that were converted to form the CTA’S ( Chicago Transit Authority) 6000 series L cars. These cars ran from the 1960s through 1991 and were the workhorses of the CTA fleet. After retirement some went to Philadelphia and operated on their system ( SEPTA) for many years.

[@Masa3917]

Also El Paso, Texas has PCC Streetcar, just half-dozen runs

[@janpf0624]

Nice video, nice cars.👍

[@CarlosVazquez-p4c]

I love the PCCs!!!

[@eirugsiongriffiths8563]

How do they steer these PCC streetcars on the rails.

[@paulcastillo1310]

The PCC cars are my favorite

[@JohnDoe-yj5ng]

Any of those former TTC streetcars?

[@SpotterCrazyperson]

The PCC trams are nice trams!

[@metropolitantransit7276]

I hope to visit Boston after the pandemic ends.

[@philmcdonald6088]

10:05: "witt" double ender in background. "pcc" = president's conference car.

[@amaan-aliladak]

FYI if you are referring to Toronto Ontario Canada for these streetcars they don't exist anymore here we only have the new low level articulated bombardier ones now on al streetcar routes

[@nielspemberton59]

It is a shame that some of Washington DC's PCC Streetcars were not sold to Copenhagen Denmark in 1962 after the Washington System had closed for good that January. Then I could have ridden them in late 1969 when I visited Copenhagen that December. I've family in Denmark.

[@allyreneepenny9447]

Love These trains very well 😍❗

[@le_traminot_nanceien]

Pourquoi des fois il y a un pantographe et parfois des perches pour le courant ?

[@haweater1555]

Why do some PCCs have two trolley poles even if they are obviously single-ended cars?

[@markescartin1915]

You have an admirable body of work and a subject worthy of scholarly inquiry. That said you need to go in a different direction! You have enough depth of material to find a publisher and produce a picture book exclusively on the American PCC car. Why? because through your passion you've taken on the role of historical documentarian.

[@janpavelek2097]

Thank you fór thé videoclips, it was first modern types of the one way ctreetcars with the same driving like a motor cars! Tatra Smíchov factory in the Prague was buy licence to production those cars. First type od them T1 was built on the 1950 year, ne cause post with documents was covered in the Spain post onto 2world war time. And later type T1 was modernised to type T2 And in the 1962 year to T3, was are used in lot of the cities around thé world And still they Are very popular!. Old lype T1 and T2 you can see on the historic riding days on the Czech cities.

[@jazrobean1]

Are the New Orleans street cars not PCC's? From the looks of them they are even older.

[@richardwallace853]

Note: I don't believe these were ever commonly called "trams" in North America.

[@luislaplume8261]

They were commonly called trolleys.

[@richardwallace853]

@@luislaplume8261 not in Toronto. Trolleys was reserved for the electric buses. Streetcars was always the term here.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@richardwallace853 in Boston we called the streetcars Trolleys and the electric busses Trackless Trolleys.

[@richardwallace853]

@@edwardmiessner6502 Judy Garland would have approved. 😁

[@sirindag2222]

Прикольные трамваи.

[@inkpen9547]

I wonder how they keep them in such great condition, theres no vandalism or any signs of destruction 👍

[@Unmannedperson]

Is Kenosha related to Timosha?

[@jonathanbaker4936]

No, Kenosha is a city in far southeast Wisconsin near Lake Michigan and Illinois. I should know as I live in Kenosha, Wisconsin

[@Unmannedperson]

@@jonathanbaker4936 It was joke.

[@rusty.ramrod]

4:10 ...that's the Detroit paint scheme

[@blxvkpxndx]

This looks like TTC PCCS

[@misterfengtau]

To me the single ended PCC always looked like a bastardised trolley bus. So few were double ended like a traditional streetcar.

[@aruproy885]

Trams with turn signals!?

[@aramondehasashi3324]

I hope the Kenosha ones didn't get destroyed in the riots.

[@timosha21]

stay tuned for a video from there that I shot back in July :D 2021

[@GeorgeD-d1f]

В чём причины несимметричности лобовых стёкол на некоторых моделях?

[@jazrobean1]

The Mattapan 'High Speed Line' operates every 6-8 minutes and is FREE to ride (it's a political thing)

[@filipp7168]

So big 😳

[@pamelawarren5405]

The TTC retired this cars back in 1989.

[@aleksander1982]

Прототип трамвая КТМ был сделан по образу и подобию американских РСС

[@ДаниилПотапенко-ю1щ]

Трамваи похожи на наши МТВ-82.

[@rebootYOURSELF]

accelereration is 2-7 km/s .. excuse me?

[@schienennahverkehrDE]

Holy cow... these things are ugly AF. But nice to see some still being around.

[@ASHMONT1757]

MBTA Have PCC

[@nelsonricardo3729]

8:23 What kind of monster vandalizes a classic PCC by slapping on a modern pantograph?!

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Catenary is easier to maintain and lasts longer than simple overhead wire

[@blue9multimediagroup]

Plus with catenary, you can up the voltage and run it on AC as opposed to traditional DC.

[@DanielRobles-b5t]

Do not visit that place avoid it like the plague