Peter Witt streetcar
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Peter Witt streetcar | |
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Peter Witt | |
Specifications | |
UIC classification | Bo'Bo' |
AAR wheel arrangement | B-B |
Bogies | 2 |
The Peter Witt streetcar was introduced by
Features
This design was distinguished from other streetcars of the era by its use of the center door as an exit only, with a conductor stationed inside just in front of the door. Passengers could board through the front doors without waiting or paying; they could pay the conductor immediately and sit in the rear of the car (in the nicer seats), or wait in front and pay just before they exited.
History
Witt completed the first prototype in 1914 and filed his patent for the car design in 1915.
Peter Witt cars were also built in Italy and used in several Italian cities, including Milan, where 200 out of 502 originally built class 1500 cars (introduced in 1928) are still in regular service in 2021. Additionally eleven ex-Milan cars can be seen today on the streets of San Francisco, where they operate on the F Market & Wharves streetcar line. Also in Italy, 30 heavily rebuilt Peter Witt cars are still in use in Naples.[2] Neapolitan prototype cars 901 and 902, built in 1930, and the first series order cars 903–906, built in 1932, were the only Peter Witt cars in use by 1950; they were rebuilt, eliminating the center door and adding a rear door to match the rest of the fleet built from 1932 on. The present rebuilt fleet has some of these cars, though they are no longer in Peter Witt format.[3]
In early 1930s, а group of Soviet engineers from
Besides their continued use in day-to-day service in Milan, San Francisco and (in a rebuilt form) Naples, Peter Witt cars have been preserved in several locations. Gomaco Trolley Company, a US streetcar renovation specialist, has bought 70 ex-Milan cars which it is offering to museums and heritage streetcar operators.[5] A St. Petersburg, Russia, museum has a restored sample of the version once made and used in the city.[4]
Operators
Operators that used Peter Witt streetcars included:
Builders
Company | City | State/Province | Country |
---|---|---|---|
J. G. Brill Company | Philadelphia | Pennsylvania | United States |
Canadian Car and Foundry | Montreal | Quebec | Canada |
Carminati & Toselli | Milan | Milan | Italy |
Cincinnati Car Company | Cincinnati | Ohio | United States |
G. C. Kuhlman Car Company | Cleveland | Ohio | United States |
Officine Elettro-Ferroviarie Tallero (OEFT) | Milan | Milan | Italy |
Officine Moncenisio | Condove | Turin | Italy |
Officine Ferroviarie Meridionali (OFM) | Naples | Naples | Italy |
Ottawa Car Company | Ottawa | Ontario | Canada |
Petersburg Tram Mechanical Factory (PTMF) | Leningrad | Russian SFSR | Soviet Union |
Preston Car Company | Preston | Ontario | Canada |
St. Louis Car Company | St. Louis
|
Missouri | United States |
Gallery
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This ex-Toronto car has been restored to its 1921 livery, and is now preserved at the Halton County Radial Railway Museum.
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An example of the rebuilt Peter Witt cars used in Naples
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An ex-Milan Peter Witt car Class 1500 operating on the Embarcadero in San Francisco
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Melbourne, Australia, operated a number of Peter Witt–style trams. Pictured is a 1930s version.
See also
- Peter Witt (Toronto streetcar)
- LM-33 – Russian version of the Peter Witt
- Birney Safety Car, an alternate contemporary car
- PCC streetcar, successor to the Peter Witt
References
- ^ a b US 1180900, Witt, Peter, "P. Witt Street Railway Car", issued 1916
- ^ Tellini, Fabrizio (June 2009). "Sessantenni in linea". I Treni (in Italian). No. 316. pp. 24–29.
- )
- ^ a b "Трамвайный поезд ЛМ-33 №4275 + ЛП-33 №4454 ("Американка")" (in Russian).
- ^ "Reconditioned Peter Witt Trolley". Gomaco Trolley Company. Retrieved 2016-03-21.