Bowser HO Scale Executive line PCC Car BEC Birmingham Alabama. #820

Description: Bowser HO Scale P.C.C Street Car (Trolley). Birmingham Elrctric Company (BEC) #820. I.History: a. The PCC car:Designed to fulfill a need for a streetcar that could compete with cars and buses, the Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) Streetcar was first built in 1936. The PCC was a gathering of the Presidents of United States electric street railways, who collected research to be used in the production of a high-performance street car. The resulting design was efficient, comfortable and had advanced features such as noise reduction, magnetic braking, and resilient wheels. The PCC streetcar was so successful that it was exported to other nations (St. Petersburg, Russia had a fleet of more than 2,000) and many are still in service today with museums and heritage railways. The design proved successful in the United States, and after World War II it was licensed for use elsewhere in the world where PCC based cars were made. The PCC car has proved to be a long-lasting icon of streetcar design, and many are still in service around the world. Many rail fans view it as the most beautiful street car ever made. b. The Birmingham Electric Company (The Birmingham Railway and Electric Company): When streetcars were a new technology, around the turn of the 20th Century, it was common for systems to be owned by the local electric utility. Electric utilities usually had the financial capacity to handle the capital outlay involved with building streetcar lines and, of course, could supply electricity to run the car at its cost, increasing the profit of the transit lines.So it was in Birmingham, one of only two southern cities (with Dallas) to operate the streamlined PCC car. Birmingham Electric Company (BEC) was a member of the industry group that created the PCC in the 1930s, but chose to rebuild some of its existing cars rather than buy PCCs right away. At the end of World War II BEC’s streetcar fleet was made up of 27 different types of streetcars, some dating back to 1901, and almost all worn out by heavy wartime ridership.The company ordered 48 new Pullman-Standard PCCs, which arrived in 1947. The interiors were three shades of green with coffee-colored leather upholstery, stainless steel seat backs and chrome trim. The cars entered service on August 31, 1947. The exterior color scheme was updated to navy blue skirts with cream above, separated by a scarlet stripe.They were used on the lines that served steel mills, which generated heavy loads at shift change times especially. Streetcar lines with lighter patronage were slated for conversion to trolley buses or motor coaches. To take advantage of the PCCs’ higher speeds, BEC ran them as expresses during rush hours on the inner end of some routes, complementing them with buses for local service on that part of the route.Birmingham’s PCCs were all sold by 1953 mostley to Tronto Canada. c. The Bowser Company:Bowser Manufacturing is a United States manufacturer of model railroad equipment, located in Montoursville, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1946 by Bill Bowser in Redlands, California, he used his skill as a machinist to design and produce one of the first lines of accurately scaled steam locomotive kits in HO scale. In 1955, his financial partner Donald Acheson forced Bowser out of the company by enforcing a buyout clause in their agreement. After Acheson sold the considerable backstock of kits and parts, he sold the company to Lewis English in 1961. The company has since grown and continues to produce its own line of injection molded plastic model kits and ready-to-run locomotives. The company produces model railroad locomotives, railroad cars, kits and a wide selection of parts directed at the more serious model railroad enthusiast. Bowser's significance for the model railroad community lies not only in the products that Bowser itself originated, but also in those originally produced by other companies. The latter includes products originally made by Penn Line Manufacturing, Varney, Cary and Pittman motors. The Die cast line of HO Brill, IRR and PCC trolleys, LVT Liberty Belle and a free-lance Jewett Combine were discontinued in favor of plastic injection molding in 1985 and continue to this day. II. For Sale:Bowser Executive line PCC Car BEC Birmingham Alabama. Features: injection molded plastic body, window glass, operating roof pole, operating headlight and accurate paint and decorating. Powered with 6'6" wheel base truck, can motor drive and flywheel. Executive Line Post-War PCC Streetcar - Standard DC.Tested using a TECH II DC transformer:Ran in Forwards Ran in Reverse. Missing Trolley Pole. III. Box:New in sound condition. IV. Shipping: Free local pick up available in Seattle WA. Domestic: Free USPS Priority mail. International: use eBay global shipping program. V. Important note: Bowser HO Scale Executive line PCC cars are equipped with independent wheels. That means there is no axle connecting wheelsets. This was done to make wheel replacement easy, among other things. Therefore, it is not unusual for one or more wheels to become loose and separate from the truck during shipping. In this case, merely push the wheel into the corresponding truck. No refund will be issued for separated wheels or trolley poles.

Price: 180 USD

Location: Seattle, Washington

End Time: 2023-09-27T20:19:49.000Z

Shipping Cost: 0 USD