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Peter Witt Bus Company built (or operated?) a very aerodynamic bus body on a
1933 Ford Model 157-BB chassis. It looks like a forward control vehicle, but
the driver appears to be sitting in the normal position.
Peter Witt Rail Cars were built by Canadian Car & Foundry of
Montreal, Quebec, Canada and Canadian Brill, of Preston, Ontario, Canada
Milan's Peter Witt cars, based on those designed in 1914 by
Peter Witt, a Cleveland Street Railway commissioner, are essentially
unchanged from their original 1927-1930 construction.
Peter Witt was better known for their trolleys and trams.
Cleveland transit leader Peter Witt.
During this
time, Cleveland’s contributions to the world included the development of the
"Peter Witt Car" — a front-entrance, center-exit streetcar designed by
Clevelander Peter Witt, and copied throughout the world.
Canadian Car & Foundry, Montreal, PQ, supplied 100 large Peter Witt cars
to the Toronto Transportation Commission in 1921.
xxxxxx Mr. Peter Witt was the president of the Cincinatti (error -
Cleveland) transit company in the 1910's. During this era, the most common
way to board a trolley car was to pay as you enter*. At times when large
numbers of people wanted to board the trolley, a line would form at the door
of the trolley as people waited to pay their fare. The trolley car could not
move until all people boarded. Therefore at busy times, it was difficult for
the crew to maintain the schedule.
Mr. Witt came up with the idea of a trolley designed so that people could
board the car immediately and pay their fare later. The conductor was
positioned in the center of the car, just in front of center exit doors. So,
when people boarded through the front door, they could take a seat in the
front section of the car and pay when they exited the car, or they could pay
their fare first and then sit in the rear until their stop. This patented
car design became known as the "Peter Witt" trolley and was very popular in
cities which needed crowd-swallowing trolleys.
The Peter Witt was designed to have a two-person crew: motorman and
conductor. Through the 1930's and 1940's when trolley ridership was
decreasing in most cities, the transit properties had to ecomomize, so many
Peter Witt cars were converted to single-person operation. Usually, this
consisted of moving the fare box and/or turnstyle from the center of the car
to the front where the motorman would keep an eye on it. Some cities, such
as Dallas, went as far as removing the center doors from the cars.
xxxxx A Detroit Peter Witt Story
By Gary J MichaelsIt was the spring of 1930. Times were not good. The stock market had
collapsed the previous October. The economy was in a state of collapse.
Factories were closing. Men were out of work. The great depression had
begun.
At the same time, the formerly busy shops of the St Louis Car Company were
nearly empty. The depression had hit the company hard. Orders were few and
small in size. The company was in danger of closing. Even bankruptcy could
be seen lurking in the distance. Prospects were few. The PCC production was
still six years into the future. A Miracle was needed.
Salvation came in the form of the City of Detroit-Department of Street
Railways. The DSR had decided to purchase 130 additional Peter Witt
streetcars. The Car Company aggressively courted the DSR, and the effort
paid off. For one of the few times in its history, the DSR failed to split
an order between carbuilders. The entire order of 130 Peter Witts was
awarded to the firm from St Louis. The shops at Baden, Missouri were busy
for the remainder of the year. The St Louis Car Company would survive
another year.
The last 130 Detroit Peter Witts represented the end of an era. A survey of
the order books of the St Louis Car Company reveals they were the last
traditional streetcars ever ordered from that prestigious firm. It would be
five more years, before city trolleys of any type would again be constructed
by the Car Company, and they were 10 "pre-PCCs" for Washington, D.C.
The 130 Peter Witts would be delivered in the cream and green scheme, that
would be so familiar for the next 16 years, before being repainted into a
cream and black decor. With failing ridership, due to the depression, the
Witts would be assigned to the best lines, while older sisters were
relegated to the less prestigious routes. Economic hard times and a world
war would take their toll on the trolleys of the DSR, but the 781 Peter
Witts would continue to soldier on.
Designed by Peter Witt, the street railway commissioner of Cleveland, "Peter
Witts" were front entrance, center exit streetcars with a conductor
stationed directly in front of the center exit. The two-man trolleys were
both fast loading and unloading. Thousands were built. Beginning in 1921,
the City of Detroit would eventually own 781 Peter Witts. Peter Witt, the
man, later became Mayor of Cleveland. Mr Witt received a $50.00 royalty fee
on every "Peter Witt" built.
City ordinances and union contracts prevented all but a few of the Detroit
Peter Witts from being utilized as one man cars on lightly traveled or
evening routes, during the late 1930s. As a result, the DSR soon became the
largest operator of motor coaches, with over 2,000 small one-man gasoline
powered busses. With the end of the war, the worn out coaches had to be
quickly replaced. With a six cent trolley fare keeping revenues down (bus
fares were ten cents), there was insufficient funds to rebuild the track,
overhead, trolleys, and purchase new small replacement buses. Wholesale
abandonments of trolley lines and scrapping of the older Witts resulted. The
Peter Witts were doomed.
The dawn of the 1950s saw the remaining Peter Witts repainted into their
final Detroit colors -- cream and red. By 1952, only 20 remained on the
roster, for use on the Baker line and tripper service. Within a year, only a
dozen remained. When insufficient funds were available in the DSR budget for
track rebuilding on the Jefferson, the line was converted to busses. The
need for any Peter Witts, on the DSR roster, was eliminated. The remaining
Peter Witts were scrapped, save two.
Preservation minded traction fans gathered together and purchased two of the
Witts. Ray Padway confirms 3876 was selected as the best running and 3865
had the best body, of the remaining Peter Witts. Sadly, no other Detroit
Peter Witts were "preserved", and no one attempted to establish a Detroit
area trolley museum, at that time. There were rumors that Greenfield Village
was about to establish an operating trolley line. However, that never came
to pass.
3876 was donated to the Ohio Railway Museum, where it ran for a number of
years. Unfortunately, the city of Worthington grew up around the museum
site, and became increasingly hostile towards the trolleys. The construction
of barns and proper shops were blocked. Vandalism and rumors of closure
became common place. Only recently, have signs of life been reported at ORM.
DSR 3876 remains protected by heavy tarps, inoperable for a number of years.
With the assistance of the Detroit Historical Commission, Peter Witt 3865
was donated to the Henry Ford Museum. Preservation minded traction fans
assumed 3865 had been given a good home. The Henry Ford Museum left the
Detroit Peter Witt sitting outside, completely exposed to the elements.
Approximately two decades later, a group of volunteers began the long
restoration of the now seriously deteriorated streetcar. The effort was
halted abruptly and the restoration was never completed. The Detroit Peter
Witt has remained inside the Henry Ford Museum for the past two decades,
with all of the windows and seats scattered in piles inside the trolley.
Countless visitors, new to the Museum, no doubt thought restoration was in
progress.
It was November of 1995, when a letter was sent out to various non-profit
organizations. The curators at the Henry Ford Museum had decided to
de-accession the Peter Witt. No reasons were ever given. As the only
operating electric railway museum in the state, the Michigan Transit Museum,
would seem to be a logical choice. However, the 3865 was offered to another.
Impact Alliance was a new, virtually unknown, non-profit organization with a
stated purpose of operating streetcars on Woodward Avenue, from downtown to
the New Center. With apparent ties to the City of Detroit-Department of
Transportation, Impact Alliance was actively seeking an operable fleet of
trolleys. Impact Alliance wanted 3865 and Impact Alliance was offered 3865.
Visions of a rare Detroit trolley operating in regular service, were
revealed. However, questions soon began to arise.
Among them was experience. It soon became apparent, that those running the
non-profit corporation had probably never even seen an operating trolley. A
quick course on streetcars and their operation was given by several members
of the MTM. Acquiring a fleet of either Toronto or Philadelphia PCC
streetcars was said to be a goal, but neither acquisition came to pass. It
was a long year and a half, before the Impact Alliance proposal officially
died.
It was August of 1997, when the Henry Ford Museum finally offered the
Detroit Peter Witt to the MTM. However, there were strings attached. The MTM
was initially given just 30 days to respond (later extended to 60 days). HFM
insisted the Peter Witt be housed, stored, restored and operated only in a
manner historically appropriate to its nature. In addition, all costs
associated with the removal and moving would have to be borne by the MTM.
The allotted time was all too short, but several members attempted to secure
the necessary funding and submit a proper proposal.
HFM suggested a reliable, commercial firm to safely move the Peter Witt from
its present resting place to a location outside the museum building--at a
reasonable price. However, the HFM soon insisted the MTM pickup all other
possibly associated costs, some perhaps quite questionable. In the end, the
costs were far, far too open-ended.
The MTM made a counter-offer to the Henry Ford Museum. It was one we felt
would be fair to all. We were open to further negotiations. It was rejected
outright. The counter-proposal was apparently considered totally
unacceptable.
Frankly, a number of us are totally disgusted with the Henry Ford Museum.
True, they did make an excellent point or two. The Peter Witt would have to
be tarped, as the MTM has not yet erected a carbarn. However, the MTM and
it's membership have a better understanding of and an appreciation for the
Detroit Peter Witt, then any other organization in the state of Michigan. We
expected a little more cooperation. Instead, we were held to a higher
standard.
The Detroit Peter Witt will now be offered for bid. We assume the same
criteria will be used, when the 3865 is finally given a new home. 3865 and
3876 are the last survivors of the 781 Detroit Witts. We can only hope the
Henry Ford Museum and the new owners have as much appreciation for both the
importance and history of the Detroit Peter Witts, as we do.
xxxxxx
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