As we all know, the PCCS are old, older than me by far, and I think older than most of us posters here. Now we all realize they will have to be replaced as the tragic accidents show, because time and age means damage happens. So I have a question, what modern LRV and Streetcars that exist could replace them with minimal retrofits?
From Google searches, Brookdale offers Replicars which are effectly a modern brand new streetcar in a classic form, so I assume they could easily (since the copyright is long gone), build a brand new shell, stuff new modern IGBT and electronic controls, put new motors and high tech components and a wheelchair lift and call it PCC Next Generation and we could do that.
For bridges we are concerned about weight, and using basic math, the PCC at 42,000 pounds divided by the area of a PCC (at 52 feet by 9 feet gives you 93 foot/pounds of force
AmeriTram appears to be slightly bigger but its force over area at 70,000 pounds divided by its area (65 by 8 feet) gives you a whopping 134 or so pounds of force which approaches design limits (assuming you can handle 160% of the bridge which... is doable.
S70 is about 114 pounds of force per unit of tram which isn't AS awful, and could pe purchased off the shelf.
Brookdale's own Liberty is 120 pounds per force and is smaller.
Fundamentally, it comes down to it could be done with only minor improvements (room for switching as these streetcars would not need to be turned as they are bi-directional, so the operator could simply move to the other end, thus reducing the need for a harsh rotational turn), and a larger storage facility.
From Google searches, Brookdale offers Replicars which are effectly a modern brand new streetcar in a classic form, so I assume they could easily (since the copyright is long gone), build a brand new shell, stuff new modern IGBT and electronic controls, put new motors and high tech components and a wheelchair lift and call it PCC Next Generation and we could do that.
For bridges we are concerned about weight, and using basic math, the PCC at 42,000 pounds divided by the area of a PCC (at 52 feet by 9 feet gives you 93 foot/pounds of force
AmeriTram appears to be slightly bigger but its force over area at 70,000 pounds divided by its area (65 by 8 feet) gives you a whopping 134 or so pounds of force which approaches design limits (assuming you can handle 160% of the bridge which... is doable.
S70 is about 114 pounds of force per unit of tram which isn't AS awful, and could pe purchased off the shelf.
Brookdale's own Liberty is 120 pounds per force and is smaller.
Fundamentally, it comes down to it could be done with only minor improvements (room for switching as these streetcars would not need to be turned as they are bi-directional, so the operator could simply move to the other end, thus reducing the need for a harsh rotational turn), and a larger storage facility.
