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Built:
1925 by the J.G. Brill Company Retired: 1959
Construction:
Steel. Length: 52’ 2”. Weight:
61,700 lbs. Seats:
65
Car 717 comes from the PE’s
largest, and best-known, class of cars. Nicknamed “Hollywood Cars” for
their many years of service on lines in the Hollywood area, a total of 160
were built between 1922 and 1928, at the height of the system’s
development. The cars were equipped for multiple-unit operation, and ran
in trains of up to three cars.
The Museum acquired car 717 in
1960 following the abandonment of the last line to use the Hollywood cars,
the Watts Local. The image of car 717 has been immortalized by the Disney
Studios, who used this car as the basis for building a replica Hollywood
car for the movie “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”
From the mid-1960s until 2009, Car 717
was painted to
recreate the unique “Valley Seven” subclass for the Museum’s
collection. In 1938, cars 735-749 were modernized to provide better
service between Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley.
Dubbed “Valley Sevens”, these 15 cars received rewound traction
motors to increase their top speed, upgraded brake equipment, and a new
paint scheme. All 15 of the “Valley Sevens” were among a group of cars
sold to Buenos Aires, Argentina in
1952.
In
2009, the car was repainted into its original solid red paint scheme,
which it wore from 1925 until remodeled in 1939. The car returned to
regular service on the Museum Railway in February 2010.
717 is one of five Hollywood Cars in the Museum's collection, all of
which have finally received an indoor home with the
completion of the Ruffulo Carhouse project.
Information on the restoration work appears below.
Renumberings:
Car 717 was renumbered 5167 in
1949, and became MTA 1815 in 1958.
Links
& Additional
Photos:
PE
Hollywood Cars video compilation
 PE
Magazine 1949 article: "One Man Car Operation Pushed" The story
of converting the 600-class cars into the one-man 5050 configuration.
(2 meg pdf file)
Restoration
of PE 717- Part I, Running Gear
Pacific Electric's famed
"Hollywood" cars are some of the most recognizable images of the
golden age of electric traction. OERM is fortunate to own five of the famous
cars, but time and outdoor storage has not been kind to them. The final
group of ten Hollywood Cars that survived into the late 1950's received an
incredible amount of heavy service in their final years with only minimal
maintenance. Cars like the 717 then saw many decades more service upon
arrival at Perris. The time has now come for major rebuilds of the cars in
order to permit them to safely transport passengers once
again.
For
decades, Car 717 was one of the most regularly used cars on OERM's Museum
Railway. By the late 1990s, the wear on the car's wheels reached the point
where the car was removed from the regular operating pool, pending a
complete rebuild of its trucks and motors. Work began on the first truck
for 717 in January 2004 and was completed in April 2005. Work was
completed on truck number two in July 2006.
The photos below provide details
of some of the effort necessary to rehabilitate the badly worn components
on the trucks and motors. OERM volunteers provided the majority of
the labor for the job, with bearing and traction motor contracted out to
help shorten the project timeline. Approximately $30,000 was spent to
rebuild a pair of trucks for car 717, with generous support from a variety
of OERM friends and members.
John Smatlak photos
-click to enlarge-
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January
2004- an unrebuilt truck is removed from under car 5123 for
overhaul |
The
extent of wear on some of the brake rigging components is
illustrated in this view of one of the live levers, seen here
after sandblasting. |
Here are a
group of the brake levers during rebuild. In this view you can see
the new bushings that were installed. |
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The truck
frame in primer- August 2004 |
Bearings
like these axle bearings that support the traction motors were
repaired, rebabbitted and machined. |
Old pedestal
liner on the right, new liner on the left |
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| Hanger
brackets with new bushings installed |
Refurbished
brake rigging being installed- February 2005 |
Refurbished
traction motor |
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The
finished truck (less motors) is rolled out of the OERM shop in
April 2005. |
Builder's view of truck |
Installing
the traction motors in the truck, April 2005 |
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717 is
lifted in the OERM shop in order to roll the trucks out from
underneath the car |
This
truck was the first to be replaced- note the obvious wheel wear |
Old truck
out from under the car |
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Preparing
to remove the carbody brake rigging for inspection and repair |
New
truck in place under the car 6/26/05 |
At work on
the second truck frame |
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| Inspecting
the switch group |
Motor
change-out on second rebuilt truck, 2006 |
Back in
action with two rebuilt trucks- 2006 |
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Restoration
of PE 717- Part II, Carbody Refurbishment
Following
the rebuilding of the car's running gear in 2004-2006, the car
returned to special event service on the Museum Railway. In
February, 2009, work began to repaint the car so that its
appearance will match its excellent mechanical condition. The car
has been repainted into its original solid red paint scheme, which
it wore from 1925 until remodeled in 1939. The car will return to
regular service on the Museum Railway in the summer of 2009.
You can help work continue on OERM's
Hollywood Cars with a tax-deductible donation to the Hollywood
Car Fund. OERM, PO Box 548, Perris CA 92572. Donations can also be charged
to your credit card. Contact the Museum office during regular business
hours at (951) 943-3020.
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| This
closeup of the car side reveals the condition of the old
paint. Many paint jobs, one on top of the other had left a
less than satisfactory appearance. |
Test
fit of one of the cap pieces on a window post. PE used this
same technique on the cars decades ago. |
The
crew discusses the next move. 2/15/09 |
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| Window
post caps fitted to the car 2/14/09 |
2/14/09-
717 is turned on the wye |
Bondo
being applied to one of the car ends 3/9/09 |
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| One
of the many steel patches that was welded onto the carbody.
The hole is for clearance around a rivet. |
Work
scene 3/15/09. PE 498 at right |
First
primer is applied 3/16/09. Looking good! |
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| TIG
welding was one of the restorative techniques used to repair
corrosion damage. |
Closeup
of a section of beltrail repaired with TIG welding |
Car
being turned once again on the wye 3/28/09 |
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| Test
fitting refurbished parts on the car end 4/12/09 |
At
work on the windows inside the Woodshop |
Freshly
painted windows |
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| 4/19/09 |
4/25/09 |
At
work on the roof 5/2/09 |
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| The
first of the new red paint is applied, 5/9/09 |
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| Grinding
out rusty areas along the edges of the roof 5/23/09 |
Painting
the roof 5/24/09 |
Progress
as of 5/24/09 |
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| Machining
new headlight parts, permitting the headlight to be
"back dated" to the correct pre-1938 appearance. |
Masking
off the center doors for paint 6/7/09 |
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| Freshly
painted center doors |
Stripping
paint from the brass window sash guides 6/6/09 |
Cleaning
up the car for Pacific Electric Weekend 6/20/09 |
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| In
action during Pacific Electric Weekend, June 2009. Still to
come is application of the lettering, refurbishment of the
end doors, and interior touchup painting. |
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Work
begins on the lettering. The Museum supplied full size
stencils and drawings which were converted to traditional
pounce patterns. |
After
the pounce bag is applied, a chalk outline of the letters
appears on the car side to serve as a guide for painting the
letters.. |
Lettering
work nearing completion, June 2009. |
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| Looking
sharp with the newly applied lettering July 2009 |
Some
of the restoration team |
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| Fitted
with an Eclipse fender for its official return to operation,
February 2010. |
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| More
scenes from the first day operations |
On
the line, Marty Bernard photo |
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John Smatlak photos,
except as noted -click to enlarge-
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