Toronto Transit Commission Car 4041 Enters Operation on Richard Allman’s Main Line Transit.
The Model:
The prototype Toronto 4041 was one of 140 President’s Conference Committee (PCC) cars delivered to the Toronto Transportation Commission in August 1938 and assigned TTC Class A-1. Toronto would go on to acquire 300 PCC cars of the pre-war air-electric design between 1938 and 1945 and acquire 27 more Air-Electric PCC cars from Cincinnati in 1950-1051. Photos throughout this article were taken at various places on the Main Line Transit.
Photos 1 and 2: TCC 4041 and LVT 701 at the Trolley Terminal Siding in the New England Village.
The shell used for the 4041 was fabricated by Shapeways using the 3D printing process. Other PCC shells are also available but the Toronto shells require some distinctive features, which were supplied in a collaborative venture by several suppliers, including GHB. Those features include (1) the distinctive dash lights in the front, (2) the horizontal bumpers below the front and rear anti-climbers, (3) the extension of the trolley boards over the rear of the car, and (4) the next car light on the front of the roof. These are typical and essential details for Toronto PCC’s. The kit from Shapeways includes both the shorter pole shroud which is typical of the pre-war PCC’s and was used in constructing the A-1 class car and the longer pole shroud, typical of wartime and post-war PCC’s. This means that a modeler can model either the A-1 or else the A-3 series 4200-4259 which had the longer pole shroud but the same front skirting below the front anticlimber as the A-1’s. Richard chose a more personally pleasing paint scheme to him, that is the brighter red used later rather than the sometimes maroon of TTC used in the early days of PCC operation. The drive is the standard 1999 Bowser trolley drive with 26 inch wheels and an A-Line 20040 flywheel, which makes it smooth running. Shapeways provided a floor, but he preferred to use a Bowser metal PCC floor provided by Custom Traxx. The floor required some filing at the ends, not a big deal. The trolley pole he chose was a Miniatures by Eric (HT-P2) PCC pole. It was the one from his personal stash that he feels tracks best. Richard feels that Custom Traxx also has great Toronto decal sets with all the numerals, logos, stripes and destination signs needed to complete the car. He states that he would not attempt to letter a Toronto car without Custom Traxx’ decals!! The project is not for the timid. The shell must be soaked overnight in isopropyl alcohol then cleaned with dish soap. The gentle scrubbing resulted in breakage of the windshield visor and a window post by the motorman’s seat that needed to be patched. Color matching was a challenge. The finishing required almost 400 scale feet of one-inch scale black striping, so keep all sharp objects away from him!
 Photo 3: Another view at the Trolley Terminal
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Photo 4: TTC 4041 approaching Keystone Junction |
 Photo 5: TTC 4041 after taking the diversion switch at Keystone Junction.
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 Photo 6: TTC 4041 after leaving Keystone Junction.
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The shell is not perfect but it is good, and he says that he was happy with the finished result. The Shapeways floor does not appear to be strong enough and was not a good fit under the shell. The way the floor mounts are placed in the ends means a headlight cannot be placed in front without potential structural damage to the car shell. More coordination between the users and those making 3D drawings would help alleviate these issues. The current Shapeways 3D printing process is improving, but still shows horizontal grooving up close, despite sanding. Overly vigorous sanding could create further problems. The usual PCC roof mat is missing but Richard stated that he could live with that. The decal set was very complete although he feels that the logo that is in the back above the rear window should be a bit smaller. He claims that if he hadn’t pointed it out, who would have known? Similarly, Richard feels that the Railroad Roman numerals under the front headlight should be a bit smaller, but he won’t tell if you don’t. Two details remain to be applied: a handrail at the middle of the center door, and a trolley pole hook. PCC hooks especially are a bear to make. He still must add around 8 grams (about ¼ ounce) of weight under the car to help it climb steeper grades.
There are many persons who contributed to the success of this project, and deserve credit:
(1) To Shapeways, GHB (George Barsky) and others for making the model and for accepting advice for necessary details;
(2) To Bowser (Lee English) for the excellent, durable drive which is so easy to install;
(3) To Miniatures by Eric (Eric Courtney) for the trolley pole that tracks nicely;
(4) To Custom Traxx (George Huckaby) for the decals;
(5) To the authors of what after 42 years still is the definitive history of Toronto trolleys, Fifty Years of Progressive Transit: A History of the Toronto Transit Commission by friends John Bromley and Jack May;
(6) To lifelong friend Fred Schneider whose two Carlson-Schneider volumes on PCC cars are an essential reference; (7) To John Bromley, who provided some absolutely stunning color photos of TTC PCC’s that were essential for details. John is the undisputed resident authority on all things TTC;
(8) To Patrick Lavalle who is a skilled HO scale modeler. Patrick and his wife Patricia are career TTC trolley operators. Patrick visited the Halton County Radial Museum and provided some great detail shots of 4000, the first Toronto PCC.
 Photo 7: TTC 4041 descending from the overpass above Keystone Junction.
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 Photo 8: TTC 4041 heading toward Keystone Junction
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 Photo 9: TTC 4041 entering Keystone Junction.
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 Photo 10: TTC 4041 heading from Keystone Junction to Bay State Junction.
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None of Richard’s HO trolley projects happen without the mentoring, support, hospitality and enormous forbearance of his great friend Bob Dietrich who always provides something new about detailing and construction, who endures Richard’s ravings while he applies one inch striping and who helps him unmake inevitable mistakes. Funny Bob doesn’t seem to make mistakes on his cars! Next projects: Scranton Electromobile - Bob is couple weeks ahead of Richard, then a Hagerstown and Frederick Combine car. Next Richard will finish a Pacific Electric 1200 car, and after that LVT car 706, an Atlantic City Brilliner, and maybe a Wilkes-Barre Type 5 car. Now that his graduate program at Creighton is finished, he can finally get that Seaver Street-Franklin Park Boston module finished.
The Prototype (And Some Background):
The prototype of car 4041 was a Presidents’ Conference Committee (PCC) car. The PCC was a body of visionary transit executives who convened beginning in the late 1920’s. They recognized that the street railway industry was deeply troubled by aging and archaic car fleets, crumbling infrastructure, the economic crisis of the Great Depression and cheap automobiles and gasoline and thousands of miles of paved roads. If the industry was to survive, new, technologically modern and aesthetically pleasing streetcars were essential. After a series of promising preliminary models in Brooklyn, Chicago and Washington, the first group of PCC cars was delivered in Brooklyn in 1937, an experimental one-of-a-kind car from Clark Equipment Company and 99 cars from St. Louis Car Company. By the time the last PCC car was produced for San Francisco in 1952, more than 5000 of these modern vehicles would be built in the US and Canada. Many thousands more would be built in Europe and the former Soviet bloc countries into the 1980’s where thousands continue in operation. The PCC car was a life extender for many North American trolley operations. PCC operation has a few North American remnants, including the F-Line in San Francisco, Route 15 in Philadelphia, the Ashmont-Mattapan line in Boston, a short loop in Kenosha, Wisconsin, another downtown loop operation in San Diego, and some remaining PCC operation on the Exhibition Line in Toronto. Several of these operations are both heritage operations and regular transit operations. A combined heritage and transit loop is currently in development in El Paso with some early ex-San Diego PCC cars. Among North American PCC operators, Toronto was the largest and for many years, reputed to be the best in maintenance, even with the harsh winters. This resulted in long life for the PCC’s in Toronto and when many became surplus, extended life in places where some were later sold. The car modeled, 4041 was part of the first order of PCC’s Toronto obtained. There were 140 cars in the order, the largest single class of Toronto PCC cars. They were delivered in late 1938. At that time, Toronto became the third largest operator of PCC’s after Pittsburgh and Washington. The three cities would vie with each other in having the most PCC’s until the start of World War Two, when Philadelphia also became a large purchaser. Toronto would eventually have 540 new PCC’s. They would have the largest fleet in North American by the mid 1950’s because besides the new cars they purchased, they also acquired 205 well maintained second hand cars from Cincinnati (52), Cleveland (75), Birmingham (48) and Kansas City (30), with a total fleet of 744 cars, larger than its closest rivals: Chicago with 683 (all but 83 postwar acquisitions), Pittsburgh with 666, Philadelphia with 550, Washington with 490, Boston with 345, St. Louis with 300 and Baltimore with 275. The other properties began drastically reducing their trolley operations while Toronto was maintaining and improving its operation. This would drive Toronto’s aggressive acquisition of second hand cars that would run for many more years. The PCC would be the centerpiece of transit operation in Toronto for almost 30 years. The opening of the Yonge Street Subway in 1954 meant the end of the line for most pre-PCC trolleys. The University Avenue extension of the Yonge Street subway opened in 1963 in anticipation of a needed physical link between the Yonge and Bloor-Danforth lines. The crosstown Bloor Danforth Subway opening in 1966 meant the end of operation for almost all of the pre-war and wartime air-electric cars including 4041. Still, more than 400 PCC’s would remain in operation until the early 1980’s when a new generation of trolleys, the Canadian Light Rail Vehicles (CLRV’s) and the Articulated Light Rail Vehicles (ALRV’s) entered service on what was and still is a dense, extensive and well-patronized trolley system. As car 4041 enters operation on Main Line Transit, a new generation of low floor, five-section articulated trolleys built by Bombardier is slowly entering operation in Toronto, replacing the CLRV’s and ALRV’s. Car 4041 was part of what TTC named the A-1 class. They were assembled and painted by Canadian Car and Foundry in Montreal under license from St. Louis Car Company with trucks from Clark Equipment Company They entered service on the St. Clair Line but quickly were introduced to the Bloor and Dundas lines. Eventually there would be 13 classes of PCC’s, including 175 cars equipped for multiple unit operation. As more PCC cars in other series arrived, almost 125 more by the outbreak of World War II, other routes acquired PCC operations. Among the routes that the A-1’s would serve was King, which is what I modeled with a typical westbound destination of Roncesvalles Car House several miles southwest of Downtown Toronto where King Street, Queen Street, the Queensway, and Roncesvalles Avenue converge and where more trolley action can still be observed today than almost anywhere. Although trolleys were and are still a vital piece of transit operation in Toronto, the city’s postwar evolution into a world-class metropolis meant that heavy rapid transit with subways would be needed. The Yonge Street Subway in 1954, the University Avenue connector in 1963, and the Bloor-Danforth in 1966 would replace very heavy trolley lines. The A-1 class would survive until 1967-1968 when the Bloor Danforth Subway extension replaced remnants of the heavy Bloor trolley line and several other routes. The A-1’s were sufficiently sound that many of them (but not 4041) were part of a sale of 140 surplus PCC’s to Alexandria, Egypt. The first A-1 car, 4000 is preserved at an operating trolley museum near Toronto. No property in North America had as much PCC operation and in Richard’s opinion no one did it better than Toronto.
The Modeler:
Richard Allman is a lifelong trolley guy. He grew up in the western Philadelphia suburbs where he still lives. He has been an active HO trolley modeler for more than 20 years. His favorite prototypes are the cars of the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company’s Red Arrow Lines and he has modeled every car type that ran during the PST era. He has also modeled the Liberty Bell Limited cars of the Lehigh Valley Transit Co., Boston cars, Chicago Surface Lines standard cars, and PCC cars in general. He has built or acquired other assorted cars as well, including models of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Pacific Electric prototypes among others. His Main Line Transit is a Pennsylvania town connected to a New England village by a side of the road operation similar to the West Chester Pike near where he grew up. A major extension is underway that will connect to a module which is the Boston Elevated Railway’s Seaver Street loop on the northern edge of Franklin Park in Roxbury where the Seaver Street-Dudley via Humboldt Avenue route looped and the Egleston-Mattapan via Seaver Street and Blue Hill Avenue line passed. Rich’s grandparents lived nearby. Rich is also a prototype fan with wide interests, including traction history and current light rail development worldwide. He is an avid photographer of rail transit operations. He has served twice as President of East Penn Traction Club and is one of the producers of the East Penn calendar. Rich is a physician-educator who works at Einstein Medical Center Philadelphia where he is the current medical staff President. He is also on the faculty of the Sidney Kimmel School of Medicine, formerly Jefferson Medical College, his alma mater. He recently completed his Master of Science in Health Care Ethics at Creighton University. Rich lives with his wife Suzanne and their 2 year-old golden retriever Teddy. Rich and Suzanne have 2 adult children, a great son-in-law, and 2 grandchildren, none of whom have more than a casual interest in trolleys.
