The Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee (ERPCC)

310 Words1 Page
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on the streetcar

There was one bright spot for trolley operations during the Depression; an entirely new and truly modern streetcar. The “PCC” in this car's name comes from the name of a design committee formed in 1929 as the Presidents' Conference Committee and renamed the Electric Railway Presidents' Conference Committee (ERPCC) in 1931. The ERPCC’s goal was to design a new and modern type of streetcar that would better meet the needs of the street railways and their customers. The committee prepared a detailed research program, conducted extensive University level research, built and tested components and made necessary modifications. In the end the ERPCC produced a set of specifications for a complete vehicle of a set design built with standardized parts.

Show More
Related

  • Transcontinental Railroad Research Paper

    1347 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cannons boomed simultaneously in New York and San Francisco at the same moment the golden spike was hammered into the ground, connecting the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad companies at Promontory Summit, Utah, on May 10, 1869 (American 1). North America became the first continent to be connected by railroad from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast when the Transcontinental Railroad was finished (Gale 1). The railroad was an essential component of achieving manifest destiny. The completion of the Transcontinental Railroad spurred settlement in the American West, encouraged immigration, and began an economic boom in the United States.

    Read More

  • Peterbilt: The Need For Trucks In The Trucking Industry

    930 Words  | 2 Pages

    When our country was at war, the military identified the need for trucks. Trucks were very important because it was difficult to find away to transport all the supplies, troops, and food. After WW1, this brought an increase in good roads plus an expanding economy. This helped grow the trucking industry. The 1920’s were the years of innovation. The balloon tires were introduced along with the rail road’s that were established “piggy-back” service. The first mechanically refrigerated van was introduced. In 1925, there were 500,000 miles of hard surface roads in the U.S. In 1926, a fully loaded 2 ton truck was driven from New York to San Francisco in five days.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Immigration on the Transcontinental Railroad

    1695 Words  | 4 Pages

    Taylor, George Rogers, and Irene D. Neu. The American Railroad Network, 1861-1890. Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1956. Print.

    Read More

  • Benefits of the Market Revolution on the Economy

    616 Words  | 2 Pages

    Transportation improved from the market revolution through many new inventions, railroads, steamboats, and canals. Pressure for improvements in transportation came at least as much from cities eager to buy as from farmers seeking to sell. The first railroad built was in 1792, it started a spread throughout the states. Cumberland which began to be built in 1811 and finished in 1852, known to be called the national road stretched over five hundred miles from Cumberland to Illinois. By 1821, there were four thousand miles of turnpike in the United States. Turnpikes were not economical to ship bulky goods by land across long distance across America, so another invention came about. Robert Fulton created steam boats in 1807; he named his first one ‘Clermont.’ These steam boats allowed quick travel upriver against the currents, they were also faster and cheaper. The steamboats became a huge innovation with the time travel of five miles per hour. It also stimulated agricultural economy of west by providing better access to markets at lower cost. While steamboats were conquering the western rivers, canals were being constructed in the northeastern states. The firs...

    Read More

  • Transcontinental Railroad Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    People immediately began to migrate to the area now known as The Great Plains, and populations in the states along the route began to prosper at record percentages. The original railroad sparked inspiration for other tracks that could branch off of the main line and go to other areas of the country. By the year 1893, there were about four different transcontinental railroads and modifications were made to the original cars, such as a freezer box that was designed to keep crops fresh during the few day voyage. This new improvement also provided the country with several new jobs that were never needed before. All areas such as construction, maintenance, and operation workers were now needed to ensure that things went the way they were supposed to and that the hard work and dedication that went into this six year project did not go to a waste and give the opposite effect than

    Read More

  • Railway Electrification: In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

    1520 Words  | 4 Pages

    Electric traction had numerous advantages over steam railroads. One major advantage was electric locomotive’s ability to pull heavier loads than steam locomotives (Bezilla, 30-31). One statement from electrical manufacturers’ stated that an electric locomotive could pull from five times its own weight on a 2% grade, whereas a steam locomotive on the same grade could only pull two times its own weight (Bezilla, 31). In addition to this, the electric motors could sustain higher currents for a short time in order to increase horsepower dramatically; steam engines had no analogous feature (Bezilla, 31). These factors combined allowed for electric locomotives to accelerate more rapidly, even while pulling more weight, than steam locomotives (Bezilla, 31). The electric motor also had less moving parts and thus needed less maintenance than complex steam engines (Bezilla, 31). For example, the Pennsylvania Railroad’s electric locomotives in 1940 were typically running 90% of the time, but the steam locomotives that the electric ones replaced had only ran 69% of the time (Bezilla, 32). The...

    Read More

  • American Economy In The 19th Century

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century, the United States economy changed dramatically as the country transformed from a rural agricultural nation to an urban industrial gian, becoming the leading manufacturing country in the world. The vast expansion of the railroads in the late 1800s’ changed the early American economy by tying the country together into one national market. The railroads provided tremendous economic growth because it provided a massive market for transporting goods such as steel, lumber, and oil. Although the first railroads were extremely successful, the attempt to finance new railroads originally failed. Perhaps the greatest physical feat late 19th century America was the creation of the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific Company, starting in San Francisco, and the new competitor, Union Pacific, starting in Omaha. The two companies slaved away crossing mountains, digging tunnels, and laying track the entire way. Both railroads met at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869, and drove one last golden spike into the completed railway. Of course the expansion of railroads wasn’t the only change being made. Another change in the economy was immigration.

    Read More

  • The American Transcontinental Railroad

    3285 Words  | 7 Pages

    After America acquired the West, the need for efficient transportation heightened. Ideas circulated about a railroad that would spread across the continent from East to West. Republican congresses ruled for the federal funding of railroad construction, however, all actions were halted for a few years on account of a war. Following the American Civil War of 1861-1865, the race to build transcontinental railroad began in 1866. Lincoln approved Pacific Railway Act of 1862, granting two railroad companies the right to build the first American transcontinental railroad, (Clark 432).

    Read More

  • The Reality Of The 1920's

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the real world, life has its ups and downs. In the 1920's, corporations started to take better care of their workers than they had in the past. Workers were paid higher wages and worked shorter hours. With more time and money on their hands, workers turned into consumers, which caused an increase in the production of consumer goods. One of the most popular consumer goods was the automobile. To keep up with the high demand, the automobile industry had to create a way to make a lot of cars in a short amount of time, at a low price. The solution was the assembly line. With the assembly line the time to create one car dropped from 12 hours to 90 minutes. The price of the automobile fell greatly also, which further increased the demand. The automobile industry inspired other industries to form, such as the steel, rubber, petroleum, machine tools, and road building industries. But life wasn't just peaches and cream in the 1920's. Immigrants and farmers were facing some serious adversity. After World War I, the United States began to put a cap, or put a quota, on how many immigrants could come into the country.

    Read More

  • Polio In The 1950's

    650 Words  | 2 Pages

         In the 1950 it was a whole new way to travel you could do it by car, boat, bike, ships, and wagons. According to Gunther Toody's, In 1950 there were 25 million registered automobiles, the majority of which were made pre-World War II, and by 1958 there were 67 million registered. In 1955, the National Highway system expanded with multi lane highways for speeds and more vehicles to fit in more than just one lane. The electric trolley was meant for people so that they did not have to depend on horse and foot. For the people that had to walk far to there job the cars had made it a short drive away.

    Read More

  • 1920's Urbanized Society

    187 Words  | 1 Pages

    Beginning in the early 1920’s modern values began to define the country. Increasingly citizens throughout the nation began to migrate to larger cities like New York and Chicago, a way of life developed that was dramatically different than the rest of rural society. The new urban way of life became the hallmark of the entire decade. In the years leading up to the 1920’s urbanization took place at an extraordinary pace. Jobs such as farming, mining, and other forms of physical labor are now being replaced by professions such as law enforcement, public services, and business. The introduction of the automobile became a crucial role in modernizing society during this decade. When the automobile was first invented it was only available to the extremely

    Read More

  • Automobile Industry In The Great Gatsby

    736 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the 1920’s, the automobile was used in many efficient ways that changed history. It replaced horse carriages; which was very convenient. Due to the fact that it did not only help people get around more efficiently, it also had a great sale in the automobile market. Garages and driveways were added

    Read More

  • Motor Show History

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    What happened to tricycle autos? What about cars that ran on steam? While the article does not give much information about the destiny of these proposals, it can be assumed that they were simply tests to see whether or not such an automobile is possible. If it were possible, the designs may have been terminated due to a lack of practical uses. Along with these projects, there were several things the author mentioned that may pop out at a modern reader. The author made it a point to emphasize that some of the companies present came from “as far west as St. Louis.” Compared to New York, Missouri is hardly far west at all. Even before they were mass produced and sold nationwide, automobiles were already bringing people together from around the United

    Read More

  • Konkan Railway Case Study

    890 Words  | 2 Pages

    Konkan Railway Corporation (KRC) is related to the Indian Railways (IR). It operates the Konkan Railways, a related zone of the Indian Railways. It is headquartered at CBD Belapur in Navi Mumbai. The company started its full operations of trains on 26 January 1998.The first passenger train which ran on Konkan railway tracks on 20 March 1993 between Udupi and Mangalore. Konkan Railway Corporation is at the leading position of research and development of new technologies and concepts for Indian railways. During its beginning years of operations in the mountainous Konkan region, a spate of accidents prompted Konkan Railway to investigate new technologies. The anti-collision devices, the Sky Bus and RORO are a few of the innovations from Konkan Railways.

    Read More

  • The History of Transportation

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    The comfort of a vehicle in the 1900's shows great improvement since the 1800's. There is now suspension on the vehicles, so the passengers cannot feel the uneven ground beneath them. Vehicles today are totally enclosed, and come complete with air conditioning and heating. Air conditioning provides cool, comfortable transportation in the summer and heating keeps passengers warm in the winter. With these conveniences, traveling in the severe winter weather is made possible.

    Read More

More about The Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee (ERPCC)

Open Document