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Brief History of PE
1058
Built
in 1913, the 1000-class, or “Tens”, were the biggest wooden cars to
run on the Pacific Electric, as well as the last wooden cars built for the railway. The Tens were
withdrawn from service in the Fall of 1950, coinciding with the closing of
the Venice Short Line. Only
cars 1000 and 1001 survived the scrap heap, and both are now at the Orange
Empire Railway Museum in Perris, California. Car 1058 was actually created
from the damaged remains of a PE 950-class car in 1960-63.
The
transformation into the car we now call 1058 was the work of the late Richard Fellows. As the Pacific Electric was ending passenger operations,
Richard conceived of operating a group of PE cars for the public’s
enjoyment using rubber tires and gasoline engines instead of railroad
running gear. The 1058 was to be the first of four such cars. The quality
of the workmanship is truly remarkable! Richard’s ingenuity and
attention to detail even extended to the car’s control system; the cab was outfitted almost exactly as it had been in
service, only with new functions for the control hardware- the controller
became the steering wheel, (turning the controller
handle is what turned the wheels!), the deadman pedal became an automotive-type accelerator, and a traditional
motorman’s brake valve and air gauges were installed to run the air brake
system.
Following
its debut in 1963, the 1058 appeared in numerous local parades, movie
productions and civic events. And now it's poised to be transformed again, this time back
into an electric trolley! New
railroad running gear, propulsion and air brake equipment are being
installed to return the 1058 to the rails later this year.
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