Re: Western Ry Museum question
Author: Dr Zarkoff
Date: 10-05-2018 - 17:33
The 271 was the relief car for the Westbrae line, the G line, where it subbed for the 994 when it was in the shops for servicing, which also had a pantograph. AFAIK, no units operated on the G line. The 271 was reincarnated as a streetcar by WWII.
One of the difficulties inherent in restorations is that unless assessed thoroughly by a really experienced eye beforehand, they usually wind up being much more complex than anticipated. This is what happened to the 271: one end damaged by a collision was rebuilt almost 10 years ago. A few years after this, it was decided to rebuild the other end because it was showing similar signs of deterioration. The amount of decay discovered in this end triggered a closer inspection of the rest of the car's structure, particularly the roof, which was found to be in a similar condition. This lead to a reassessment of all the window sash, and it was discovered that most of the outside glass stops were missing or so badly decayed, they would not keep out the weather. While this is the 271, the progression for these types of discoveries for any car can go on and on, and it can be a very tough decision to decide when to stop taking things apart before the project overwhelms all concerned.
It would be quite authentic to paint it in the green and cream paint job the 352 has, because there is ample evidence of this on the car, but the consensus was that since it was BAERA's first car, to keep it in the configuration and color scheme it had at the time the Association bought it 1946, which is its present state (all orange with black box stripes).