Nostalgia & History > Streetcar motorman, Omaha, Nebraska

Found this picture in the On-line Repository of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. It caught my eye because of its utter simplicity. The sign at the ceiling (enlarged below) is also so straight forward. The street car system in Omaha employed 700 people. The year is not given. And the caption is simply, "Streetcar motorman, Omaha, Nebraska".


Enjoy,
Marty Bernard



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/14 18:29 by MartyBernard.

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Ouch, can you imagine riding that seat all day. Nice image and history. Doug

Controls, right to left

Handbrake
Johnson Farebox
Door Operation Handle
Change register
Motorman
Type K speed controller

There would also be an air brake control, located out of sight in front of the Motorman, operated by his right hand, his right knee, or both (either).

-John

Look at the old Ford Model "A" directly in his sights, too! Really a neat pic... thanks for sharing!

What....no safety vest?

One of the great railfans, was also a motorman on the O&CB system. John Brunner (spelling ?) was a Camerail member of longstanding. wag216

To get really technical, on many systems, the man running the streetcar would be the "operator" because it appears to be set up for one-man operation. The Birney cars that many systems bought in the 1918-1926 period were designed for one-man (i.e. no conductor) operation and many older streetcars were modified to this configuration to save crew costs. "Operators" were probably paid more than motormen because they had to handle fares and issue transfers. A close look at the controller shows that it has a "safety car" top, designed to shut off the motors if the operator's hand leaves the handle befor the brake is set.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/14 12:25 by DNRY122.