Nostalgia & History > fun with old photos stret cars part 2

Here is another street car photo. I don't know its location. Chicago?

I love the people catcher!

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Possible Denver Tramways

santafedan Wrote:
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> Here is another street car photo. I don't know
> its location. Chicago?

I'm no expert on Chicago streetcars, but from what I do know, that doesn't look like one of 'em.

I CAN assure you that it is not Minneapolis-St. Paul, nor Duluth, MN, either.
>
> I love the people catcher!

That IS, very literally, truly a people catcher. Look closely, and you'll notice that there are two intersecting gratings. One is suspended from the front end of the carbody, and at its lower edge intersects near the middle of a lower grating. If the car strikes an object, the force of impact pushes the whole assembly back under the car, the upper grating moves backward and the lower grating closes in on the upper, and the person (dog, rock, etc.) causes him/herself to become trapped as it closes up like a venus fly-trap.

JohnH Wrote:
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> Possible Denver Tramways

I'll second that. Definitely Denver.

On the Sign. it has Sportland Beach? Unless Denver has a destination with a beach. I do not think is it in Denver.

This is a Denver Tramways 800 class car on the 5 line.

I've been trying to nail down Sportland Beach Club at 32nd and ?????

I'm not sure if this is West 32nd toward Golden or 32nd towards the old airport.

Somewhere, somewhere I think I have a map of Denver Tramways but can not find it.

Can some of our Colorado folks help on this.

J.

MW4man Wrote:
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> JohnH Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
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> > Possible Denver Tramways
>
> I'll second that. Definitely Denver.


Then, that would be a 3' 6" gauge car?

I used a big magnifying glass for the second name (???) it is Monroe.
Does this help?

The "people catcher" is technically called a "fender" (not the kind you play tunes on). Los Angeles used to require cars running within city limits to have fenders up until World War II, when many of them wound up in scrap drives. Some of the LARy cars at Orange Empire have been "backdated" with Eclipse Fenders, which are deployed when the cars are in passenger service. Visitors sometimes ask if they're "cowcatchers"; sometimes I'll call them "wino catchers" because some of the streetcar lines ran through seedy neighborhoods. Nowadays I'll take out my cell phone and imitate a person wandering along, gabbing on a phone and totally oblivious to any hazards. I'll step in front of a stationary trolley and say "oops, just got hit by a streetcar. Call ya back."

In the late 50's my sister was a lifeguard at Sportland Beach.
Most definitely Denver!