Nostalgia & History > A Trolley for Texas Tuesday

Here is Texas Transportation Company's freight motor #2 awaiting its next switching move in San Antonio in September 1968 
​Wikipedia says the motor was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1907 as an interurban car for the Texas Traction Company and was later
​acquired by Texas Electric in 1917. T.E. rebuilt it into a freight motor in 1929 and Texas Transportation bought it in 1949.
​It was still in use in 2000 when T.T. ceased operations after the Pearl Brewery closed. No. 2  is preserved and on display today, but Wiki doesn't say where.

I found it quite by accident while visiting Hemisfare and was drawn by it's obvious clean condition. Notice the upgraded 26L air brake equipment.
Without the 'F' being visible I would say we are looking at the rear. I didn't take photos of the front so I can't tell what kind of bell it had but I wonder
if those speakers beneath the roof line were used as some electronic bell amplifier?

​Charlie

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Those "speakers" look like light fixtures to me.

Brian Ehni

twin_star_rocket Wrote:
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> Those "speakers" look like light fixtures to me.
>
> Brian Ehni

Correct. Having seen that little beauty in service (yes I did take a few 35mm slides of her), back in 1963, I can tell you those are headlights.

With thanks to our Uncle Sam, I enjoyed ? A all expensed paid vacation in Aug of 1979 at Fort Sam Houston .  And my Army uniform got me access inside the Pearl Beer plant

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Cool stuff! I'll bet TTC's history would be a fascinating read...

Lance/199

Thanks for posting. Love to see electric freight.
Bill in Ft Worth

Another vote here in favor of electric operations, especially those last holdouts when most others had long since disappeared.

I never got to to see the TTC in operation nor visit the brewery, but in late 1964 I did experience Pearl beer, along with Jax, another regional product, when patronizing the beer gardens at Ft. Polk LA.  It was my first exposure to 3,2 beer, and I was not impressed.

My senior year at Texas A&M, I took a railfan trip with college buddies to San Antonio, and we all got to ride #2, either from the brewery to the SP interchange or back (we swapped out). A highlight was that the crew had a case of Pearl iced down on the floor, and we were offered a can each. I'll have to drag out my slides of that trip and scan soon!

Brian