Brooklyn & Queens Transit 1001

Facts and Figures

Current Number	1001
Railway Represented	Brooklyn & Queens Transit
Builder	St. Louis Car Company
Built In	1936
Builder's order id	1600
Currently in (State)	Connecticut
--(Locality)	East Haven
Totally out of svc date	1956
(Initial retirement date)
Car Type	streetcar
-subtype	PCC, prewar
-designation
Status	operated occasionally
More info	http://www.bera.org/cgi-bin/viewcar.pl?car=1001
Gauge	4'8.5"
Construction	steel
Roof type	AR
Ended	SE
Length	46'0"
Width	8'4"
Height	10'1"
Weight	33360
#Seats	59
#Wheels/Conf.	8
Total HP	220
Trucks	Clark B2
Brakes	Air-Electric
Compressor	WABCO PC2
Control	GE 17KM3A1
Motors	GE 1198A (4)
Voltage (if not 600DC)

Car 1001 in operation at Branford in 2023
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/91993389@N08/52888512082/

Car 1001 in operation at Branford
Shore Line Trolley Museum
photo: https://shorelinetrolley.org/collection/1001/

Car History by Frank Hicks

Brooklyn & Queens Transit 1001 The first true PCC car ever built was this car, B&QT 1001. PCC referred to the Electric Railway Presidents Conference Committee, which was a group of street railway company representatives that in the early 1930's developed a design for a modern, standardized streetcar. The resulting PCC car was streamlined, rode smoother and quieter than other contemporary streetcars, and used a number of revolutionary electrical and mechanical systems. It was extremely successful and several thousand PCC's were built by two companies between 1936 and 1952. B&QT was one of the more active sponsors of the PCC development program and hosted two pre-PCC test cars during the early 1930's. The very first order was placed by B&QT for 99 cars built by St. Louis in 1936, and the first of these cars was car 1001. These were the only production PCC's ever ordered by B&QT, and as the most modern cars on the system they saw service right up until the end of B&QT streetcar service in 1956. BERA acquired 1001 after its retirement. At the time it was still a very modern car - only four years earlier PCC's had been rolling off the production lines. The car has operated consistently at Branford since its acquisition. In the 1960's it was rebuilt and restored to its as-delivered condition, and currently it is undergoing another more thorough rehabilitation.

Ownership History

Owner	Car Num	From	To	Preservation?	Loan?
Brooklyn & Queens Transit (New York, Brooklyn)	1001	1936	1940	NO	NO
New York City Board of Transportation (New York, New York)	1001	1940	1953	NO	NO
New York City Transit Authority (New York, New York)	1001	1953	1956	NO	NO
Branford Electric Railway Association (Connecticut, East Haven)	1001	1956	present	YES	NO

Additional Media

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Car 1001 in operation at Branford in 2022
YouTube
video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bA58rKn-m7o