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Lehigh Valley Transit Freight Motor C15-C19 |
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| THE LAW |
| In 1908, the
Pennsylvania legislature passed the "Trolley Freight Law"
which gave
traction lines permission to haul Less Than Carload freight over their lines. |
| THE COMPANY |
| Lehigh Valley Transit started freight service in 1908 using various converted passenger cars. When freight service was extended to the 72nd Street freight house on the Philadelphia and Western Railway, a joint freight operation was inaugurated between Lehigh Valley Transit and Adams Express Agency. |
| THE CARS |
| Lehigh Valley Transit replaced Freight Car C13 by converting Car No. 802 to Freight Car C14, later renumbered C19. LVT replaced small capacity wood body Freight Car No. C3 by converting No. 808 to C15. LVT converted additional 800 Series cars to C Series Freight Cars; No. 808 to C16, No. 806 to C17 and No. 809 to C18. Renovations included removal of passenger entrance steps and trap doors to create a car wide platform; addition of stirrup steps at the former passenger entrances; removal of seats, lavatory, side lights, and smoking compartment partition; installation of a wide doorway with a steel sliding door on both sides in sections cut through body plates and window framework near the passenger end; removal of window panes, sashes, and cathedral arch windows, and sheating the outside window section with steel plates and lining the interior sides with planks. A stationary head light was imbedded into the train door at each end of all C14 series freight cars. |
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