Peter Witts a/k/a "The Baltimore Car"

They were among the most unique cars in America, and certainly the most unique streetcars to operate in the Monumental City. Commonly referred to as "Peter Witts" due to their original manpower and fare payment arrangement, the cars could more accurately be termed as "Baltimore Cars" due to their unique look. Many cities had "Peter Witt" style cars of a different appearance, but there are but few other cars in America that bear a resemblence to the cars Baltimore received in 1930.

Year: Car Numbers: Manufacturer: Electrical Eqpt.: Retired: Notes:

1924 6001 J. G. Brill G. E. ca. 1932? Renumbered as #6991 in 1930

1924 6002 J. G. Brill Westinghouse ca. 1932? Renumbered as #6992 in 1930

1930 6001-6050 J. G. Brill Westinghouse 1955

1930 6051-6100 Cincinatti Car Co. G. E. 1955

1930 6101-6120 J. G. Brill G. E. 1955

1930 6121-6150 J. G. Brill Westinghouse 1955 Equipped with 22" Wheels

Baltimore's first experiment with a Peter Witt patented design occurred in 1924, and was anything but a success. Two demonstrator cars, numbered 6001 and 6002 were delivered in early 1924.
They received the name "Peter Witt" not from the designer of the car itself, but rather the transit executive who designed the fare payment system. Patrons boarded by the front door, and paid their fare upon passing the conductor who was station just before the Center Door. The seating arrangement encouraged early payment, as all of the nice forward facing seats were located behind the Center Doors, only logitudinal seating could be found in the front half of the car.
In May of 1924, the cars were assigned to the Roland Park Car House to operate on Route #29, which operated them singly for a little over three months. By late August they were reassigned to the Belvedere Car House to operate MU over the #31 line during peak periods, with single car operation employed during base periods. This arrangement continued for most of the remainder of the 1920's.
The cars were reassigned as #6991 and #6992 in anticipation of a coming order of new cars in 1930. By this time, their use had greatly diminished, and being orphans in the system, they spent most of their remaining years in storage. Even the record Wartime surge in ridership did not bring the mothballed cars out of the Madison Ave. Barn, and in 1947, they headed to the scrapyard, only to be remembered as an unsuccessful and slow design that offered no significant advantage over older equipment.
It would not be until 1929, that the United Railway and Electric Company would order new cars, as much of the fleet was approaching the 30 year mark. When combined with the fact that a dwindling ridership already was developing a negative image of the UR&E and its old streetcars, new equipment was certainly a plus, despite the burden the order would place on the company's finances.
This new order of 150 modern lightweight cars was split between two builders, J.G. Brill and Cincinatti Car Company. Still termed Peter Witts for their payment arrangement, the cars began arriving in July of 1930. These cars were certainly unlike anything Baltimore had ever seen before, presenting a boxy yet modern appearance which was only enhanced by the Canary Yellow and Scarlet paint scheme.
While photos so show the installation of a conductor's seat, and farebox platform, the actual use of two man crews on the 1930 cars has been debated for the ages, and will likely never be settled at this late date. The general consensus however is that the Peter Witt System was used for a short time, after which the UR&E likely tired of paying royalties for its use (as well as paying two people to operate one car) and relocated the farebox alongside the Motorman (thus now termed as the "Operator").
Assignments of the 1930 cars is interesting, as they saw service on lines that never saw PCC cars, while there is little to no evidence that they ever plied some major lines that did roster PCC's. First line to debut the new cars was the #16 line up Madison Avenue, which rostered the cars beginning August 17, 1930. As the cars arrived and were prepped for service, they began to spread out to other parts of the system as well.
In Early September, a number of cars were assigned to the #25 line, whose unobstructed straightaways were an ideal running ground for the fast new lightweights. Later that month, they debuted on the #6 line. On October 12, they made an impressive showing by debuting on three lines at once - the #17 from Oak Street Barn, the #29 from Roland Park, and the #31 from Belvedere. Just before Thanksgiving, they made their first of many appearances on the #32 line as well.
Following the holidays, sufficient cars were readied to upgrade the #19 line from Montebello barn in early 1931, being followed by a group assigned to the Potomac Street Barn for the #27 line. The last available cars of the order allowed for a small quantity to be assigned to the #3 line by April of 1931.
In 1932, the cars at Roland Park were withdrawn, and apparently reassigned to fortify other "Witt" equipped lines. Later in 1933, the cars at Potomac St. were apparently reassigned to Park Terminal for use on Route #2. However, the remainder of the 1930's found most of the cars retaining their original assignments, save for the cars of the #17 line which were removed in 1936.
This would change in 1939, when the #16 was relegated back to using Semi-Convertibles exclusively, as it appears that these cars, along with those made surplus by the abandonment of the #3 line, allowed sufficient cars to allow their assignment to the #8 line. Also, during the War, at least one car, if not a few others, made it to the #5 line as well.
It is interesting to note here as to the routes had NOT seen the 1930 cars by the time the war was in full swing. Assignments of the 1930 cars is questionable, if not doubtful on the following lines as late as 1945: #4, #13, #14, #15, #20, and #30. The cars could have also operated on rail routes #10 and #12 before their conversion, although there is nothing to suggest that they ever did.

PETER WITT AND BALTIMORE CAR PHOTO GALLERY

Photo: Description:

Among Baltimore's few true "Peter Witts" was car #6992, shown here posed outside of Belvedere Car House in the 1930's. This car and sister car #6991 saw little service after 1930. Bill Volkemer Photo from Dave's Rail Pix.

End of the line for the two 1924 Vintage Witts. Photo shows cars awaiting scrapping at United Iron & Metal, located off of Wilkens Avenue. Photo likely dates from the late 1940's. Bob Jannsen Photo.

A remarkably new looking car #6015 rests near Belvedere Loop in the early 1930's, signs set for the #25 line. The Falls Road line was certainly one of the mainstays of the speedy cars for a number of years. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

A 1930 vintage "Baltimore Car" glides along one of it's favorite stretches. Here, car #6022 sails out Falls Road enroute to Belvedere Loop on Falls Road near Harvest, close to the site of today's Cross Keys Development. Bob Jannsen Photo.

The Hampden area was a maze of twists and turns for the #25 Streetcar. Here, car #6022 prepares to head East on 33rd from Chestnut, where it will then head Southeast across the impressive Huntingdon Avenue Viaduct. Bob Jannsen Photo.

Racing through the brush that often charachterized the Southernmost ends of Route #6, car #6039 prepares to swing this curve on the long and varied journey out to the Monument and Kresson Streets Loop in the 1940's. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Car #6057 picks up a load of Patrons along Monument near Aisquith in the mid-1940's. At 48 Feet long, the cars were quite capacious. Bob Jannsen Photo.

Gwynn Oak Junction was and still is a heavy transit intersection. Here in the 1940's however, it was served by the #32 and #33 lines, with the #32 seeing a large portion of its service provided by Peter Witts like car #6065, preparing to take the curve to the left where it will head about 8 blocks to the short-turn loop at Howard Park, just inside the City limits. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Likely awaiting heavy work is car #6073, as evidenced by its presence at the massive Carroll Park facility in Southwest Baltimore. There was virtually nothing that the skilled staff at Carroll Park could not do to a streetcar! Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Working 32-7 block is car #6080, seen here at the Woodlawn Loop of the #32 line. While the Woodlawn end of this line was not a major destination, the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park only a few blocks inward was! Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Near Johns Hopkins Hospital is car #6085, working the #6 line in the late 1940's. The heavy route #6 was a mainstay for the Baltimore "Witts." Bob Jannsen Photo.

Bound for the Kresson Street Loop is car #6085, again on Route #6. Bob Jannsen Photo.

While the front of the 1930 Design was rather Flat faced, the rears of the cars were indeed quite rounded. Here, Car #6093 has just rounded the turn onto the unusual "alley" track at the foot of Aisquith Street along Route #19. Bob Jannsen Photo.

Among the later hangouts for the 1930 cars was on the #13 line, where car #6105 is pictured. This line provided among the last assignments for the Witts until it was converted to bus in 1954. Bob Jannsen Photo.

Car #6129 shows the delivery paint scheme for Peter Witts pretty well in this Belvedere Avenue shot from the 1940's. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Perhaps the photographer was a little excited to see #6144 when he too this shot of her working the #32 line (hence the angle). In any event, the folks at the Seashore museum are certainly excited about having the car among their collection. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Nearing the end of her career is car #6150, seen here on an NRHS Fantrip, Gone is the red beltrail from the car, but present is a black tar over the canvas roof. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

A lovely 1930's Baltimore portrait is viewed here with a Peter Witt car holding at the corner of Howard and Lexington Streets, as the parade of shoppers cross in front. The since lost Hochschild-Kohn building sits immediately to the left, with the Hutzlers buildings in the background. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.

Following the conversion of further lines in 1948, the cars did eventually make their way onto the #13 and #15 lines, and were a mainstay of the former until its conversion in 1954, although it is doubtful that they ever served the #4 or #14 lines at all.
The year 1949 saw a new, albeit temporary, line designation established as the #48 line began running between a loop at Mount Washington and Belvedere Loop over the portion of Route #25 that was not immediately convertable due to poor road access. The possession of individually set number scrolls (that did not need modifying to accomodate the high route designation) may have been the reason that the "Witts" were chosen to provide this intermediate service. Only a "MT. WASHINGTON" legend was spliced into the sign to make the scroll usable.
Also in the late 1940's, the Paint Scheme of the Peter Witts was altered. Until this time, the scheme was the same as it had been since delivery, aside from the Beltrail being narrowed. A couple of cars (namely, Montebello's #6100 and Belvedere's #6111) received their own variation of the NCL "Fruit Salad" Scheme. However, most repainted cars after 1950 were given the "Transportation Orange" scheme, with the Canvas rooves of the cars tarred in an attempt to preserve them.
By the advent of the 1950's however, the "Witts" were becoming less vital to the Baltimore Transit scene. Dwindling ridership, coupled with a high rate of car to bus conversions, led to more of the cars becoming surplus as the decade unfolded. This despite the cars overwhelming reliability after 20 years of service. Their most meaningful assignment of the early 1950's was holding down route #13, which vanished in early 1954.
The final days of the Witts are suprisingly enigmatic, as few recall their level of use or even their abandonment in the 1950's. It is believed that the cars saw no revenue service after the conversion of the #32 line in 1955, although car #6119 remained on the property to once see operation on a farewell trip in 1956, before being acquired by the restoration efforts of George Nixon.
Thankfully, the rest of the history of the 1930 lightweights has two happy endings. Car #6119, saved by the Baltimore group, has been immaculately restored to its original appearance, thanks largely to the efforts of Buster Hughes and volunteers of the Baltimore Streetcar Museum. In addition, Car #6144 is alive and well at the Seashore Museum in Maine, where it now operates as well.
Unmentioned so far in this capsule is the significance of the 1930 design. An oft forgotten voyage is the journey of one car, #6002, which was shipped to a laboratory in New York, where it was measured and tested for one most significant project. The result is an American Classic of the same body dimensions of its predecessor which came to be known and loved as the PCC Car.

Baltimore Car and Peter Witt Fast Facts

While no other cars of the 1930 Baltimore Pattern were built for other properties, a rather close similarity in body style can be observed between the 1930 design and a 1928 Osgood Bradley design used for their Pittsburgh Railways car #6002. Interim Brill Cars made in the early 30's (dubbed "Master Units") before the manufacture of the ill-fated "Brilliner" posess a number of traits that resemble the 1930 Baltimore Cars.

Interestingly, aside from the two cars mentioned above that were painted in the Fruit Salad livery, no other experiments or alterations of the scheme for the 1930 cars is known to exist - this despite the frequent use of Semi-Convertibles and even PCCs as Billboard cars during and after World War II.

Another line that the Peter Witts never ran on did play host to one on a dreary afternoon, when an NRHS charter headed out along the #26 line to Sparrows Point in a Peter Witt. Interesting to note is that roll signs DID exist for the car, which leaves the consideration of actual assignment of the cars to the line as a near certain possibility.

One must certainly wonder why Route #14 never seemed to have hosted Peter Witts, as its extensive use of Center Reservation and Roadside running would have been ideally suited for the speed of the Witts.

With the assignment of the Peter Witts to the #17 line also began Baltimore's first, and for the most part ONLY, use of a "wye" turnback at the end of a line using Single Ended Cars.

Year:	Car Numbers:	Manufacturer:	Electrical Eqpt.:	Retired:	Notes:
1924	6001	J. G. Brill	G. E.	ca. 1932?	Renumbered as #6991 in 1930
1924	6002	J. G. Brill	Westinghouse	ca. 1932?	Renumbered as #6992 in 1930
1930	6001-6050	J. G. Brill	Westinghouse	1955
1930	6051-6100	Cincinatti Car Co.	G. E.	1955
1930	6101-6120	J. G. Brill	G. E.	1955
1930	6121-6150	J. G. Brill	Westinghouse	1955	Equipped with 22" Wheels

PETER WITT AND BALTIMORE CAR PHOTO GALLERY
Photo:	Description:
	Among Baltimore's few true "Peter Witts" was car #6992, shown here posed outside of Belvedere Car House in the 1930's. This car and sister car #6991 saw little service after 1930. Bill Volkemer Photo from Dave's Rail Pix.
	End of the line for the two 1924 Vintage Witts. Photo shows cars awaiting scrapping at United Iron & Metal, located off of Wilkens Avenue. Photo likely dates from the late 1940's. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	A remarkably new looking car #6015 rests near Belvedere Loop in the early 1930's, signs set for the #25 line. The Falls Road line was certainly one of the mainstays of the speedy cars for a number of years. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	A 1930 vintage "Baltimore Car" glides along one of it's favorite stretches. Here, car #6022 sails out Falls Road enroute to Belvedere Loop on Falls Road near Harvest, close to the site of today's Cross Keys Development. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	The Hampden area was a maze of twists and turns for the #25 Streetcar. Here, car #6022 prepares to head East on 33rd from Chestnut, where it will then head Southeast across the impressive Huntingdon Avenue Viaduct. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	Racing through the brush that often charachterized the Southernmost ends of Route #6, car #6039 prepares to swing this curve on the long and varied journey out to the Monument and Kresson Streets Loop in the 1940's. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Car #6057 picks up a load of Patrons along Monument near Aisquith in the mid-1940's. At 48 Feet long, the cars were quite capacious. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	Gwynn Oak Junction was and still is a heavy transit intersection. Here in the 1940's however, it was served by the #32 and #33 lines, with the #32 seeing a large portion of its service provided by Peter Witts like car #6065, preparing to take the curve to the left where it will head about 8 blocks to the short-turn loop at Howard Park, just inside the City limits. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Likely awaiting heavy work is car #6073, as evidenced by its presence at the massive Carroll Park facility in Southwest Baltimore. There was virtually nothing that the skilled staff at Carroll Park could not do to a streetcar! Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Working 32-7 block is car #6080, seen here at the Woodlawn Loop of the #32 line. While the Woodlawn end of this line was not a major destination, the Gwynn Oak Amusement Park only a few blocks inward was! Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Near Johns Hopkins Hospital is car #6085, working the #6 line in the late 1940's. The heavy route #6 was a mainstay for the Baltimore "Witts." Bob Jannsen Photo.
	Bound for the Kresson Street Loop is car #6085, again on Route #6. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	While the front of the 1930 Design was rather Flat faced, the rears of the cars were indeed quite rounded. Here, Car #6093 has just rounded the turn onto the unusual "alley" track at the foot of Aisquith Street along Route #19. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	Among the later hangouts for the 1930 cars was on the #13 line, where car #6105 is pictured. This line provided among the last assignments for the Witts until it was converted to bus in 1954. Bob Jannsen Photo.
	Car #6129 shows the delivery paint scheme for Peter Witts pretty well in this Belvedere Avenue shot from the 1940's. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Perhaps the photographer was a little excited to see #6144 when he too this shot of her working the #32 line (hence the angle). In any event, the folks at the Seashore museum are certainly excited about having the car among their collection. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	Nearing the end of her career is car #6150, seen here on an NRHS Fantrip, Gone is the red beltrail from the car, but present is a black tar over the canvas roof. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.
	A lovely 1930's Baltimore portrait is viewed here with a Peter Witt car holding at the corner of Howard and Lexington Streets, as the parade of shoppers cross in front. The since lost Hochschild-Kohn building sits immediately to the left, with the Hutzlers buildings in the background. Photo from the Transit Archives Collection.