| Red Devil | |
|---|---|
| In service | 1929-53 |
| Manufacturer | Cincinnati Car Company |
| Constructed | 1929 |
| Scrapped | 1953 |
| Number built | 20 |
| Capacity | 44 seats |
| Operator | originally Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad |
| Specifications | |
| Car length | 43 ft 9 in (13.34 m)[1] |
| Height | 11 ft 4 in (3.45 m)[1] |
| Maximum speed | 90 mph (145 km/h) |
| Weight | 24 short tons (22 t)[2] |
| Engine(s) | 4 motors @ 100 hp (75 kW)[1] |
| Power output | 400 hp (298 kW) |
| Power supply | Overhead wire |
| Bogies | 28 in (710 mm) diameter wheels |
| Braking system(s) | Air brake and magnetic brake |
| Gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Standard gauge |
The Red Devil was a high-speed interurban trolley (tram). It was developed by the Cincinnati Car Company for the Cincinnati and Lake Erie Railroad (C&LE), which bought 20 of them in 1929 for service between cities and towns in Ohio. At 24 short tons (22 t)[2] and 43 feet 9 inches (13.34 m) long,[1][3] they were among the first lightweight trolleys, with side plates in aluminum. They had toilets, a luggage department, and up to 44 seats.[3]
The Red Devil was a forerunner of the high-speed trains of the 1930s. With four 100 horsepower (75 kW) motors[4], its energy consumption was lower than other interurbans running at the same speed, and its trucks made it well adapted to rough tracks. Braking problems on the Red Devil were solved by designing a magnetic track brake that came into play only after the air brake application approached the safe limits of wheel friction.[4]
The construction had some weaknesses. The riveting of aluminum plates to a steel frame produced an electrolytic reaction that gave rise to corrosion in the side panels and the front and rear dashers. C&LE replaced some of the aluminum plates with steel. [5]
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The Red Devil's commercial speed was 90 mph (145 km/h).[6] Not only was it the fastest interurban of its time, it outpaced even the fastest conventional train in commercial traffic, the 80 mph (129 km/h) Cheltenham Spa Express and was almost as fast as the German 160 km/h (99 mph) Fliegender Hamburger, which was inaugurated in 1933 (see Land speed record for rail vehicles#Scheduled trains).
In 1930, a race was organized between a Red Devil and a plane. The stunt's result was that the interurban car ran at 97 mph (156 km/h) – and won.[4][7] Another car outdistanced a race car by 15 lengths in a race held on the National Road between Springfield and Columbus.[4]
When the Red Devils were introduced, the interurban business was in a crisis caused by the increased use of private automobiles and buses, which both took passengers and created traffic jams in the streets where the interurban cars also ran. The interurban companies had to pay for their right-of-way. In contrast, motorists' roads were built using taxpayers' money (and the interurban companies were among the biggest taxpayers). The Great Depression created problems from 1929 on. In addition, there was a fierce rivalry between the interurban and steam railroad companies; in some places, steam trains and interurban rail cars ran side by side,[4] until both were swept away by the automobile.
C&LE survived the Depression, and Red Devils contributed to this. However, better times in the latter part of the 1930s also meant more automobiles. In 1939, the company went bankrupt, and 13 of its Red Devils were sold to Lehigh Valley Transit Company (LVT). They were reconditioned by the innovative LVT Allentown shops and then operated from Allentown to Philadelphia as Liberty Bell Limiteds. They served hilly Pennsylvania as well as they had served flat Ohio. The World War II restrictions on automobiles, buses, gas, and tires made the business flourish for a while. After the war, the use of automobiles grew faster than ever. And in 1951, LVT's interurban service suddenly ceased. A memorial of the Red Devils is a paved walking/biking trail called The Liberty Bell Trail.
Most of the worst interurban accidents were head-on collisions on single-tracked lines without block signals. The Cincinnati and Lake Erie had a number of such accidents seriously hurting the line's financial condition due to lawsuits. (See ref. Keenan). After the Red Devils went to the Lehigh Valley Transit, a telescoping accident July 1942 killed twelve people in a head-on collision between one of LVT's Liberty Bells and a heavier freight motor near northern Norristown when the motorman of the Liberty Bell ignored his orders to wait for the freight motor at a siding. [8]
= 9. Lehigh Valley Transit Company Wikipedia = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehigh_Valley_Transit_Company = 10. a b c d Keenan. Design, construction, and performance of the Red Devils on the C&LE. = 11. Cincinnati Car Company “Specifications,” shop orders 3050 and 3055, ten limited and ten local passenger cars for the Cincinnati Hamilton & Dayton Railway company, 5 Nov. 1929, p. 1, author’s collection. = 12. William D. Middleton, "Extra Fast and Extra Fare" = Cincinnati Car Company new truck design, p423. = 13. Traction Classics: The Interurbans = (San Marino: Golden West Books, 1985), 298–305. = 14. Jack Keenan: The Fight for Survival: The Cincinnati & Lake Erie and the Great Depression= http://www.indianahistory.org/our-services/books-publications/railroad-symposia-essays-1/The%20Fight%20for%20Survival.pdf
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