Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Workman
Under and behind the lady's left forearm is the farebox for the streetcar.
A more sharp eyed trolley fan than I will tell us what brand
Johnson was a popular type.
Before the world went to hell
One could ride streetcars in Los Angeles
It had not yet occurred to ther ---- to rob buses and streetcars- change cheerfully given
The motorman made change , you deposited the correct amount into the hopper at the top of the machine.
After all the change was in the machine and the folks moved back, the motorman turned on the farebox and it chug chug chugged to spin and
and separate the coins into his change rack , ready for the next stop.
I can't recall what happened to bills and transfers, jump in here WigWag
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As
Ed Workman has noted, coins dropped into the farebox were mechanically separated. Early Johnson fareboxes were mechanically operated by the conductor or motorman using a crank handle a handle on the side of the farebox. The later electric models retained this feature, presumably as a back-up to the electric motor. As a kid, being of weak mind I was easily amused by the rotation of the coin seperator and could often spend the whole ride watching it endlessly rotate.
While I don't recall the exact nature of the motorman/conductor boxes used by LARY/LATL crews, I remember the PE boxes very well. They were, painted black and were 5 inches deep, 9 inches wide and 12 inches long. The lid was attached with a piano style hinge and stamped with the initials P.E.R.Y. There was a metal handle on the long side giving the appearance of a lunchbox. A hasp style latch allowed for locking the box. The reason for this vivid memory is that I have one - sort of.
This box contained Paper money, changer, pads of transfers, ticket/transfer punch, paid fare tickets (punched and inserted between the seat cushion and a metal bracket on the seatback), public timetables, employee timetables, the Pacific Electric book of rules and anything else the trainman deemed necessary to conducting his duties. It was also where paper money acquired during the run and used transfers were stored. Two of these boxes, painted red, were also mounted on the inside of the car at each end and contained flares and torpedos for emergencies. This is the box I have.
As I recall both PE and LARY/LATL operated in much the same manner, with the conductor/operator making change for paper money and deposit of the days transfers in their run boxes. Feel free to correct me on this.
For more on Johnson Fareboxes see:
http://www.johnsonfarebox.com/
Cheers,
Jack