BEC-KITS Model Trams: Kit BK30: Den Haag P.C.C. tramcar

Kit BK30: Den Haag P.C.C. tramcar

This kit represents the Den Haag HTM Series 1100 P.C.C. bogie tramcars with the fleet number series 1101 to 1200.
The initials P.C.C. stand for the Presidents Conference Committee, a design group organised during the 1930's by the presidents of many american streetcar companies
Their aim was to design a modern standard tramcar to compete with the emerging threat to public transport of the mass-produced motor car.
Another kit represents the U.S.A. P.C.C. streetcar manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company from 1936-1944, in particular the Pittsburgh 1000-1200 series of PCC cars.
The PCC design consisted of over 1000 patents, mainly covering the control and drive system.
Some of the cars had slight variations. For example, there were some double ended cars and some cars had standee windows.
The P.C.C. design was very popular in the U.S.A., and was also used in Europe in countries such as the Nederlands (as in this model), Belgium, France and Czechoslovakia (Tatra).
The P.C.C. cars are no longer in service in Den Haag but they still have several preserved examples.
Number 1147 was preserved at the UK National Tramway Museum at Crich in January 1994. It has been restored to the early cream livery.

This kit has two unmotorised bogies. A matching pair of MECON motorised bogies is available separately.
A working tramcar pantograph is included.
The transfer sheet supplied contains the grey lettering and numbers. The advertisements are not included.
By carefully removing the raised beading lines on the car body, it is possible to model the later Series 1200 and 1300 cars. It would be difficult to model the standee windows of the earlier Series 1000 cars.

The extra conversion kit 30c and a normal kit 30 can be used to model the trailer Series 2100 cars. You can see all the PCC 2100 conversion stages in this excellent web site by Nick Hespe.
Another kit for the Den Haag tramway is also available: 27 Den Haag Ombouwer car.

Blok, J. 1983.De geschiedenis van de PCC-serie 1001-1024. Op de Rails (NVBS). June 1983
Blok, J. 1984.De geschiedenis van de PCC-serie 1201-1240. Op de Rails (NVBS). January 1984
Blok, J. 1993.Haagse Trams: het Haagse trammaterieel van 1864 tot heden. (Pages 103-127) Elmar B.V., Rijswijk. ISBN 90 389 00627.
Hoogerhuijs, Herman van't. 1996. Trammaterieel in Nederland en België. (Pages 57-63, 69-71) De Alk bv, Alkmaar. ISBN 90 6013 948 8.
Van den Ostende, Carlos, & Pattyn, Willy. 1999. 50 Jaar/Ans PCC Deel 1: USA, SNCV and The Hague. (Pages 56-99) H. K. (Luxembourg) S. A. ISBN ?.
Van den Ostende, Carlos, & Pattyn, Willy. 2000. 50 Jaar/Ans PCC Deel 2: Belgian cities & rest of Europe. (Pages 109-114) H. K. (Luxembourg) S. A. ISBN ?.