California, USA
Ex-Key System 1945 ACF-Brill 2006 probably at the Los Angeles
Transit Lines South Park Shops with its Oakland number. The trolley behind is
in its primer paint. 2006 appears in Key System colours, but no logo. The Key
system ordered 40 Brills. Apparently, not all the Key System trolleys received
the Key system paint as the trolley next to 2006 is in its primer colour, the
condition in which they arrived in Oakland. Some overhead wires were installed
reportedly on two routes but no special work. One of them was the College Avenue
line. The second line has not been verified. National City Lines had just bought
the Key System and diverted to the trolleys to Los Angeles, another NCL holding.
They never ran in Oakland and environs. Only 15 trolleys had arrived in Oakland
before the sale. These trolleys went to LA. The remaining 25 were sent directly
to Los Angeles. At least two more were painted in Key S. colours. In Ward and
Sebree's book The Trolley Coach in North America, there are two
Brills photographed there in Key colours but in black-and-white. The first one
is 2016. I can't quite make out the second one. National
City Lines had just bought the Key System and diverted to the trolleys to Los
Angeles, another NCL holding. They never ran in Oakland and environs. Photo
by Bob McVay (probably). Date unknown. 1946.
Brill 2003 at the Emeryville yard near Oakland, signed as 6 - Oakland -3rd and Broadway. Photo by Bob Burrowes. 1946. Submitted by Cameron Beach.
Brill 2003 signed as 7 Arlington. Photo by Bob Burrowes. 1946. Submitted by Cameron Beach.
Unidentified Brills at the Emeryville yards. Photo by Bob Burrowes. 1946. Submitted by Cameron Beach.
Brill 2003 signed as 'Baseball.' It is now obviovus that someone was changing the roller blinds for the photographer. Photo by Bob Burrowes. 1946. Submitted by Cameron Beach.
Brill 2003 signed as 7 - Euclid. Route 7 went out Telegraph Ave. to the University of California, Berkeley. Photo by Bob Burrowes. 1946. Submitted by Cameron Beach.
A mock-up of what an Oakland Key System PCC could have looked like had it bought PCCs rather than dump the rail and trolley system. Actually, the Key requested about $280,000 in 1939 to acquire 20 PCCs. The parent compay, Railway Equipment & Reality Co, turned down the request. The replica is Walter Rices's version of the would-be PCC. It is an excellent replica by St. Petersburg Trams.
This page last updated 12 FE 06
