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EMD E units were the backbone of the Pennsy's passenger fleet.
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GE 44 Ton, Class GS4 / GS4m
The GE 44-ton switcher is a 4-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned these chores. This locomotive's specific 44-short ton weight was directly related to one of the efficiencies the new diesel locomotives offered compared to their steam counterparts: reduced labor intensity. In the 1940s, the steam to diesel transition was in its infancy in North America, and railroad unions were trying to protect the locomotive fireman jobs that were redundant with diesel units. One measure taken to this end was the 1937 so-called "90,000 Pound Rule", a stipulation that locomotives weighing 90,000 pounds – 45 short tons – or more required a fireman in addition to an engineer on common carrier railroads. Industrial and military railroads had no such stipulation. The 44-ton locomotive was born to skirt this requirement. Other manufacturers also built 44-ton switchers of center-cab configuration. 276 examples of this locomotive were built for U. S. railroads and industrial concerns, four were exported to Australia in 1944, 10 were exported to Canada, 10 were exported to Cuba, one was exported to the Dominican Republic, five were exported to France, three were exported to India, six were exported to Mexico, five were exported to Saudi Arabia, one was exported to Sweden, two were exported to Trinidad, 10 were exported to Uruguay, and 57 were built for the U. S. Military.
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Over the years, I have had the opportunity to operate on many fine model railroads, including...
- Dave Abeles' Conrail Onondaga Cutoff
- Chris Adams' New York, New Haven & Hartford
- Bill Blackburn's Pennsylvania Railroad, Great Valley Division
- Jim Clay's Pennsylvania Railroad, Cumberland Valley Branch (fallen flag)
- Jim Dalberg's New Jersey Northern
- Tom Jacobs' 1970s Reading Company "Crossline"
- Tony Koester's Nickel Plate Road
- Nick Kulp's Cornwall Railroad (fallen flag)
- Steven Mallery's Pennsylvania Railroad, Buffalo Line
- Bob Martin's Central Pennsylvania Railroad (fallen flag)
- Larry Reynolds' Pennsylvania Railroad, Altoona Area
- Dave Rohrbaugh's South Penn Railroad
- Dave Trone's West Penn Railroad
- Jeff Warner's PRR/RDG/WM South Central Region (fallen flag)
- Bob Zeolla's Conrail Conemaugh Line
The Bucket List
If the stars were to align, I would love to operate on the following layouts...
- Gerry Albers' Deepwater District, New RIver Division, Virginian Railway
- Mike Burgett's Chesapeake & Ohio, Clifton Forge Division, 1965
- Ken McCorry's Pennsylvania Railroad, Buffalo Line
- Dave Ramos' New York Harbor Railroad
- Jerry Whooley's New York and Long Branch Railroad
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| Road Numbers | AAR | Description | 12/1897 | 10/1900 | 10/1907 | 9/1954 | Models |
| 1-250 | 25 Ton Hopper Gondola | 200 | 108 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 200-249 | HM | 50 Ton Steel Gondola | 0 | 0 | 47 | 1 (#202) |
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| 251-2650 | 30 Ton Wood Hopper Gondola | 2,400 | 2,400 | 1,633 | 0 | ||
| 2651-3150 | GN | 40 Ton Wood Hopper Gondola | 0 | 500 | 491 | 0 | |
| 2656, 2670, 2830, 2904, 2952, 3048, 3061, 3069, 3097 | 50 Ton Steel Gondola | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 3151-3250 | 50 Ton Steel Gondola | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | ||
| 3251-3750 | HM | 50 Ton Steel Gondola, ACF/PSC/SSC | 0 | 0 | 500 | 62 | Westerfield #7464 |
| 3752-3811 | GB | 50 Ton Steel Gondola 46', G22. Built in 1918 to Pennsy standards with drop bottom doors. Rebuilt in the late 1920s with a tight floor, running to abandonement of the railroad in March 1954. | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | Westerfield #1255 |
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This page chronicles the year that "modern" steam locomotive classes first appeared on the Pennsy, starting in 1900.
Going back before 1900, the results are really convoluted and inconsistent due to the PRR's absorption of subsidiary line's locomotives.
Disclaimer: This list may not take into account all rebuilds.
Models in bold are represented in the author's collection.
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Union Switch & Signal (US&S) was a primary supplier of control systems to the Pennsylvania Railroad. Their compact, desktop series of CTC machines were labeled the 500 series. What follows is a discussion of what is seen on these machines and how they differed from location to location.
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| Interpretation of Truck Classification | |
| Symbol | Refers to |
|---|---|
| First | Number of axles per truck |
| Second | A.A.R. Class letter for journal dia. only (see below) |
| Third | Dash-for standard A.A.R. axle number-for numerical deviation from A.A.R. standard |
| Fourth | Service of truck. F=Freight, P=Passenger, T=Tender |
| Fifth | Consecutive design of truck for class |
| Sixth | Modification to truck design |
| A.A.R. Class | A | B | C | D | E | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Journal size (in.) | 3-3/4x7 | 4-1/4x8 | 5x9 | 5-1/2x10 | 6x11 | 6-1/2x12 |
| Capy. per axle | 15000 | 24000 | 32000 | 40000 | 50000 | 60000 |
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Between 1924 and 1934, the Pennsylvania Railroad purchased or built over 30,000 of the X29 class of box cars and an additional 5,000 of the auto car variant, the X28. The X29 -- a 40' 50-ton all-steel car -- became the most ubiquitous freight car of the late steam/transition era. These cars appeared in every corner of the US and Canada.
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The G24 were 41'-6" gondolas designed by the United States Railroad Administration (USRA) and plans provided to the PRR in April 1919. They were composite cars with wood in the sides, end and floor. They featured straight sides with drop doors in the floor and rode on USRA 2D-F3 trucks. They had Carmer cut levers.
Starting in 1929, the Pennsy replaced the composite sides with drop bottoms to steel sides with solid bottoms. Some cars received steel ends. Though most cars were converted in this manner, the program was halted in 1930.
In later years it appears the Pennsy may have replaced many with 2D-F8 trucks.
