The Pennsy Modeler
In order to portray Pennsylvania Railroad and interchange partners as accurately as possible, this blog contains articles which are essentially notes to myself, but are shared should the community desire the same information.
Articles are sorted by modification date, so if an existing article receives an update it will be presented at the top of the list again.
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From a Westerfield kit...
HISTORY
The earliest reference to conversion of XL box cars to maintenance of way and crew cars (or camp cars as they were called by the Pennsylvania Railroad) is 1937. Blueprints were issued for standard sets of cars. One set entitled "four car unit for living quarters" included a riding car, two sleeping cars and a kitchen/dining car. Another entitled "four car unit wreck train" included a tool car, cable car, riding/locker car, and commissary car. A third showed wire train cars: a riding car with cupola and pantograph and a tool/material car. These were far from the only variations as photos reveal many others. The details, especially smoke jacks and vents were added from available supplies, resulting in standard cars on which almost nothing was standard. The Westerfield models are based on the blueprints in most cases as the plans reveal the position of internal details making the location of ventilators more precise.
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From a Westerfield kit...
HISTORY
The X23 camp cars were created in the early 1940's. Holes were cut in each side for four standard camp car windows. This required the removal of the horizontal ribs where the windows would be placed. Unlike the X23B revision which unbolted these ribs, the camp car conversion merely cut them off, leaving a visible flange. Full grab irons were bolted to the door and a large bar-stock step placed underneath it. The end braces were cut for the placement of a standard camp car door. Grabs were bolted to the jams and the end grabs revised. A standard platform that could be hinged up when not in use was bolted to the end sill.
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This table cross references Pennsy diesel classes with manufacturer model numbers and indicates available HO scale models and first year of use on the PRR system. Table is organized by class prefix and number. Click on class number to view the class roster in a new window. From the roster you can access specific unit information and photos.
Prime mover data is included to assist in selection of sound decoders.
Models in bold are in my personal collection.
Corrections and additions to this page are welcome.
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The following are former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger cars in active excursion service. RIding one of these is on my bucket list, though cost and recent Amtrak policy may shutter excursion service for good.
FRANK THOMSON
The Frank Thomson is one of seven cars built by Pullman to plan 4134 for the Pennsylvania Railroad. The series were named after PRR presidents and feature two drawing rooms, one compartment, one double bedroom, and observation section.
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Based on the Pennsylvania Railroad Passenger Equipment Register dated 9/26/54.
A link in the Class column performs a search on the Varnish database and returns the individual car roster. However, the database performs a "contains" search, so a search on class "P70f" will also return "P70fa" records, etc., but not vice versa.
Note that during 1954, the Pennsy dropped the "R" suffix from the class designation which previously indicated air conditioning.
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In HO scale, the X38 box car is available as a resin kit from Funaro & Camerlengo. In addition to the decals in the kits, Mount Vernon Shops offers decals for the series. .
Additional References:
Fischer, Ian, "PRR Class X37 and X38 Box Cars", The Keystone, published by the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society, volume 14 number 4, Winter 1981.
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Photo courtesy of Greg Martin collection.
The announcement by Bowser of forthcoming state-of-the-art RS-3's with road-specific features inspired this spotting guide for the various Alco RS units owned by the Pennsylvania Railroad.
Road numbers in bold are in my personal collection (or on order).
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The first all-metal door to gain general acceptance was launched in 1910 by the Chicago Railway Equipment Corporation (Creco), a major supplier of other accoutrements to car builders. Creco three-panel steel doors were used on Pennsylvania Railroad’s X23 boxcars built in 1912 but acceptance of Creco doors remained limited. Things changed in 1923 when the three-panel bottom-supported Creco doors was applied to many PRR X29 boxcars. Variations of the Creco door continued in use into the 1940s.
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| Part Number | Description/Photo | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Rapido HO Scale #124051-124053 |
Pullman-Standard Lightweight Dining Car |
Bogus In fact, the road numbers being offered were all D78x heavyweight diners on the Pennsy! |
| Rapido HO Scale #100056-10060 100230-100234 |
Lightweight Coach, Plan 3979/3979A |
Bogus |
| Rapido HO Scale #101056-10160 101111-101115 |
4-8-4 Duplex Sleeper, Pullman Plan 4124 |
Bogus The Pennsy never owned any plan 4124 sleepers! |
| Rapido HO Scale #103145-103047 |
Cafe-Bar-Lounge | Bogus Car represents a generic rebuild. Road numbers used equate to PRR "Recreation Cars". |
| Rapido HO Scale #104068-104072 |
10-5 Sleeper, Pullman Plan 4186 | Bogus The Pennsy's 10-5's were plan 4130's. |
| Rapido HO Scale #104101-104103 |
10-5 Sleeper, Pullman Plan 4186 Missouri Pacific "Eagle" Livery  |
Bogus The Pennsy's 10-5's were plan 4130's. (An excellent stand-in, though!) |
| Rapido HO Scale #106067-106071 |
73' 6" Smooth Side Baggage-Express Car | |
| Rapido HO Scale #107147-107150 |
Steam Generator Car |
Bogus |
| Rapido HO Scale #115033-115038 |
Budd Coach - Congression Scheme |
Bogus Canadian prototype. |
| Rapido HO Scale #115039-115044 |
Budd Coach - Fleet of Modernism Scheme |
Bogus Canadian prototype. |
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The X26 series were 40' World War I composite box cars based on an AAR design.
Due to a variety of door and ladder combinations within subclasses, photographs should be referenced for accurate road numbers. Photos of models cannot be trusted for legitimate road numbers, but photos of completed models are included for illustration purposes.
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Modeling Maintenance of Way (MoW)
Bruce Smith
PRRT&HS, Camp Hill PA 2014
Different types of MoW trains:
Living Quarters (Camp Trains)
Section or work gangs
Moved with the work
Parked in a siding near the job
Providing riding, eating and sleeping functions
Might also have cars for tools and other supplies
Typically made up of retired revenue service cars (passenger or freight)
Page 7 of 15
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