The Pennsylvania Railroad, legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company, also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. It was named for the commonwealth in which it was established. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad, the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world.
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board the locomotive itself are called tank locomotives or tank engines.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 2-10-4 locomotive has two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a Bissel truck, ten coupled driving wheels on five axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles, usually in a bogie. These were referred to as the Texas type in most of the United States, the Colorado type on the Burlington Route, and the Selkirk type in Canada.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was often named Decapod, especially in the United States, although this name was sometimes applied to locomotives of 0-10-0 "Ten-Coupled" arrangement, particularly in the United Kingdom. Notable German locomotives of this type include the war locomotives of Class 52.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
Locomotive classification on the Pennsylvania Railroad took several forms. Early on, steam locomotives were given single-letter classes. As the 26 letters were quickly assigned, that scheme was abandoned for a more complex system. This was used for all of the PRR's steam locomotives, and — with the exception of the final type bought — all electric locomotives also used this scheme.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) K4 4-6-2 "Pacific" was its premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957.
The M1 was a class of steam locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). It was a class of heavy mixed-traffic locomotives of the 4-8-2 "Mountain" arrangement, which uses four pairs of driving wheels with a four-wheel guiding truck in front for stability at speed and a two-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox needed for sustained power. Although built for both passenger and freight work, they spent most of their service lives hauling heavy high-speed freight trains. Many PRR men counted the M1 class locomotives as the best steam locomotives the railroad ever owned.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class H8, H9s and H10s steam locomotives were of the 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type, the last three classes of such built by the railroad. The three classes differed only in cylinder diameter and thus tractive effort, each subsequent class increasing that measurement by an inch. The first H8 was built in 1907 and the last H10 in 1916; within a few years they were replaced on heavy freight assignments by 2-8-2s and 2-10-0. They became the railroad's standard light freight locomotive, replacing all other class H 2-8-0s, and a number remained in service until the end of PRR steam locomotive operation in 1957. 968 class H8 of various subclasses were constructed, along with 274 class H9s and 273 class H10s. A number of H8 locomotives were rebuilt to H9s specification.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class B6 was its most successful class of switcher locomotive, or as the PRR termed them "shifter". The PRR preferred the 0-6-0 wheel arrangement for larger switchers, whereas on other railroads the 0-8-0 gained preference. The PRR generally used 2-8-0s when larger power was required.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class K5 was an experimental 4-6-2 "Pacific" type, built in 1929 to see if a larger Pacific than the standard K4s was worthwhile. Two prototypes were built, #5698 at the PRR's own Altoona Works, and #5699 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Although classified identically, the two locomotives differed in many aspects, as detailed below. They were both fitted with a much fatter boiler than the K4s, but dimensionally similar to those of the I1s 2-10-0 "Decapods". Most other dimensions were enlarged over the K4s as well; the exceptions being the 70 square feet (6.5 m2) grate area and the 80 in (2.032 m) drivers.
Class D16 on the Pennsylvania Railroad was their final development of the 4-4-0 "American" type of steam locomotive. A total of 429 of these locomotives were built at the PRR's Juniata Shops, spread across five subclasses; some had 80 in (2,030 mm) diameter driving wheels for service in level territory, while others had 68 in (1,730 mm) drivers for mountainous terrain. In the pre-1895 scheme, these locomotives were second class L.
Pennsylvania Railroad Class L1s were 2-8-2 "Mikado"-type steam locomotives that were used on the Pennsylvania Railroad during the early twentieth century. These 574 locomotives were manufactured between 1914 and 1919 by the railroad's own Juniata Shops as well as the Baldwin Locomotive Works (205) and the Lima Locomotive Works (25).
The Pennsylvania Railroad's steam locomotive class D3 comprised sixty-seven 4-4-0 locomotives intended for general passenger and freight service, constructed at the railroad's own Altoona Works during 1869–1881. They were the third standardized class of locomotives on the railroad and the most numerous of the early standard types; they shared many parts with other standard classes.
The Pennsylvania Railroad's steam locomotive class D4 (formerly Class C (anthracite), pre-1895) comprised thirty-seven anthracite-burning 4-4-0 locomotives intended for general passenger and freight service on the PRR's New Jersey lines, constructed at the railroad's own Altoona Works (now owned by Norfolk Southern) during 1873–1890. They shared many parts with other standard classes.
The Norfolk and Western M, M1 and M2 Classes were a series of 4-8-0 steam locomotives owned and operated by the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W). The M Classes were primarily assigned to pull the N&W's mainline freight trains, but following the introduction of the railway's Y Class 2-8-8-2's, the M Classes were reassigned to short line freight service.
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) class A1 was a class of 0-4-0 type steam locomotives.
The Pennsylvania Railroad G5 is a class of 4-6-0 steam locomotives built by the PRR's Juniata Shops in the mid-late 1920s. It was designed for passenger trains, particularly on commuter lines, and became a fixture on suburban railroads until the mid-1950s. The G5 was the largest and most powerful 4-6-0 locomotive, except for a single Southern Pacific 4-6-0 that outweighed it by 5,500 lb.
The Reading T-1 was a class of 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam locomotives owned by the Reading Company. They were rebuilt from 30 "I-10sa" class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type locomotives between 1945 and 1947. Out of the 30 rebuilt, 4 survive in preservation today, those being numbers 2100, 2101, 2102 and 2124.
Pennsylvania Railroad 5550 is a mainline duplex drive steam locomotive under construction in the United States. With an estimated completion by 2030, the locomotive will become the 53rd example of the Pennsylvania Railroad's T1 steam locomotive class and the only operational locomotive of its type, as well as the largest steam locomotive built in the United States since 1952. The estimated cost of PRR 5550 was originally $10 million, but an updated projected cost of $7 million was released with the acquisition of an existing long-haul tender from the Western New York Railway Historical Society in August 2017. Construction began in 2014 with the casting of the locomotive's keystone-shaped number plate. Major components, including two Boxpok drivers, the prow, the cab, third-course boiler, and fire door have been completed.
PRR I1s #4300 in its Baldwin Locomotive Works builders' photo, taken in 1922.
PRR I1sa #4483 currently being cosmetically restored at Hamburg, New York.
Tender view of 4483
4258 with 210F75a "Coast-to-Coast" long haul tender.
