PRR Diesel Engines of the early 50's

[Anonymous]

My club is about to do a layout of the PRR in our area. It will be the transition period. I need to know what were some of the first Road diesels, other than gp7/9, PRR used?

[dehusman]

Pretty much anything except the Ingersoll Rand boxcabs was used by the PRR. They had a little of everything.

Dave H.

[ndbprr]

The first PRR diesels were E7's about 1946 and were run in the Detroit Arrow from harrisburg to Detroit. They came on board at the same time as the T-1's and were assigned that run so they wouldn't muck up the Blue Ribbon fleet to Chicago. When they needed the flanges turned from wear the Harrisburg shop foreman was reported as commenting hey must have had soft wheels because none of the T-1's needed wheels turned. When they saw the mileage the diesels were racking up compared to the T-1's and others the game was over because the difference in mileage was astronomical! Because the PRR was experimenting with steam (T-1, S-1, S-2, Q-1, Q-2) they were late to the dieselization and then bought everything in sight from every builder. The earleist EMD units were f-3's and the Winter 2004 Keystone and the Spring 2005 issue are the definitive definition of PRR F units with an incredible amount of information. Bothe issues are devoted entirely to the topic and the Winter edietion is available from the PRRT&HS. They also bought Alco RS-1's and PA's, Fa's, FM cab units both 4 and 6 wheel varieties, Baldwin sharks both 15's and 16's plus the monster BP-20 passenger engines and the centipedes. The PRR also owned just about every variety of early switcher with the first one a Winton powered EMD (SW-1?) in 1937. Dependent on what year you want to model you can find everything in Stauffers Pennsy Power. It lists units by number, renumbering prior to the NYC merger, purchase date and all mechanical details. Surprisingly over the years the PRR bought more models from Alco then any other diesel producer. NOTE - not the largest number of diesels but the number of different models. The standard railroad of the world threw away the book when they dieselized!

[dknelson]

I have read, and perhaps it was in Stauffer, that in the early diesel days the PRR had the practice of matching models even if they could MU with others. That is, they ran F3s with other F3s, not with F7s, and so on. Obviously over time they mixed and matched with the rest of the industry, always excepting that Baldwin engines did not MU with others due to a proprietary method of MUing. Exactly when they stopped this practice I do not know but your club may want to do the research on this point if authenticity is important
Dave Nelson
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

dehusman's response really says it all about PRR in the early Diesel era...they never met a Diesel salesman they didn't like.

I'm not sure about Central PA but I grew up in Southwestern PA (30 miles south of Pittsburgh) and RS-3s were standard on the many mine runs in that area. You could see F3s, F7s, and GP9s if you watched the main but all I ever saw running out of Shire Oaks was RS-3s; usually in pairs but sometimes three units would be seen.

[ndbprr]

The current issue of the Keystone offers an explaination for the matching of engines. EMD's early traction motors weren't as good as Westinghouse motors and couldn't handle as much abuse or loading. A couple of improvements that went on continuously through the F3 to F7 progression brought them up to a comparable level. However when mixed the lashup had to be operated as if the group was equal to the least of the units so it made sense to keep common units together. If an F3 and an F7 were used together the F3 had to lead. It was easier just to keep them isolated from each other. The PRR really dieselized when they purchased the GP-9s. It was well over 300 that they bought and were used for through freights. The GP-7's were for locals. Bill Volkmer has said that the GP-9's saved the railroad from an even earlier bankruptcy since they wree so dependable. Don't forget a GP-9B or two also. The PRR typically ran 3-5 GP-9s per train and sometimes even more. They were the answer the railroad was looking for in regard to flexibility and service.

[Anonymous]

The Pennsy Power books are invaluable in learning about PRR diesels. Also the several volumes of the Diesel Years (I'm at work and can't look at the shelf to get the exact title, but there are I think seven volumes in this series) are great in that they have tons of photos of early PRR diesels in action. If your club is going to do this, then perhaps these books would make great references not only for what units to get, but how to paint and weather them also.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the great info! Two of our members are with the towns historical society so hopefully they can find some local pics!

When did the SD's come into play?

[ndbprr]

Which ones? The two SD-7's for the Maidson incline were fairly early. The SD-9's were early 50's but were only used in transfer service. The Sd-35's, 40's and 45's are too late for your era.