Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Steam Locomotives |
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
tarting in the Museum’s early days as an endeavor by volunteers to save historic locomotives from deterioration, restoration has grown to a major program, combining a small team of employees and substantial volunteer support. Whenever possible, much of the work is performed in-house, while some tasks are outsourced. Housed in a specially-constructed restoration shop, the Museum’s restoration program is supported by modern machine tools and support facilities. Workers bring a wide range of skills, including but not limited to metalworking, woodworking, welding, painting and electrical. Characterized as a focused but enjoyable effort, the team has successfully undertaken a series of major projects. Emphasis is placed on restoring equipment to designated standards of appearance and material, balancing cosmetic authenticity with practicality in an era when the infrastructure that originally built this equipment no longer exists.
HawkinsRails thanks Thomas C. Ayers for use of his RRPA.net Pennsylvania steam photos below
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #94
Strasburg, Pa / Aug 1994 / RWH
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Pennsylvania Railroad #460
May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
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No. 460 was the last of the E6s model to be built, out of a total of 80 locomotives. From their construction in 1914 until 1920, the E6s ran mostly on the corridor between New York City and Washington, D.C. After being replaced by the K4s model, the E6s locomotives were relegated to charter services because of their high speed.
After returning from Europe and his transatlantic flight on June 11, 1927, Charles Lindbergh was promoted to Colonel and awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross by President Calvin Coolidge. Two rival newsreel companies, who were each vying to be the first to have their films of the ceremony shown in New York theaters, chartered a train and an aircraft, respectively, from Washington to New York City. No. 460 headed up the charter train, pulling only its tender, a baggage car and a passenger car. The train departed Washington at 1:14 PM and arrived at the Manhattan Transfer, outside of New York City, 2 hours and 56 minutes later. The final leg, through the tunnels underneath the Hudson River, was completed by an electric DD1. No. 460 averaged 82.7 miles per hour and is believed to had attained a maximum speed of 115 miles per hour, but there is no evidence to support the claim by the engineers. Even though the aircraft arrived in New York first, the film brought by No. 460 was in theaters hours before the other, thanks to a film processing lab on board the train's baggage car.
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from Trains & Travel magazine - Oct 1952 / collection
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Pennsylvania Railroad #520
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #1187
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #1223
May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Paradise, Pa / Apr 1988 / Bob Kise
Strasburg, Pa / Aug 1994 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / Aug 1971 / JCH
See also our complete Strasburg Rail Road Locomotives scrapbook in Preservation
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #2846
May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #3750
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
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Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2020 / RWH
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Strasburg, Pa / Aug 1994 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #5741
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Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
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Pennsylvania Railroad #6755
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
collection
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2020 / RWH
Wikipedia
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #7002
Pennsylvania Railroad 7002 is a class "E7s" 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type steam locomotive built for the Pennsylvania Railroad by their own Altoona Works in August 1902. Today, it is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally No. 8063, the PRR renumbered it to No. 7002 after the original, claimed to be a land-speed-record-setter, was scrapped. It is the only survivor of its class and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The E7s-class was created by replacing the slide valves above the cylinders on the E2a, E2b and E2c-classes with piston valves. Unlike the E2, the E2a, b, c and subsequent E7s class used Belpaire firebox instead of a "radial stay" firebox. The original No. 7002 was an E2-class locomotive built in August 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works in Altoona, Pennsylvania. On June 15, 1902, the Pennsylvania Railroad inaugurated its new 18-hour train service from New York City to Chicago, the Pennsylvania Special-forerunner to the famed Broadway Limited. 7002 was coupled to the train as the replacement locomotive in Crestline, Ohio. Delays east of Mansfield caused it to depart Crestline 25 minutes late.
No. 7002 was claimed to have achieved 127.1 miles per hour near Elida but this speed was based solely on two passing times recorded by separate observers at two different points (AY Tower and Elida) just 3 miles apart, and it is difficult to obtain even a general indication of a train's speed from signal box registers (Speed on the East Coast Main Line p 69, by P Semmens). The train arrived on time in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was scrapped in 1935. No. 8063 was an E2a-class also built in 1902 by the Altoona Works. It was upgraded to the E7s-class in 1916, the engine was retired in 1939.
No. 8063 was renumbered, altered to resemble No. 7002 and placed on exhibit as the "world's fastest steam engine" at the 1939 New York World's Fair and the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948–49.
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from The Steam Locomotive Directory of North America - J. David Conrad / collection
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Pennsylvania Railroad #7688
May 2024 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / Aug 1994 / RWH
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
"John Stevens" replica
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
"John Bull" replica
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Built: 1940 (locomotive) 1927 (tender) by Pennsylvania Railroad, Altoona, Pennsylvania
he original John Bull was purchased by the Camden and Amboy Railroad from British locomotive builder Robert Stephenson and Company. Shipped to America in parts, and without any instructions, young engineer Isaac Dripps assembled the locomotive in ten days. Many modifications were soon made, including a tender, a headlight, and the first cowcatcher.
When it absorbed the Camden & Amboy Railroad in 1871, the Pennsylvania Railroad acquired the original John Bull, restoring it for the Centennial Exposition in 1876. In 1884, the Pennsylvania Railroad donated the locomotive to the Smithsonian Institution, which allowed them to operate it at fairs and expositions for more than 50 years. For the 1940 New York World’s Fair, preservation concerns prevented the railroad from operating the original John Bull, so they built a working replica, which also ran at the 1948-1949 Chicago Railroad Fair.
The replica locomotive was used under steam for a 1946 Pennsylvania promotional film and at the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair. Once in the collection of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, the replica John Bull was restored and operated under its own power several times between 1983 and 1999.
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / Jul 2024 / Gragg Robinson
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Virginia & Truckee #20 "Tahoe"
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1895 Official Guide ad / collection
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he Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia led the world in locomotive production for half a century. With 1,445 employees in 1870, Baldwin was building hundreds of locomotives each year, including this one built for the Virginia and Truckee Railroad in Nevada, where it hauled silver ore and bullion from the mines of the Comstock Lode.
The ornately decorated “Tahoe” once featured brass trim, finished woodwork, gold leaf, and a bonnet style smokestack (an original feature that was restored) as part of the original Baldwin paint scheme, typical of the “Mogul” 2-6-0 locomotives of the 1870s. During its lifetime, No. 20’s fuel supply changed from wood (1875) to coal (1907) to oil (1911).
In the 19th century, Baldwin Locomotive Works built thousands of steam locomotives that were operated throughout the United States and around the world.
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Bethlehem Steel Company #111
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Leetonia Railway #1
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Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
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Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Moore Keppel & Company #4
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
W.T. Smith Lumber #4
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Strasburg, Pa / May 2024 / RWH
Philadelphia & Reading “Rocket”
ompleted in March 1838, the Rocket was one of eight steam locomotives imported from England by the Philadelphia & Reading Railway from 1838-1841 from London-based Braithwaite, Milner & Company. The others included Firefly, Spitfire, Comet, Dragon, Helca, Planet, and Gem. Rocket was delivered by ship to Philadelphia in March 1838, and then hauled up the Schuylkill Canal to the foot of Penn Street in Reading, PA. From there, Rocket was pulled by a team of horses to the terminus of the Reading-to-Pottstown line at Seventh and Penn Streets, where it was placed into passenger service by July 1838. By the mid-1840s, Rocket was relegated to maintenance-of-way service, and it was also used to move and sort cars in Reading, PA, where it remained until the mid-1860s. During this time, Rocket was adapted to burn anthracite coal, between 1846-1848. Rocket was also converted into a saddle-tank locomotive with an enclosed cab by the early 1860s. Finally, it was transferred to the wharves at Port Richmond in Philadelphia, where it worked until retirement in March 1879, after covering more than 310,164 miles in its more than 40 years of service.