Pennsylvania Railroad class T1: Difference between revisions
==Further reading==
==Further reading==
* {{Cite book|last=Staufer|first=Alvin F.|year=1962|title=Pennsy Power: Steam and Electric Locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1900-1957|edition=1st|publisher=Standard Print & Publishing|lccn=62-20878|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/pennsypowersteam00stau}}
* {{cite book|title=Pennsy Power|last=Staufer|first=Alvin|year=1962|publisher=Staufer|id=LOC 62-20872|pages=216–225}}
* {{cite book|title=Loco Profile 24: Pennsylvania Duplexii|first=Brian|last= Reed|date=June 1972|publisher=Profile Publications}}
* {{cite book|title=Loco Profile 24: Pennsylvania Duplexii|first=Brian|last= Reed|date=June 1972|publisher=Profile Publications}}
Class of 52 4-4-4-4 duplex locomotives
Pennsylvania Railroad T1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) class T1 duplex-drive 4-4-4-4 steam locomotives, introduced in 1942 with two prototypes and later in 1945-1946 with 50 production examples, were the last steam locomotives built for the PRR and arguably its most controversial. They were ambitious, technologically sophisticated, powerful, fast and distinctively streamlined by Raymond Loewy. However, they were also prone to wheelslip both when starting and at speed, in addition to being complicated to maintain and expensive to run.[citation needed] The PRR decided in 1948 to place diesel locomotives on all express passenger trains, leaving unanswered questions as to whether the T1’s flaws were solvable, especially taking into account that the two prototypes did not have the problems inherent to the production units.
An article appearing in a 2008 issue of the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society Magazine showed that inadequate training for engineers transitioning to the T1 may have led to excessive throttle applications, resulting in driver slippage.[7] Another root cause of wheelslip was faulty “spring equalization”: The stiffnesses of the springs supporting the locomotive over the axles were not adjusted to properly equalize the wheel-to-track forces.[8] The drivers were equalized together but not equalized with the engine truck. In the production fleet the PRR equalized the engine truck with the front engine and the trailing truck with the rear engine, which helped to solve the wheelslip problem.[9]
Development[edit]
Before the T1, the last production express passenger engine the PRR had produced was the K4s of 1914, produced until 1928. Two experimental enlarged K5 locomotives were produced in 1929, but they weren’t considered enough of an improvement to be worthwhile. After that, the PRR’s attention switched to electrification and the production of electric locomotives; apparently, the railroad decided that it did not need more steam locomotives.
However, the deficiencies of the K4s became more evident during the 1930s. The locomotives performed well, but as train lengths increased they proved to be underpowered; double headed K4s locomotives became the norm on many trains. The railroad had many locomotives available,…
Read More: Pennsylvania Railroad class T1: Difference between revisions