2008 - Trains and Trolleys in Pennsylvania

A selection of photos from the Steamtown National Historic Site, the Electric City Trolley Museum (both in Scranton), the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, Horseshoe Curve and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.
Canadian Pacific 2317 exits the roundhouse and moves onto the turntable at Steamtown. This 4-6-2 steam locomotive was built by the Montreal Locomotive Works in 1923. During our visit it was being used to used to pull passenger cars on a tour of the Steamtown yard.
This Reading #2124 T-1 4-8-4 Northern class steam locomotive was built in 1947 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. It should not be confused with the Pennsylvania Railroad's T-1 which is an entirely different loco.
One of the largest locomotives ever constructed, this Union Pacific 'Big Boy' 4-8-8-4 articulated steam locomotive was one of 25 built between 1941 and 1944 by Alco. All were coal burning, with large grates to burn low quality Wyoming coal from mines owned by the railroad.
This little 600 horsepower diesel-electric switcher, built in Cleveland by General Motors in 1935, is believed to be the oldest surviving EMC locomotive.
Painted in its final SEPTA livery, this is one of the original 1931 Brill Bullets on the Philadelphia & Western line. This car was constructed by J.G. Brill and is now on display outside the Electric City Trolley Museum. More on the Bullets and the P&W can be found here.
We took a nice trip on this old Red Arrow Car No. 76, built by J.G. Brill in 1926 for the Philadelphia and West Chester Traction Co., later Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Co. As a kid, I occasionally got to ride on these big interurban-style trolleys. This car was retired in 1976 and now operates as an excursion ride at the Electric City Trolley Museum.
Philadelphia Rapid Transit #8534 was the last of 50 single-ended steel cars ordered in 1926 from J.G Brill. When I was growing up, these PTC trolleys were a common sight. I rode them all the time and as a child, used to fall asleep to the screeches of the wheels - heard through open windows in summer - when the old Route 75 trolley made a tight turn two blocks from where I lived.
At the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona, a lonely Tuscan-colored GG1 sits outside in the weather. Number 4913 was built at the Altoona Works (Juniata shops) in January, 1942. It was a one of six GG1's repainted Tuscan Red in 1952 for use with the stainless steel cars used on 'The Senator' and on the 'Congressional Limited' trains. More information on the mighty GG1 electric locomotive is posted here.
'Mountain View' was the observation car used on the PRR Broadway Limited. It was built in 1948 by Pullman. The Broadway Limited was inaugurated in 1912 and outlasted the Pennsylvania Railroad, operating under Amtrak until 1995. The name referred not to Broadway in Manhattan, but rather to the "broad way" of the Pennsylvania Railroad's four-track right of way along a large portion of the route. I have an O-gauge model of this Broadway Limited square-ended observation car; go here and scroll down to see it.
This PRR Class X29L steel boxcar was built in the 1920s.
This PRR Class N5 Caboose was built in 1929 and is on display at the Railroaders Memorial Museum.
The famous Horseshoe Curve was completed in 1854 by the Pennsylvania Railroad, as an alternative to constructing a railroad through the summit of the Allegheny Mountains. It has been in continuous operation since that time. I've traveled by rail over the Horseshoe Curve at least twice - once on the PRR Aerotrain - and had never seen the curve from the ground before.
Pennsylvania Railroad 7048 is a preserved EMD GP9 diesel electric locomotive - built in the 1950s - and is on display at Horseshoe Curve.
At Horseshoe Curve, there is a little funicular railway - painted in Pennsy colors - to save people the trouble of climbing thousands of steps from ground level to the top.
'Old Rivets' is the nickname of the first prototype GG1 electric locomotive, built in 1934. Subsequent GG1s were of welded, rather than riveted construction. As the builder plate shows, the big locomotive was built by Baldwin with General Electric engines. Rivets was retired in 1979. It is on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg. I have posted another Rivets photo - and more trains from the museum - on this page.
Pennsylvania Railroad 6755 is a 4-8-2 'Mountain' type steam locomotive, built by the Pennsy's Altoona Works in 1930. It was mostly used for freight service. It is on display outside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Other Pages Of Interest