The E6s may have been the equal of many Pacifics, and looked great at a time when a lot of PRR steam looked pretty woebegone. I, once again, kiss the Godfather's ring.
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I'm already feeling like a heel thinking about leaving this comment, but... that's not a K4s. It's a E6 Atlantic.
But! There's good news. That very engine is undergoing restoration at the Railroad Museum of PA. It'll look that good again in the near future.
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| Posted by JohnR on March 17, 2014 | |
I'm not a PRR expert, but I reckon that looks like an E6 4-4-2?
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Not a K4 but still a great photo!
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The photo shows the 460, the "Lindbergh engine" that is now preserved in Strasburg, PA, an E6 Atlantic, it is being restored since 2010. famous for racing an aircraft to NYC, also ran for the LIRR.
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My bad for calling it a K4, think this engine was assigned to the Nellie Bly out of the Camden Engine Terminal. If it was running a fan trip probably would have been wiped down a bit...anyway thanks for the sharp eyes..
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| Posted by Sport! on March 18, 2014 | |
What is the black piping in the background and why does it have "horse shoe curves" in it?
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My guess about that piping having those horseshoe curves every so often is to allow for expansion and contraction in the gas/fluid that is in it to prevent the pipe from bursting right next to the tracks during temperature extremes. My guess only, someone on here probably worked that exact yard during that exact time and can tell more.
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| Posted by FSWood on March 18, 2014 | |
If you have access to Staufer's 1962, reprinted in to the 1980s, book Pennsy Power, there is on p.127, a photo caption recounting an engineer's description of running E6s locos. They rode well, were easy to hand fire, never had stokers, and were fast, very fast. Fast enough that I'd gather they never did know how fast it could ultimately go. There is this interesting line in the caption, "Speed Queens rode beautifully, but at 75 m.p.h. started a tipsy side motion that many times scared crews, as they felt top heavy. Once up to 80 m.p.h. they settled back down and could keep right on climbing with no effort or effect on riding quality."
Sounds to me like one awesome machine. If I had the power to change history one of these instead of Mallard would have the steam world speed record. Oh to dream.
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John Thanks for posting these classic photos.
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