19-09-28a PHOTOS: Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania - Inside

I'm not a fan of railroad museums in the same way I'm not a fan of zoos. The photo angles are usually poor, the photo opportunities aren't very unique, the equipment isn't doing anything, the equipment isn't going anywhere and, at least to me, the environment doesn't seem very meaningful. Perhaps more importantly I find most Museums to be an exhaustible resource in that the utility of repeat viewings rapidly decreases because the collections are largely static. These reasons explain I logged a gap of nearly 20 years between visits to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, despite it having a superb collection of rolling stock from my favorite railroad. In fact it had been so long since I had been to the RR Museum of PA that my previous trip was documented with a film camera. The good news was that my lack of attention meant that I had plenty of things to take photos of without incurring wasteful duplication. While the collection has seen some unfortunate removals, notably the Pioneer III's, it had also gained items such as the Amtrak AEM-7 and E60 with others seeing cosmetic restorations. With something like a $25 admission, putting off a return visit for two decades was clearly a high value proposition ;-)

You can see all of the photos from this set here (mirror) and unlike most of my photos photo sets that are mostly signals and infrastructure, this set is non-stop rolling stock.

For promotional purposes the museum has parked some of its collection on a pair of tracks outside the main facility. There seems to be a sort of history of Northeast Corridor traction going as three of the four items comprise mainstays of NEC electric haulage, A PRR DD1 (1911-1933), a PRR GG1 (1934-1980) and an Amtrak AEM-7 (1981-2016). PRR DD1 #3937/3936 was one of 33 of its class built for the 1911 Penn Station electrification project. Each end of a DD1 was effectively an independent locomotive which resulted in the PRR giving a separate numbering each end (locomotives were then dispatched using a separate Electrified Zone Number). The rod and jackshaft driven steam locomotive style driving wheels were powered by a single monster 2100hp Westinghouse DC motor inside the box cab carbody for a total of 4200hp, which was a lot in 1911. Since being parked outside since at least 2010 ##3937/3936 has suffered from significant vandalism and deterioration from the elements.

Pennsylvania Railroad prototype GG1 #4800 was built in 1934 as the first of 139 other units that would follow and was the only one constructed with riveted skin. Identified as a national Mechanical Engineering Landmark, #4800 is actually owned by the Lancaster Chapter NRHS and is only on display at the museum. For this reason the historically priceless locomotive sits outside in the elements and a generally unrestored condition.

I had had been under the impression that Amtrak AEM-7AC #915 had suffered from a fire, but I guess I was wrong. Fortunately a DC AEM-7 example (#945) was preserved by the Illinois Railway Museum. 

Moving inside the museum the train hall is divided between the original, low ceiling dimly hit half and the newer, high ceiling brightly lit half. The hall has four through tracks, with a lot of space devoted to wooden equipment that would not do well outside as well as equipment that has been cosmetically restored. 

PRR E2/E7 Light Atlantic #7002 was re-numbered prior to preservation in honor of the original #7002 which set a world land speed record in 1902 of 127mph. General anti-PRR sentiment resulted in the probably record never being acknowledged. Superheating and other improvements led to many E2 and E3 class Atlantics being reclassified as E7's before being retired between the 1930's and 1950's.

The PRR Class A5s were the largest 0-4-0 switchers ever built and represented the PRR's propensity to beef up existing locomotive types as opposed to investing in unproven technology. Built into the 1920's, the A5s' were an absolute monster with 38 sq ft of grate area, power reverse and superheating. #94 is the sole remaining example of this class and has had the sheet metal around the boiler removed due to asbestos abatement.

The parade of thicc PRR locomotives continues with G5s 4-6-0 Ten Wheeler #5741. The 90 G5 locomotives were the largest and most powerful series production 4-6-0's ever built and formed the backbone of the PRR's non-electrified suburban services until the arrival of diesels. Most commonly encountered around Pittsburgh, G5s also operated north of Baltimore, in South Jersey and on Long Island where the LIRR operated its own fleet of 31.

The 2-8-0 Consolidation was the GP38 of the PRR's steam era freight fleet with over 3000 of all types on the roster with 1700 of those being class H6 like #2846 shown here. This insane number of locomotives hints at the generally low availability of steam traction with large periods of down time needed to service the boiler, which was further impacted by the need for frequent shop overhauls or other major repair work.

This chonky beast is PRR Class E6 Heavy Atlantic #460, notable for beating a commercial airliner in a race to deliver the newsreel footage of Charles Lindbergh's return to Washington, DC to New York area cinemas. The victory proved the death knell for the fad of air transportation and ultimately lead to the continent spanning high speed rail network we enjoy today. Unlike the G5s', the E6 Atlantics were only the second largest type ever built, with the trophy belonging to the Milwaukee Road's A class. They could still produce over 2400hp and were in service well into the 1950's.

The D16 class of 4-4-0 "American" type locomotives were some of the last built in North America, with PRR production only ceasing in 1910. Many of the nearly 500 built lasted up until the 1930's with a handful, including #1223 surviving in service on the DelMarVa Peninsula. #1223 performed for many years at the adjacent Strasburg Railroad along with #7002 until arbitrary FRA regulations in 1989 declared their boilers to have insufficient metal thickness, despite that having been how they and all other PRR locomotives had been originally built.

Reading MU car #800 was the first member of the fleet of 100 cars that would equip the Philadelphia suburban operations out of Reading Terminal. Unlike many other Reading Mus that have been preserved for tourist service, #800 has had most of its electric equipment preserved, although the transformer was removed despite being air cooled.

Electric locomotives stored inside include PRR GG1 #4935 and PRR E44 #4465. #4935 most recently ventured out of the Museum for a special trip to Washington, DC to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Union Station in 2008. #4465 was the last unit of a 66 strong fleet built in 1960 to replace the aging P5 class of 1931. With later members of the E44a subclass achieving 5000hp, the class was retired by Conrail after about half of its expected service life due to a decision to end electric operations in 1981. Sold to NJT and later Amtrak, #4465 performed limited duties before being donated to the museum. 

The cab of #4935 was accessible for viewing. This engine had been restored by Amtrak to its PRR appearance shortly before retirement and is still in great condition today. Like other PRR 25hz AC electrics, power was applied via a 22 position controller that operated a transformer tap changer to supply 22 different voltages to the 12 traction motors resulting in smooth acceleration at the hands of a skilled engineer.

In terms of heritage diesels the Pennsylvania RR was well represented in the indoor hall with PRR E7 #4901 in a tuscan red passenger scheme, PRR GP9 #7009 and Conrail #2233, a former PRR GP30 complete with its original 567D engine and turbo. 

 

 The RR Museum of PA has also managed to collect a full set of geared steam locomotives used mainly on rough logging railroads with steep grades. These locomotives came in one of three varieties, Shay, Climax and Heisler and the museum has one of each.

Like most railroad museums there was a smattering of signaling display including a GRS unit lever CTC console from the Reading's POTTSVILLE JCT and an old school Reading Style US&S target color light signal. I would not be surprised if Reading and Northern Andy Muller made a play to get the console and put it back into service.

Well that's it for Part 1, in Part 2 we will venture into the outdoor exhibit hard and also cover the ride back to Philly via SEPTA from Paoli.