Class D/G1 (Locobase 1135)

One of the classes established by Alexander J. Cassatt after he became Master of Machinery. Duty was general freight service. G1A was slightly lighter at 82,590 lb. Built between 1868 and 1873.

Class E/G2 (Locobase 1136)

Data from diagram scanned in by Robert Schoenberg of http://prr.railfan.net . One of the classes established by Alexander J. Cassatt after he became Master of Machinery. Duty was heavy freight service in the mountains, for which the G1 was modified with a larger firebox and smaller drivers.

Class G (Locobase 11501)

Data from Baldwin Locomotive Works Specification for Engines, 1903, as digitized by the DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University - their catalogue Vol 26, p. 243. Works numbers were 23768, 23779, 23872 in February 1904.

See Locobase 4811 for a description of this Colorado sugar-beet railway.

Class G4A (Locobase 3176)

Data from diagram scanned in by Robert Schoenberg of http://prr.railfan.net . Unusually for this period, this design had a radial-stay firebox. 8 were later superheated, in the process being fitted with piston valves and Walschaerts valve gear.

Class G5s (Locobase 118)

90 built for Pennsy in 1923-1925; 31 identical locos for the LIRR from 1924-1929.

Like all Pennsys, this design had a Belpaire firebox. (See Locobase 32 for a comment on the unique design of Pennsy's Belpaire firebox.)

The Railway Mechanical Engineer (RME) of January 1924 (pp 16-18) explains that local Pennsy traffic sometimes had to scale relatively steep grades. As traffic had grown over the previous decade, the railroad more frequently had to resort to double-heading its Atlantics.

As was usually the case with initial reports, RME reported the G5s was meeting exacting schedules and could run at 70 mph because the counterbalancing allowed for such speeds on a relatively low-drivered machine.

Once in service for a while, however, the class was considered to be rough riding, hard on water, hard to fire, and not suited for heavy snow because of the low placement of the air pump. It may at first seem hard to square this set of criticisms with Edson's verdict (Keystone Steam & Electric, 1974) that they were "...very successful not only on the Pittsburgh Division, but also in New Jersey and on the Long Island Railroad, which bought 31 of their own." But given the high factor of adhesion that Edson observes "...was needed for good acceleration from numerous stops in such service,", the ill effects on the crew were apparently more than offset by the engine's ability to keep a schedule.

Class GG (Locobase 11439)

Data from "Locomotive Building," The Railroad Gazette, Vol XLII, No 18 (11 November 1906), p 121.

As delivered, these Ten-wheelers had a representive set of component suppliers, as shown in the table:

Air brakes Westinghouse American

Axles Steel to Penn RR requirements

Bell ringer "Little Giant"

Boiler lagging Keasbey & Mattlson

Brake-beams National-Hollow

Brake-shoes Company standard

Couplers Kelso

Headlights Star

Injectors Nathan and Simplex

Journal bearings Phosphor bronze

Piston rod packings United States

Valve rod packing American Locomotive Co.

Safety valve Kunkle

Sanding devices Leach

Sight-feed lubricators Nathan

Springs Union Spring Co.

Steam gauges Crosby

Steam heat equipment Company's standard

Tires, tender wheels Schoen steel

Tlres, driving and truck wheels Standard

All were superheated later and taken into the Pennsy.

Class GG-4 / G34 (Locobase 9513)

Data from "Keegan's Ten Wheel Locomotive," Railway and Locomotive Engineering, August 1899, page 378. Baldwin works numbers ran 16611-16614 in March 1899, 17506-17509 in February 1900.

This set of Ten-wheelers was designed by the GR & I's Master Mechanic James Keegan as dual-service engines. In the summer resort season, they pulled heavy passenger trains; at other times they hauled freight. In the latter capacity, they were described in freight service as "...doing exceptionally well."

The railroad began as a lumber-exploiting line in Michigan that connected Grand Rapids with Cedar Springs (20 miles to the north) but eventually extended from Mackinaw City on the Straits of Mackinac to New Paris, Ohio, which was just a short distance from Cincinnati on the Pennsylvania.

According to Wikipedia, depletion of the northern Michigan forests in the 1880s prompted a successful transition to a tourism-based economy and the GR & I's nickname of "The Fishing Line" (Locobase wonders how long they cast about for ideas before that one hit.)

Class VG6a / G26a (Locobase 5845)

Builder information from B Rumary list supplied by Allen Stanley in March 2004. Works numbers were 1588-1589 (December 1895). Originally procured by the Terre Haute & Indianapolis and renumbered by them once. As 508-509, came under Vandalia control. The Vandalia Line, itself an amalgam of railroads principally including the TH & I, was taken into the Pennsylvania system in 1917.

Profiled in the American Engineer and Railroad Journal of April 1896, this cross-compound design used the "Pittsburgh" system. "One feature of this system," said the anonymous author of the article,"is the independent exhaust from the high-pressure cylinder." Working simple at low speeds, the author goes on to explain, offers substantial benefits on those divisions of the line that have heavy grades "...as it permits the engine to take a heavier load over the limiting grade of the division, a load which can usually be easily handled on the remainder of the division."

Stacked against the other American TenWheelers of the decade, this design is about in the middle of the pack.

Class X (Locobase 1153)

Used in passenger express service with heavy trains.

Class X/G3 (Locobase 3175)

Data from diagram scanned in by Robert Schoenberg of http://prr.railfan.net . Belpaire firebox, considerable growth allowance suggested by the high factor of adhesion.

The G5s class was used for both fast and slow freight and passanger service. They were never built by the hundreds as were most other Pennsy wheel arrangments. Most early models were freight haulers capable of out-pulling the standard American (4-4-0) type. Later designs matured into fast pasenger service.

None of the Pennsy 4-6-0 Standard Designs were built between the years 1901 and 1923. However, there were a few odds and ends scattered about. Two examples were operated by the Long Island Rail Road and Grand Rapids & Indiana.

In the year 1924, the Pennsy locomotive inventory listed 164 Ten-Wheelers for passenger service and four for freight service. This was a period of change for the 4-6-0 as the new G5s class was being built by Juniata. The 4-6-0 might have well been developed into larger, high speed machines for use along level sections, but the railroad preferred to build 4-4-2s instead. All were built with superheaters and power reverse gear, but never got stokers or feedwater heaters.