|
|
 Posted - May 27 2015 : 9:57:33 PM
|
Hey guys, I'm in AP Statistics in school, and for my final project I'm analyzing trends in the makeup of the Pennsy's diesel roster over time. Rosters and build/purchase dates for all units were very easy to find, of course, but I'm having much more difficulty locating info on when units were stricken from the roster! I have a fairly good idea of what models survived through to PC, and I've been able to find retirement info for some well-known Pennsy specialties (centipedes, PA's, sharks, the A6 boxcabs, etc.), but by-and-large I can't find any useful indications of when, say, various switchers were retired. So...
Does ANYONE know where I can locate comprehensive records (or any records at all) of the retirement, sale and/or scrapping of diesels by the PRR?
I'm asking around on a few forums. The project is due next monday and I need this info to complete my data table, so if anyone has any ideas, let me know quick! Thanks all!
--CRC
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 930 ~
Member Since: January 25 2012 ~
Last Visit: August 23 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - May 27 2015 : 10:25:25 PM
|
You might try various PRR-related railroad historical societies. I'm assuming there is a PRRHS, but the Conrail and/or PC HS may be able to shed light as well. I mention that because I can't think of any other group that would particularly care about the disposition of Pennsy units - and I'm sure they would.
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
|
|
Posted - May 27 2015 : 10:25:46 PM
|
much of this info is in the book pennsy diesels 1924-1968 by ken douglas.
off the top of my head, many locomotives were retired on or about ntheir 15th birthday when the equipment trusts expired. many of the early diesels did not age well, particularly the fm and Baldwin units. the pas were retired in 1962, along with the centipedes. the sharks lasted a little longer, with the bp20s going about 1965, and the last of the freight sharks retired in 1967.
the f units started to be traded n on the gp30s, and this trend continued through the end of the pennsy. by the time of the pc merger, most of the f units were gone, and only the fp7s had no retirements before 1968.
switchers fared a bit better, with most of them, of all makes, running under penn central.
so did the emd and alco roadswitcher types, with only wrecked units retired before 19698.
hope this helps.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 597 ~
Member Since: December 22 2013 ~
Last Visit: November 21 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - May 28 2015 : 6:49:45 PM
|
Thanks, jward! Very helpful 
JNXT, I did try contacting the PRRT&HS (technical & historical society) and am awaiting their reply.
--CRC
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 930 ~
Member Since: January 25 2012 ~
Last Visit: August 23 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 02 2015 : 1:39:35 PM
|
this is a little late for your report, but may help shed a little light on things.
often there are two dates, the official retirement date, and the date the locomotive was actually taken out of service. the two dates are almost never the same. I am not sure how pennsy did things, but under conrail there was an official retirement date, and a "set aside" date when the process of retirement began. paperwork for retirement evidently took some time to complete, and locomotives could sit in the deadlines for months while retirement was finalized. during this time, locomotives were often taken to Altoona to be stripped of usable parts before being retired and sold or scrapped.
often the oddballs and in the case of the pennsy, the shop queens, would be stored out of service long before even the set aside date, as it was too expensive to keep them running. first generation locomotives were often financed for 15 years, and these locomotives would be retained until the equipment trusts were up. when the trusts were up, the railroad would purchase the locomotive types they wanted to keep, and discard the rest. the official retirement dates often coincided with the expiration dates of the trusts.
this is a little off topic, but penn central and new York central had a somewhat shady practice of swapping locomotive numbers so that the trust holders weren't aware that one of their locomotives had been wrecked. the full extent of these renumberings may never be known, but numerous examples appear ini various roster books. I personally, in my inventories of stored units in Altoona in the 1980s, have come across some number swaps that are documented in no published rosters, and in one case came across a switcher with an emd builders plate that corresponded to no serial number on conrail or any of its predecessors. Juniata shops would often remove the builders plate from units they worked on, but emd locomotives have an order number stamped in the frame which makes it relatively easy to find out their original number by comparing it to emd documents some of us have access to.
one known number swap, off the top of my head, was conrail/pc 7452, listed as a gp9 but actually one of the gp7s in disguise. the corresponding gp9 was apparently sold off under the gp7's number and rebuilt by another railroad.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 597 ~
Member Since: December 22 2013 ~
Last Visit: November 21 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - June 02 2015 : 7:54:24 PM
|
That is fascinating stuff jward, especially the info about PC/NYC number swapping.
http://tycodepot.com/
|
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
