Hey guys,
Does anybody know anything about an EP-5 or an E-40. I believe they were orinally new haven’s and were later reapainted as penn central’s after the merger. Well, any info is appreciated.
Thanks,
David
Page 51, April 1980 Trains
Not with a bang, but a whimper
10 of these 4000 H.P., C-C motors were built by General Electric in 1955 as New Haven EP-5’s. Four were scrapped shortly after the Penn Central takeover; six made it into PC black but suffered from electrical troubles and deferred maintenance. The 4971’s rush-hour fire in Grand Central in 1973 wore out the patience of the Metropolitan Region, and the six survivors were banished to Harrisburg. There the 4973 and 4977 were refurbished for frieght service, but soon had a checkered career as oddballs and unknowns; and they lacked M.U. Soon they joined their four sisters in the Harrisburg dead line.
Now it is over - six E-40’s have been sent to Naporano, and today only the three remain. If you come back in a week they’ll be gone, these last of the real New Haven electrics, the last of a built-for-NH roster of 181 B-B’s to 2-C+C-2’s
http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/locoList.aspx?mid=1027
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/nh/nh.html
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc-l40.html
Hey Dale,
Thanks so much for the info and the great pics. This will surley help me. The last thing I need is an arial view.
Thanks,
David
nanaimo73 pretty much covered it.
One error in the Trains article is that the EP-5’s were built in 1954 - not 1955.
These were the first units to wear the McGinnis scheme of red-orange, black and white with the block NH logo.
I forgot to mention these were the first ever rectifier electrics also…
They were the first production rectifier electric locomotives.PRR got four test units from Baldwin-Westinghouse in 1951. Class E3b 4995-4996, and E2c 4997-4998. Now, they didn’t last long, being retired in the early '60s as E44s arrived, which were based on Virginian’s class EL-C, later NH EF4, then PC E33. Sorry, Dave. But the EP5s were reasonably successful as long as NH could afford to keep them maintained!
Thanks for the extra info,
David