The Trail Blazer joined PRR’s Fleet of Modernism in 1939. It was arguably the most successful Fleet of Modernism train, popular and highly profitable. K4s was the trains prime power before S1 was put into revenue service in 1941. Streamlined coaches towed by the best Pacific in the world, should I can it a “semi-streamliner”?
Standard consist was 9 cars, like the Broadway. It was increased to 14 cars when S1 and T1 prototype were available during the peak of wartime traffic.
Yes, that is a K4; PRR #3876 with an oddball smoke lifter! I believe it was the reason why this photo was taken. Beside #3876, #3380 was equipped a smaller smoke lifter and #5038 was equipped an “NYCentral” style smoke lifter. According to Pennsy Power I, all of these smoke lifter were removed from the engine post-war.
There was no official record about why Pennsy never install smoke lifter on their steam engine post-war but our forumer thought that it was a money problem.
Speaking of #5038, it was seen (in photo and video) double headed with streamlined K4s hauling long consist.
I’d suspect that K4 smoke lifter installation may be a “one-time, what-if” experiment. From what I’ve read how well smoke lifters worked depended on the locomotive configuration and how fast it went, among other things.
I suppose the PRR tried them and decided they weren’t worth it.
That makes sense, Wayne. I believe it was some sort of research and experiment for Pennsy to understand the effect of smoke deflectors in different shape and form. The Classes that really needed to equip smoke deflector were probably the S2 and T1s, not the K4s, but as Overmod stated that the effect and usefulness of the smoke deflector are inconclusive.
PRR S2 #6200 a.k.a the “Volcano” and the “Big Whoosh”, the engine that made me become a Pennsy Fan [8)]:
Another pic of a “semi-streamliner”. A good old K4s hauling a full consist of streamlined heavyweight betterment car, the Trail Blazer.
Some HD and adjusted photo of Fleet of Modernism hauling by non-streamlined engines:
The “South Wind” hauling by a K4s.
PRR S2 powered the Trail Blazer since mid-1945
A comment was made on the Facebook by a gentleman who is the son of an engineer of Franklin that Pennsy gave utmost attention to the NYCentral who inaugurated the Empire State Express before the attack of Pearl Harbour changed everything.
PRR did purchases at least 30 P85R coaches from Budd by 1940 (in the 2nd lot of new lightweight equipment) and streamlined (only) four K4s for the "So
These pics were taken in 1938-39 (80 years ago) but mirrored. I would like to share them with our forumer after some touch-up and adjustment of them.
===
At least one of the pic was taken at Fort Wayne and the rest of them were taken in the electrified section of PRR’s network.
In this photo, it is probably an all-coach train consist leading by the PRR 4?10, a PB70 Passenger-baggage car which was seen in the consist of the Jeffersonian. Note more than half of the consist had no skirting under the car but carrying the new FOM livery.
Is that a P70 arch roof coach after the coach-baggage? I have never seen a modernized P70 with FOM livery but without skirting when new.
Pullman heavyweight 12-1 sleeper “Potter Palmer” was carrying the Fleet of Modernism livery. The train is powered by a GG1.
PRR #1188 “Skyline” was leading a train consisted of an ACF made FoM lightweight Pullman 4-4-2 sleeper (Please correct me if I am wrong, thanks!)
After 80 years, the Coach Yard finally releases the HO scale PRR betterment car set including P70gsr paired window and the twin-unit dining car ( inspired by SP Daylight’s dining car). Without these cars, a collector cannot create a complete consist of many FoM trains which was using betterment cars.
According to “The Car of Pullman” by Joe Welsh. P121-122, Mr. Welsh mentioned that public reaction to the lightweight equipment of 1938 of both PRR and NYC were so positive and successful that, quote from P.121:
" …PRR take delivery of 84 new Pullman through mid-1939, with some variation of the floor plan…".
Another quote from P.122 "… So successful were the 1938 re-equipping that both railroads (NYC & PRR) ordered an additionalcar for delivery in 1939 and 1940. NYC augmented its lightweight fleet with 82 more sleeping cars in this period, while PRR added 56 cars to its 1938 Fleet of Modernism by the end of 1940." (quote end)
In Joe Welsh another book, he didn’t mention the additional order, but 52 Pullman built lightweight cars plus 4 Budd built Diners (Total=56 cars). So I thought the total number of prewar Pullman, ACF, Budd built lightw
Those comments on IMDb about this movie are mostly right, watching the original film is like eating a pizza baked in the microwave oven in the next morning after an overnight party. [pi]
I saw this photo of the “state of the art” D85R dining car of 1939, PRR 4501, in a back issue of the Keystone Magazine which shows the unique interior design of this Budd built dining car:
The dining car layout of D82R (#4500,#4501), with two rolls of horizontal dining table seats separated by the corridor in the middle, was probably an early attempt of PRR to increase the number of tables for passengers who didn’t want to din with strangers on the same table, an idea suggested by the traveler during marketing research, but I forgot which RR conducted that research. It kinds of reminds me of the betterment (HW) diner that Raymond Loewy designed for the Broadway Limited. A similar layout could be found on the Tavern Cars of
Interesting, but the photo of the dining car doesn’t seem to match the diagrams.
At any rate, the seating arrangement of the diner in the photo looks pretty unworkable. While it seems easier for the waitstaff it’s not so good for the passengers. Look at how many people would have to leave their seats for one (or two) to leave the car. Maybe three on a bench seat maximum, but not for the five (or more) pictured.
The table in the diagrams is probably too small for two passengers, suitable for a lounge car but not a diner. Maybe that was the reason why the table was extended in the pics. New York Central used a similar layout since the Mercury train, I think it worked well on the 20th Century Limited as well.
More personal space, legroom, more room to avoid eye contact. [*-)][;)]
Why have we not mentioned what is probably the most famous example of the principle, the ATSF Turquoise Room? Admittedly this is a bit different in being installed on the lower deck of a car where limited windows can be provided, so makes something of an advantage out of a necessity: personally, I like having full windows with passing scenery to one side or another and would have to get used to diner booths, but from what I’ve read the layout and not just the high service level of the Turquoise Room were advantages.
Wayne’s criticism is valid: the Turquoise Room got around it by being the equivalent of ‘a private dining room’ where everyone more or less entered and left together, or at least didn’t mind shuffling around to let someone in or out dinette-style.
While we are on the subject of dinettes, you will notice sections of them in many fine restaurants, as they remove many of the problems of ‘open’ seating with chairs. This would be true of contemporary (early '30s and on) dining cars to a significant extent, but at the expense of substantially fixing the ‘track’ of the seating and the table size. I would think the arrangement particularly well suited to buffet or ‘hotel’ car service.
I should probably mention that in the early '70s I did some Amfleet full diner designs ‘on spec’, one of which not only had fold-down tables but fold-up banquettes (complete with cushions that inflated with reservoir air!) so that the car could easily ‘double’ as a disco – remember those? – after hours, with theatre lighting in the roof panels. Ah, those were the days when more seemed possible than today!
I respectfully appreciate your input as always, Prof. Overmod. I was thinking quite a lot of successful dining cars of various railroads before I created the first post that with a drawings of PRR #4501 attached; my list including the Lark Club of the Southern Pacific, the twin-unit dining car and the lounge car “The Century Club” on the 20th Century Limited of NYCRR and the fabled B&O’s dining facilities. Tha
RR Picture Archives updated some photos of the “streamlined PRR K4s (simplified version) by Raymond Loewy himself” or “Raymond Loewy Streamlined K4s V2.0” from the 40-page booklet “A Picture Study Of The K-4S” by Harry P. Albrecht issued Sep 1976. (43 years ago!), check it out if you like. [:)]
Yes, that why I think PRR made of wise decision to not allow Pullman Company took a share of the spoils. This probably explained why there wasn’t any Parlor-car service on the Trail Blazer. Besides, the passenger who wanted better service than a reclining seat could take the General, Broadway, Admiral, Manhattan Limited and named train of NYCRR and B&O…
[quote user=“Overmod”]
So in order for two-class travel to work, you’d need the same sort of Chinese-wall protection between the main part of the coach train and the ‘parlor car’ that you’d have with a combination coach-and-Pullman setup. That implies either careful vigilance at the vestibule of a ‘parlor-obs’ at the rear (so that the parlor folks could get to the food facilities, etc.) or placing the parlor near the front where it might ‘feel’ more surge and other effects if present.<
www.Railfan.net
