Pennsylvania Railroad 7002

PRR 7002
PRR No. 7002 on static display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Altoona Works, Altoona, Pennsylvania Build date August 1902
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-4-2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 80 in (2,032 mm) Length 68 ft 6 in (20.9 m) Adhesive weight 127,200 lb (57,700 kg) Loco weight 175,400 lb (79,600 kg) Tender weight 72,350 lb (32,820 kg) Fuel type Coal Boiler pressure 205 psi (1,413 kPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 187 sq ft (17 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 412 sq ft (38 m2)
Performance figures Tractive effort 27,419 lbf (122 kN) Factor of adh. 4.64
Career Operators Pennsylvania Railroad Strasburg Rail Road (1982–1989) Class E7s (8063) E2 (7002) Numbers PRR 8063 (originally) PRR 7002 (renumbered) First run August 1902 (revenue service) August 1, 1983 (excursion service) Last run December 20, 1989 Retired 1934 (revenue service) 1939 (as No. 8063) 1989 (excursion service) Restored 1983 Current owner Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Disposition On indoor static display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania U.S. National Register of Historic Places Official name Passenger Locomotive No. 7002 Designated December 17, 1979 MPS Pennsylvania Railroad Rolling Stock Thematic Resource

Pennsylvania Railroad No. 7002 is a class "E7s" 4-4-2 "Atlantic" type steam locomotive built for the Pennsylvania Railroad by their own Altoona Works in August 1902. Today, it is now on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Originally No. 8063, the PRR renumbered it to No. 7002 after the original, claimed to be a land-speed-record-setter, was scrapped. It is the only survivor of its class and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Background

The E7s-class was created by replacing the slide valves above the cylinders on the E2a, E2b and E2c-classes with piston valves. Unlike the E2, the E2a, b, c and subsequent E7s class used Belpaire firebox instead of a "radial stay" firebox.

History

Original

The original No. 7002 was an E2-class locomotive built in August 1902 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works in Altoona, Pennsylvania. On June 15, 1902, the Pennsylvania Railroad inaugurated its new 18-hour train service from New York City to Chicago, the Pennsylvania Special—forerunner to the famed Broadway Limited. 7002 was coupled to the train as the replacement locomotive in Crestline, Ohio. Delays east of Mansfield caused it to depart Crestline 25 minutes late. No. 7002 was claimed to have achieved 127.1 miles per hour (204.5 km/h) near Elida but this speed was based solely on two passing times recorded by separate observers at two different points (AY Tower and Elida) just 3 miles apart, and it is difficult to obtain even a general indication of a train's speed from signal box registers. (Speed on the East Coast Main Line p 69, by P Semmens). The train arrived on time in Fort Wayne, Indiana.^[a] It was scrapped in 1935.

Extant

No. 8063 was an E2a-class also built in 1902 by the Altoona Works. It was upgraded to the E7s-class in 1916. No. 8063 was renumbered, altered to resemble No. 7002 and placed on exhibit as the "world's fastest steam engine" at the 1939 New York World's Fair and the Chicago Railroad Fair in 1948–49. No. 7002 was transferred to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania from the Pennsylvania Railroad's historical collection in Northumberland, Pennsylvania in December 1979 by the Pennsylvania's successor Penn Central. No. 7002 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1979. In 1982, No. 7002 was leased to and operated by the Strasburg Rail Road, mostly as a stand-in for their No. 89 which was undergoing a major rebuild for most of the 1980s. No. 7002 was mostly used on the half-hourly trains on the Strasburg but also two doubleheaded trips with PRR 1223 in the summer of 1985 to Harrisburg as well as a trip to Philadelphia on May 8, 1986. No. 7002 also ran between Hanover Junction and Gettysburg on November 19, 1988 to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's trip over the same route to make the Gettysburg Address. Both Nos. 1223 and 7002 were removed from service when the Strasburg Rail Road acquired an ultrasonic testing device in December 1989 and discovered that the metal sides of the locomotives' fireboxes were too thin to allow for safe operation. The locomotives were moved across the street, to the museum. Today, No. 7002 sits pilot to pilot with No. 1223 at the entrance to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's Rolling Stock Hall.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Notes

a. ^{^} The record was never verified and was often disputed. The New York Times believed the claims to have been exaggerated with the speed being closer to, a still respectable, 70–80 miles per hour (110–130 km/h).

Sources

• Alexander, Larry (December 12, 2003). "Take a railway trip to New York, circa 1939". Happenings. Lancaster, Pennsylvania: Lancaster Newspapers: 8, 12.
• Hart, George M; Zacher, Susan M (March 1978). "Pennsylvania Railroad Rolling Stock Thematic Resource" (PDF). National Register of Historic Places Inventory—Nomination Form. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
• Ledbetter, Erik (May 2008). "Lessons from the Strasburg at 50" (PDF). Trains: 40–47. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 8, 2008. Retrieved April 14, 2010.
• Watt, William J (1999). The Pennsylvania Railroad in Indiana. Bloomingtion, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-33708-9.
• Moedinger, William (1983). The Road To Paradise. Strasburg Rail Road.

External links

• Video of 7002 double-heading with PRR 1223 (1985–86) on YouTube