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Pennsylvania Railroad 3750

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Coordinates: 39°58′56″N 79°9′40″W / 39.98222°N 79.16111°W / 39.98222; -79.16111
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39°58′56″N 79°9′40″W / 39.98222°N 79.16111°W / 39.98222; -79.16111

Pennsylvania Railroad 3750
PRR No. 3750 on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in July 1984
Type and origin
Power typeSteam
DesignerJ.T. Wallis, Alfred W. Gibbs, and Axel Vogt
BuilderAltoona Works
Serial number3703
Build dateMarch 1920
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • Whyte4-6-2
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.36 in (914 mm)
Driver dia.80 in (2,032 mm)
Trailing dia.50 in (1,270 mm)
Wheelbase13 ft 10 in (4.2 m) between driving axles
Length83 ft 6 in (25.5 m)
Loco weight274,500 lb (124,511 kg)
Tender type110-P-75
Fuel typeCoal
Fuel capacity18.5 tonnes (41,000 lb)
Water cap.11,980 US gallons (45,300 L)
Firebox:​
 • Grate area70 sq ft (7 m2)
Boiler pressure205 psi (1,413 kPa)
Cylinder size27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm)
Performance figures
Tractive effort44,460 lbf (197,767.9 N)
Factor of adh.4.54
Career
OperatorsPennsylvania Railroad
ClassK4
Numbers
  • PRR 3750
First runMarch 1920
RetiredOctober 1957
PreservedApril 28, 1958
Current ownerPennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
DispositionOn static display
References:[1][2][3][4]
Official namePassenger Locomotive No. 1737
DesignatedDecember 17, 1979
Part ofPennsylvania Railroad Rolling Stock Thematic Resource
Reference no.79002273[5]

Pennsylvania Railroad 3750 is a preserved K4 class 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in March 1920 by Altoona Works for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). It is located at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, just outside Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. For over a decade, the locomotive stood in for the prototype K4, No. 1737, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1979. It was one of two surviving K4 locomotives, along with No. 1361, both designated as the official state steam locomotive by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on December 18, 1987.

History

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Revenue service and modifications

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No. 3750 decorated with black buntings to pull Warren Harding's funeral train

No. 3750 was the twenty-fourth member of the fifth batch of 50 K4s (Nos. 3726-3775) built in February-August 1920 at the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania.[1][6] It was first built with a square oil headlight, a round number plate, a long wooden pilot, and a 70-P-75 type tender, which held 7,000 US gallons (26,000 L) of water and 12.5 tonnes (28,000 lb) of coal.[1][7] No. 3750 along with the other K4s served as PRR's primary mainline passenger steam locomotives.[1][4] It was initially assigned to run on PRR's Northeast Corridor mainline between Newark, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., pulling passenger trains.[8] During that same year of 1920, No. 3750 was chosen to be one of the locomotives pulling the political campaign train of the infamous Warren G. Harding.[9] Three years later, it pulled Harding's funeral train from Washington, D.C. to Baltimore, Maryland.[4]

In the mid-late 1920s, No. 3750 was re-equipped with an electric headlight, a steel bar pilot, and a keystone shaped number plate.[7] Additionally, No. 3750's original tender was replaced with a 90-P-75 type, which held 9,700 US gallons (37,000 L) of water and 21 tonnes (46,000 lb) of coal.[1][8] In the 1930s, PRR's passenger train consist grew longer and heavier, which led to No. 3750 and the other K4s required to double head and even triple head each other.[10][11] Additionally, No. 3750's tender was modified with a mechanical stoker added to increase the locomotive's performance.[1][8] At the same time, PRR's Northeast Corridor lines were electrified and the locomotive was relocated to the Chesapeake region, running from Washington, D.C. to Wilmington, Delaware; and York, Pennsylvania along with a brief visit to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[8] During World War II, No. 3750 was re-equipped with a larger 110-P-75 type tender, which held 11,980 US gallons (45,300 L) of water and 18.5 tonnes (41,000 lb) of coal.[1] In 1946, the locomotive was leased to the Long Island Railroad, pulling passenger trains on their entire system.[8][12]

In 1948, No. 3750 returned to the PRR, where it was re-equipped with a cast steel pilot and a vertically retractable coupler.[7][8] Its headlight and dynamo's positions were switched from the front and top of the smokebox.[7][8] Additionally, a platform stand was added to the bottom front of No. 3750's smokebox for the maintenance crew to attend and inspect its headlight and dynamo.[7][8] Afterwards, the locomotive was allocated to the Central Region west of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, mostly in Ohio.[8] In 1955, No. 3750 returned to the Eastern Region, where it hauled commuter trains on the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Atlantic City, New Jersey.[8] A year later, the locomotive was relocated to the northern New Jersey Shore to haul commuter trains between Perth Amboy and Bay Head, New Jersey on the New York and Long Branch line until it finally retired from revenue service in October 1957.[8] Following its retirement, No. 3750 was put into storage at the West Philadelphia roundhouse, awaiting its fate.[8]

Preservation

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No. 3750 on display outside the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in June 2021

During the 1950s, PRR began to salvage each steam locomotive class for preservation; A5 0-4-0 No. 94,[13] B6sb 0-6-0 No. 1670,[14] D16sb 4-4-0 No. 1223,[15] E6 4-4-2 No. 460,[16] E7 4-4-2 No. 7002,[17] G5 4-6-0 No. 5741,[18] H3 2-8-0 No. 1187,[19] H6sb 2-8-0 No. 2846,[19] H10 2-8-0 No. 7688,[19] L1 2-8-2 No. 520,[20] and M1b 4-8-2 No. 6755 at the Northumberland roundhouse in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.[21] Additionally, they chose No. 1737, which was the first of the K4 class built.[8][22] However, it was left outside the Northumberland roundhouse, exposed to the elements due to PRR refurbishing many of their preserved steam locomotives inside the roundhouse with no room left.[8][22] As a result, No. 1737 was made in very poor condition to be preserved.[8][22] On April 29, 1958, PRR spared No. 3750 from being scrapped, renumbered it to represent No. 1737, and stored it inside the Northumberland roundhouse, alongside the rest of PRR's collection of preserved steam locomotives.[8][23] The deteriorated No. 1737 locomotive was broken for scrap in February 1960.[6]

In 1969, No. 3750, still numbered 1737, was moved to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania.[8][23] The entire PRR steam locomotive collection came under threat in the 1980s when the PRR's successor, the Penn Central estate, sought to raise cash by selling it for scrap. The Pennsylvania Legislature intervened, and forgave some back taxes in exchange for PC deeding the collection to the state.[24] The entire PRR steam locomotive collection is now preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.[25]

In 1983, No. 3750 was given back its original number.[8] On December 18, 1987, the Pennsylvania General Assembly designated Nos. 3750 and 1361 as the official state steam locomotives, while also designating GG1 No. 4859 as the state electric locomotive in the same bill.[26] The No. 3750 locomotive currently sits on outdoor display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, exposed to the elements.[27] The museum's volunteer group plans to have the locomotive cosmetically-restored prior to it being placed in a planned roundhouse.[24][28]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g Staufer (1962), pp. 159–160.
  2. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 163.
  3. ^ Withuhn (2019), p. 183.
  4. ^ a b c "PRR Pacific Class No. 3750 K4 Official Steam Locomotive of Pennsylvania". Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on February 27, 2014. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  5. ^ "NPS Focus". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Pennypacker & Staufer (1962), p. 168.
  7. ^ a b c d e McGonigal, Robert S. (September 2, 2021). "Faces of the Pennsylvania Railroad's K4s steam locomotive". Classic Trains. Kalmbach Media. Archived from the original on May 19, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "PRR No. 3750 K4 Pacific". Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on July 26, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2025.
  9. ^ Alexander, Larry (February 29, 2000). "Full steam ahead; Railroad Museum explores presidential ties". Intelligencer Journal. Lancaster, Pennsylvania. p. B1.
  10. ^ Drury (2015), p. 269.
  11. ^ Schafer & Solomon (2009), p. 113.
  12. ^ Morrison (2018), p. 15.
  13. ^ Staufer (1962), pp. 15–16.
  14. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 17.
  15. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 109.
  16. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 127.
  17. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 126.
  18. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 119.
  19. ^ a b c Staufer (1962), p. 38.
  20. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 53.
  21. ^ Staufer (1962), p. 197.
  22. ^ a b c Staufer (1962), p. 161.
  23. ^ a b "Pennsylvania Railroad No. 3750 Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved February 24, 2025.
  24. ^ a b Keefe, Kevin (May 1, 2018). "PRR steam: still haughty after all these years". Classic Trains. Retrieved February 18, 2019..
  25. ^ "Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania | Roster". Archived from the original on 2018-03-14. Retrieved 2022-04-13.
  26. ^ Act of Dec. 18, 1987, P.L. 421, No. 89.
  27. ^ Cupper, Dan (25 June 2021). "PRR K4s engine No. 1361 to be restored in $2.6 million campaign". Trains. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Media. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  28. ^ Losiewicz, Jay (February 21, 2025). "The Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission Announces Bid Process is Open for the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania's Roundhouse Project". Government of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2025.

Bibliography

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