PRR Class HH-1 freight consist research

[orionfield]

Hi everyone. I am not a PRR modeler, I can tell you a lot about the Chicago and North Western, but my knowledge of the PRR is very limited, but I want to create a somewhat prototypical train for my N scale Class HH-1 2-8-8-2 Mallet to pull.

From what research I've done. These locomotives were purchased secondhand from Norfolk and Western in 1943, NW class Y3, and served with the PRR until 1951. From what I can tell, they worked mostly in General Merchandise service, then helper service west of Altoona for their short career.

I'm trying to build a train for it to pull at my local club layout, but I'm having trouble finding photos of the locomotives pulling anything. I was hoping to do a coal train, but not sure which type of coal hoppers PRR was using then. I'm just looking for the PRR Freight car classes that it may have pulled, and maybe some caboose class suggestions, I may add them to the Out of the Box product line.   Any resources you can point me to would be really helpful.

[dougnelson]

A coal train is a good bet, but during WWII these beasts could have been called on to haul anything including troop trains.  For the coal train, you can start with a mix of Bowser PRR H21 and GLa hoppers.  Mix in a few other twin-bay hoppers in a variety of roads such as B&O, Lehigh Valley, Reading, N&W, etc.  Coals trains during that period were a mix of car sizes and roads, although the H21 and GLa cars predominated.

[orionfield]

Thanks! That really helps!

[Point353]

They were also used in transfer service, which would open it up to an almost unlimited variety of freight cars and roadnames.

[Nick Lorusso]

Doug,
Good to know coal trains where mixed at the time. I've wonder why I've seen NYC J3as pulling N&W coal trains.

[Specter3]

For Boxcars you have Atlas 1932 ARA cars, Intermountain 1937 ARA and Modified ARA cars. Lots of good Northeast roadnames between the three. There were 50ft cars but not PS1s, they didn't show up til 47. B&O wagon top cars were running around. Amd there would be some really run out single sheath wood cars held together with bailing wire and prayers during the war.

HTH

Ryan

[orionfield]

Thanks guys! I'm definitely making a shopping list.

[nkalanaga]

You can also use FVM's Milwaukee horizontal ribbed boxcars.  They were everywhere back then.

[orionfield]

Great! Ordered a bunch of stuff! Just need to narrow in on a caboose.

[Point353]

Great! Ordered a bunch of stuff! Just need to narrow in on a caboose.

Bowser N5 or N5c:
http://www.bowser-trains.com/history/nscalen5caboose.html
http://www.bowser-trains.com/docs/Car%20Numbers/N%20Scale%20N5%20Caboose.htm
http://www.bowser-trains.com/history/nscalen5ccaboose.html

[chicken45]

You won't find a single Pennsy caboose out there to run behind your HH1.




...because they were called cabin cars!


There weren't really specific cabin cars that had associations to motive power. Just use any PRR cabin car of the era. The Bowser ones are pretty much the only game in town. They changed paint and schemes over the years so, you need to take that in to consideration. What year are you modeling?
http://pennsyrr.com/index.php/maps/95-operations/non-revenue/111-steel-cabin-car-painting-lettering

[learmoia]

You won't find a single Pennsy caboose out there to run behind your HH1.

...because they were called cabin cars!

'Standard Railroad of Pennsylvania"

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I feel like the N5 is a better looking model than the N5C. You'll want to do some work on it though, since some of the decoration is a little "meh".

If you want something a bit more interesting, there were also the N6 wood cars. Although, I don't know how likely they'd have been out of Altoona due to the requirements for helpers (called "snappers" on the Pennsy).

Gloor Craft makes models of em: http://www.spookshow.net/freight/gloorn6b.html

[orionfield]

Thanks again, I found an N6B on Shapeways I was going to take a crack at. Would that work?

[chicken45]

Thanks again, I found an N6B on Shapeways I was going to take a crack at. Would that work?

Would it work? Yes. Would I do it? Eh... I think by that time the N6b class was getting phased into MOW status and a steel cabin car would be a better choice. Wood cabins were also sent to local freight and stuff.


Here's some history that I'm assuming is correct.
http://www.whippanyrailwaymuseum.net/exhibits/equipment/cabooses/penn-n6b-cabin-car

This is getting in to some real  territory. I would say you are probably fine running anything because stuff happens.