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Discussion relating to the PRR, up to 1968. Visit the PRR Technical & Historical Society for more information.

 #433316  by walt
 
timz wrote:
JimBoylan wrote:During the early 1940s, some MP-54s got roller bearings so they could run as Clockers or New York locals at 80 m.p.h.
No idea if they ran at 80, but timetable limit wasn't that high.
I doubt very seriously whether any MP 54's ever attained 80 MPH, let alone being scheduled to run that fast. Even with the roller bearings that were applied to some of the cars during a remodeling, the ride in those cars, even as they approached 50 MPH, would have been brutal. Additionally, they tended to burn out motors and journal boxes during periods of sustained "high speed" running.

 #433504  by timz
 
timz wrote:
JimBoylan wrote:During the early 1940s, some MP-54s got roller bearings so they could run as Clockers or New York locals at 80 m.p.h.
No idea if they ran at 80, but timetable limit wasn't that high.
Looks like I was somewhat wrong about that. The 1959 and 1961 (but not the 1956 and 1964) employee timetables show 80 mph limit for the MP-85s and "E-5 and E-6" class MU cars-- which we have to suppose means MP54E5 and MP54E6, for lack of a better theory.

 #434038  by JimBoylan
 
walt wrote:they tended to burn out journal boxes during periods of sustained "high speed" running.
That may have been why the "high speed" MP-54s got roller bearings.
 #609363  by ExCon90
 
As to MP54s running at 80 mph, in 1960 I worked for the PRR in New York with a guy who commuted from Trenton every morning on No. 22 (the Manhattan Limited). When 22 was running late (a couple of times a week at that time) they would run a "makeup" of 3 MP54s (presumably E5 or E6) which would fly from Trenton to Newark nonstop, making 22's schedule (he said it was an exciting ride). Some years later I noticed that a new daily 38xx train had been added either just ahead of or behind 22 with the same running time in apparent recognition that there was no sense pretending 22 would make it to Trenton on time.

ExCon90

Re:

 #612017  by Nasadowsk
 
timz wrote: Looks like I was somewhat wrong about that. The 1959 and 1961 (but not the 1956 and 1964) employee timetables show 80 mph limit for the MP-85s and "E-5 and E-6" class MU cars-- which we have to suppose means MP54E5 and MP54E6, for lack of a better theory.
I doubt the old MP-54s could have done it. I've read that some later ones had different propulsion systems that likely did have higher power.

FWIW, the 20's vintage operator's manual for the '54 says that if you cut power at speed, you can't re-apply until below 30mph, or the traction motors will flash over. I suspect the older units simply couldn't go very fast - they had little HP and weighed a LOT.

I've read some later units were equipped by Brown-Boveri, and the PRR experimented with interesting setups on a few.

As for a GG-1 doing regen or dynamic? No way, they simply couldn't at all.
 #644556  by pdtrains
 
Answer to a few questions....

single car MP-54 train ran during off hours media-West Chester, late 1950's. I rode one.

Engines with single car trains were not that unusual during the great passenger train
slide days of the mid 60's thru early 80's.

GG-1 with 1 car ran Harrisburg-DC for the washington portion of the National Limited mid-70's
(It ran port road-perryville-corridor-DC)
NYSW last commuter trains were RS-1 with 1 coach.
1970's LIRR Greenport midday service was a C420 with 1 coach
Provdence-Boston off peak trains mid 70's...E-8 or GP-9 and 1 coach
And lots more I can't recall right now.....
 #1428933  by amtrakhogger
 
DelcoRR wrote:GG-1 #4903 heads west on a rush-hour commuter train at Swarthmore Station in the early 1940's..
Very nice, thanks.
 #1429344  by DelcoRR
 
Another WWII era photo of a GG-1 powered commuter train on the WC Branch... Here one is using lots of sand too get started on the curve by the siding leading to the Swarthmore College powerhouse... {1944} {special in local paper}