Bangor & Aroostook F-7's on the PRR

I posted this on the EMD forum, and got a suggestion to ask over here. In the early 1950's, iron ore trains were the regular day time freight over the Erie Division and through my home town of St. Marys. Fairly regularly we would see B & A engines working the head end of iron ore drags as they struggled up the 1.9% grade between Ridgway and St. Marys. Does anyone know what arrangements were made between either EMD for test purposes or an agreement with the PRR for opertaing the B & A units over the PRR trackage? The pushers were always a pair of I-1 sa's, blasting cinders and ash until the head end got over the divide and they cut off on the fly.

Kuh Shise

BAR GP's also made the trip to the PRR during the summer. PRR always needed extra power during the summer and BAR needed it's locos during Potato season.

I believe the BAR ended up selling a few F3's to the PRR in the Mid-Late 1950's for trade in use.

Having seen many BAR units on the Pennsy during the 1950s, I know a little (but not much) about the operation. Basically, BAR had surplus power during the summer months when the Great Lakes shipping season was going strong. This was because, in those days, its heaviest traffic rush was potatoes in the winter. So BAR and PRR worked out some sort of short-term lease agreement that benefited both lines. This went on for several years, but I don't now remember the dates. While I was living in Cleveland, I saw numerous BAR units switching at the lake ports -- Erie, Ashtabula, and Cleveland. (I don't recall seeing any at Sandusky.) I think the Pennsy used them elsewhere, too, but their main purpose was to fill in during the lake shipping season.

Someone please correct me on this, but I never saw any BAR Fs in this service and don't believe there were any. GP7 and/or GP9s seemed to be involved almost exclusively.

AFAIK, only BAR GP's were used in ore service, thanks to the special lease. Trains had an article on this arrangment.

Never saw BAR F-units in this service.

However, at one time PRR did have some B&LE F7-A's & B's under lease.

BAR 600B PRR 9530B ti EMD on GP30 PRR 2234
BAR 601B PRR 9532B ti EMD on GP30 PRR 2217
BAR 602B PRR 9534B ti EMD on GP30 PRR 2218
BAR 603B PRR 9536B ti EMD on GP30 PRR 2219

There is a Herbert H. Harwood Jr. color photo of BAR Geeps on Cleveland's lakefront in the current issue of Classic Trains. The photo is dated June 1961.

Evidently the Geeps were leased to PRR into the PC era.

And the geeps were leased to LIRR as well.

PRR stepchild LV also leased a pair of BAR GP7s. For a time they would lease some EMD SW9s as well that were former P&LE units purchased by the BAR to be leased out, as well.