PRR Long haul tender frame and trucks found in steel mill?

robertjohndavis · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:10 am **Posts:** 2499

This popped up on Facebook yesterday, not sure if you need to be a member to see the pictures:

https://m.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10208425116854818&id=1513099904&set=gm.10156218605635711&source=48

The images show a flat car used to transport materials inside the steel mill at Coatesville, PA. The body appears to be a tender frame (or at least part of) while the trucks look suspiciously like the trucks the PRR used for the big tenders behind the J and T class. Neat!

Rob

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 12:19 pm

You may have just saved the T1 folks a heap of money. Looks like a long haul tender frame to me.

robertjohndavis · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:10 am **Posts:** 2499

All the credit goes to Don Richard for sharing the pictures. You never know what is lurking out there... especially when it's a plant that scrapped hundreds of steam locomotives.

Rob

Tails · **Joined:** Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:14 pm **Posts:** 139

The frame looks bent, but the trucks are well worth it! Even if they are not perfect, they could be repaired

superheater · **Joined:** Sun Aug 22, 2004 11:54 pm **Posts:** 2605

Any quarries nearby? What? Too early?

robertjohndavis · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 8:10 am **Posts:** 2499

superheater wrote:

Any quarries nearby? What? Too early?

Superheater,

:-) not too soon!

I've had the feeling for awhile that Coatesville hides some interesting treats, but the Alco "drones" are the only neat things visible from public property. I have missed two chances for tours, now I'm really kicking myself for that!

Rob

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

would those roller bearing parts be still available for replacement purposes?

Clearly the trucks for a long haul tender, I'll compare the frame to my models.

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Sat Oct 31, 2015 10:25 pm

For comparison, the other surviving PRR 210F75a tender, in the Hamburg, NY area:

http://www.trainweb.org/wnyrhs/tenderFrame1Source1.htm

The tender for a PRR T1, however, is a PRR 180P84, using PRR truck type 4F5T1--this truck was also used on the 180P76 tender, and supposedly also on the PRR's one-off "Queen Mary" FD2 depressed-center flat car, now at the Railroaders Memorial Museum in Altoona.

dinwitty · **Joined:** Wed Oct 22, 2008 8:18 pm **Posts:** 2226

I'm thinking if they had plenty of scrapping engines about they could pick and choose a tender, knock away the "tender" part leaving the frame for a heavy duty scavenged flat car.

The tender shell on my model is slightly underhung and I was worried it couldn't take 24 inch radius as the trucks might hit the tender shell, but found the big trucks and body could. (HO scale brass engine). Take away the tender shell may leave what we see in the "flatcar" pics.

It would be interesting if the T1 guys get a hold of this, but then perhaps they want to build the whole engine from "scratch" testing the current day construction waters.
(how industrious are you)

Rob Gardner · **Joined:** Sat Aug 21, 2004 10:50 pm **Posts:** 576

Sandy, is the tender in Hamburg all welded construction? Sure looks like it on my phone. Might be sacrilege to the purists, but that tender could sure save the T1 Trust a couple of years off their time line and then once the T1 is running, complete an all new correct tender from scratch.

Rob

G. W. Laepple · **Joined:** Mon Aug 23, 2004 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1182

About 29 years ago, when I helped restore a certain unmentionable steam locomotive at Altoona, there was a pair of those four-axle roller bearing trucks sitting outside the former tender shop at Juniata. I wonder if they are still there?

Steamguy73 · **Joined:** Wed Dec 24, 2014 3:15 pm **Posts:** 635

I saw it, looks like it to me. If it really is it, let the folks at the T1 trust know.

ted101 · **Joined:** Tue Jul 17, 2012 5:24 pm **Posts:** 79

It looks like the T1 guys already know about it. They recently answered a question on their facebook page about it.

https://www.facebook.com/t1locomotive

E.B. Levin · **Posted:** Sun Nov 01, 2015 8:19 pm

When I was a General Foreman at Juniata in 1993 there were a pair of 4F5T1 trucks that were used to protect the FD2 Flat stored in the old freight shop building.

They were cut up after the FD2 went to the Altoona Museum.

What were and still are in abundant supply at Altoona are 2F-T2 Kiesel tender truck that were set up with elevated center bowls for use as shop trucks for units under repair. We also had 2F-T2's set up as wreck trucks on a few of the system wreck trains.

EBL

p51 · **Posted:** Mon Nov 02, 2015 2:18 pm

I'm surprised this sort of thing doesn't turn up more often. You'd think that more tenders would have been saved and converted to other uses...