I found this PRR 4-2-2. A rather unusual locomotive.

Doesn't look like it could pull much, anybody know why they were built and what they were used for?

Could be wrong, but i think it is just a photoshop creation. It appears to show a wrinkle in the boiler, air tank, and piping where they chopped out the second driver from an Atlantic type 4-4-2.

Mr. Barnum loves you.

a K-1/2?

37 days early.

Howard P.

The Philadelphia and Reading did have this wheel arrangement. https://sites.google.com/site/camelbacksteamlocomotives/_/rsrc/1411312237098/home/1-0-4-0-0-6-0/2-0-8-0/3-2-6-0/4-2-8-0/5-2-8-0/6-2-8-0/7-4-8-0/8-4-4-0/9-4-4-0/a-4-4-2/b-4-6-0/c-4-6-0/d-4-6-0/e-other/IMG_0033.jpg

Come now gentlemen,
That is the single example of a Z6s Arctic.The photograph was taken at the East Trenton Enginehouse in the forties. The engine had been ultrasonically reduced from an E6s and was used primarily for shuffling boats on the adjacent Delaware & Raritan Canal.
GME
http://sbiii.com/bwrkapoc.html

Where is the collective sense of humor -- or railroad-community 'literacy' -- of most of these posters?

Sam Berliner and Karen Parker are the origin of quite a bit of interesting pictorial splendor, although it does need to be understood that much of the humor is not oriented toward the preservation community. On the other hand, it can be quite fun to see various sacred cows (and occasionally the overblown rail-nerd cliche) skewered.

I do confess I'm a bit surprised the original poster presented this as a 'straight' item, without doing any fact-checking on the Internet first. For the record: Sam's many pages and Karen's 'Pixel Magic' are sources of fun diversion for those so inclined. Their stuff does not belong in a discussion of factual locomotive history ... although some of the 'things that might have been' can be thought-provoking in a historical context.

Removed

Z6s ARCTIC 4-2-2

Specs and info can be found here.

http://sbiii.com/bwrkapoc.html#multplex

Let's be clear: it is NOT real, it's a piece of technical humor. Follow Bob Harbison's link to actually see about this 'class'...

There were experiments with single-driver locomotives, including at least one (on LV, not PRR) that used multiple drivers each driven by a separate main rod (as wacky as that sounds with today's dynamic knowledge)

But a locomotive with a boiler as large as an E6 is already 'pushing' the adhesive and permissible-peak-piston-thrust capability of a four-drivered engine (later experience with the PRR 'double Atlantics' would bear this out in some highly interesting, if commonly misunderstood, ways). The development in fact went promptly to using the better boiler architecture with 'one extra driver axle and a proportional increase in cylinder capacity', with results that are at least slightly more familiar to the preservation community than a '4-2-2' would have been...


Now, if I remember correctly, Berliner had a supposed single-driver conversion of a PRR A5. That would be an interesting prototype, but don't be waiting for the 'A2.5 Trust' to start the replica any time soon.

Don't move this thread to 'Railfanning', it's too important a cautionary tale!

Glad to see the record set straight.

When I first saw it I did a google search and couldn't find anything conclusive. Thought I'd ask around here to see if it was even real, but I guess I didn't word my question quite right.

I must admit, they had me fooled, some fine photoshop skills.

Someone mentioned the contributions of Sam Berliner and Karen Parker, so here's another source: http://www.railarchive.net/fantasysteam/index.html

I might mention, for what it's worth, that Dr. Leonard's site was my initiation into Karen Parker's unique world, via his page on NYC steam that could have been...

Right, R. M. -- thanks for the comment. The NYC "Fantasy Steam" page is here: http://www.railarchive.net/nyccollection/fantasy_steam.htm