More PRR A5s

PJS · **Posted:** Sat Oct 20, 2007 1:08 pm

Quote:

did PRR allow commuter cars to have the same numbers as existing locomotives?

Quote:

Steam yes; electric, no. MU trailers started at 1, so did steam locos. When the Great Northern locos were bought in 1957, the ones put in service were numbered 1 through 7. MU trailer 1 became 901 ...

From this Sherlock (Railfan) Holmes deduces that the MU trailers were control trailers, set up so they could be the first car in the train. He knows that even the Standard Railroad of the world would not allow the situation that there could be two trains identified as "Extra XYZ" with different locomotives (or lead MU car) having the same road number.

But "steam" passenger cars never were in the lead (until push-pull came along) so would never be the identifer for an extra train. So no need to renumber.

Elementary, my dear Dispatcher Watson!

Pete Schmidt

Elementary

JimBoylan · **Posted:** Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:11 pm

I wasn't clear in my reply. PRR MU control trailer 1 and PRR steam loco 1 existed at the same time, but PRR MU control trailer 1 became 901 to avoid a conflict with PRR electric loco 1, bought from Great Northern Rwy. about 1958. I'll have to check a PRR rule book from the pre-1958 electric era, maybe the word "motor" was used as part of the identification in train orders for some non-steam locos like the electrics.