The proposal by the fledgling Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust to raise funds to rebuild from scratch a “replica” of a Pennsylvania RR T1 4-4-4-4 steam locomotive has drawn an unexpected reaction: A lawsuit seeking to block the replication, filed jointly by both American Presidential Underwriters, corporate successor to the Penn Central and holder of PRR trademarks and patents, and a representative claiming to file on behalf of the PRR Technical & Historical Society, claiming that “Pennsylvania Railroad patents, trademarks, and history” supposedly in possession of the PRRT&HS would be “violated and/or infringed” by the proposed building of a “replica” PRR T1 4-4-4-4 steam locomotive from scratch while incorporating various “improvements” to the design of the locomotive.

According to the APUI filing, APUI specifically points out that the Trust’s logo and patches, incorporating the PRR keystone logo and PRR-style Clarendon lettering, “violates protected PRR trademarks still owned by [APUI].” APUI noted that while other past uses of PRR keystone logos--for example, by modelers and historical preservation groups--were done in “an historical context,” the proposed new locomotive by the Trust, with proposed modifications to the original T1 construction designs, “represents a new product entered into the commercial marketplace; and it is thus incumbent upon the Plaintiff to protect its registered trademarks as appropriate.”

Officials of the PRRT&HS were quick to disavow any official society connection to the suit, however. “The filing of this suit is in no way associated with the PRRT&HS, its officers, or any official position of the associated membership,” said Ezekiel Swanton, an acting public relations spokesman for the PRRT&HS. “As far as we are able to determine, this suit is being filed by an individual member misappropriating the name of the Society for his own purposes, without any actual contact with or affiliation with the PRRT&HS or any of its Chapters. The PRRT&HS has yet to take any official position on the proposed project, irrespective of the views or actions of its individual members, some of whom have already assisted the Trust in their own ways.” It has been reported in other online forums that the individual in question joined the PRRT&HS in search of documentation regarding a supposed PRR steam locomotive in an underwater location.

Although the Trust has yet to make an official response to the filings, an unsigned e-mail response to an inquiry by Railfoam Newsmagazine said “this is what happens when litigation replaces baseball as the national pastime.” The response included an embroidered “5550” keystone-shaped patch sent without a return address.

Further details on the suit can be found at www,railfoam.com/newswire/EXCLUSIVE:_APUI_PRRT&HS_sue_PRR_T1_Trust.asp [NOTE: subscriber pay wall]

:^)

Holy smoke. The second page of the brief says it ALL! You gotta read...

Vladimir Noseblov, one of the Russian oligarchs secretly underwriting the production series of T1s being crafted in the former Lugansk locomotive works, noted 'if there is this much acrimony over reproducing a historical PRR prototype, we'll just make it a NYC C1a'.

NYCSHS representatives were quick to note, however, that any practical 'creation' of a C1a would involve substantial engineering content from Niagara engineering drawings, and confirmed that at least one member of the T1 Trust had been planning to attend the upcoming meeting of the Society, in Cleveland, probably with the ultimate intent of furthering this secret agenda. It remains to be established on what terms the Society would allow use of the Niagara detail material, but one Ti Trust participant commented that, since the contemplated locomotive is not, in fact, an S-class Niagara, and since the C1a was never actually constructed, the licensing of Society drawing content might be negotiated at a favorable rate.

Left open is the question of what would be done with the 'prow' now being constructed for the 5550 locomotive, which would not be needed on a C1a. Overheard was some comment about attaching a 300hp V6 outboard, built-in bait wells, and a small trolling motor to wee whether the result could be sold at auction to PRR fans who also love to fish. "If it can't go 135mph on the rails, it might as well go 135mph elsewhere' said an undisclosed source.