Pennsylvania Railroad 1737

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Pennsylvania Railroad 1737

PRR No. 1737 builder's photo in May 1914

| Type and origin

Power type| Steam
Builder| Altoona Works
Serial number| 2825
Build date| May 1914
| Specifications

Configuration:
| ​
• Whyte| 4-6-2
Gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Leading dia.| 36 in (914 mm)
Driver dia.| 80 in (2,032 mm)
Trailing dia.| 50 in (1,270 mm)
Wheelbase| 13 ft 10 in (4.2 m) between driving axles
Length| 83 ft 6 in (25.5 m)
Axle load| 66,500 lb (30,200 kg; 30.2 t)
Adhesive weight| 199,500 lb (90,500 kg; 90.5 t)
Loco weight| 304,500 lb (138,100 kg; 138.1 t)
Tender weight| 212,725 lb (96,490 kg; 96.490 t)
Total weight| 517,225 lb (234,609 kg; 234.609 t)
Fuel type| Coal
Fuel capacity| 22 short tons (20 t)
Water cap.| 11,300 US gallons (43,000 L)
Firebox:| ​
• Grate area| 69.89 sq ft (6.49 m2)[1]
Boiler pressure| 205 psi (1,413 kPa)[1]
Heating surface| 4,041 square feet (375 m2)
Cylinder size| 27 in × 28 in (686 mm × 711 mm)[1]
Valve gear| Walschaert
Valve type| Piston valves
| Performance figures

Tractive effort| 44,460 lbf (197,770 N)[1]
Factor of adh.| 4.54
| Career

Operators| Pennsylvania Railroad
Class| K4s
Numbers|

* PRR 1737

Delivered| 1914
First run| 1914
Retired| 1957
Disposition| Scrapped in 1960

Pennsylvania Railroad 1737 was a 4-6-2 Pacific type K4 class steam locomotive built in 1914 as the first of its class and would haul heavier passenger trains that the smaller E class 4-4-2 Atlantics could not handle such as the PRR's flagship passenger train, the Broadway Limited. In the 1930s, as the PRR had increased passenger service time tables, the trains became longer and heavier than a single K4s could handle, necessitating double-heading with a second engine. The "Standard Railroad Of The World" made attempts to replace the 1737 and its classmates with larger, more powerful classes including: K5, S1, and the T1, none of which were successful; thus, the K4s continued hauling passenger trains until the Pennsylvania Railroad replaced steam locomotives with the increasingly-popular and less-costly diesel-electric locomotives in 1957.

## Commuter service

[edit]

The 1737 was no stranger to commuter service. The New York and Long Branch Railroad in South Amboy, New Jersey used the K4s to haul commuter trains. When the famous electric Pennsylvania Railroad class GG1 would bring the trains from New York City's Penn Station, the K4s would take over the train and make the run from the South Amboy station to Bay Head, New Jersey.

## Fate

[edit]

No. 1737 was chosen to be preserved as part of the PRR's Historical Collection at a roundhouse in Northumberland, Pennsylvania.[2] However, No. 1737 was stored outside at the Northumberland roundhouse, exposed to the elements to the point where it was completely deteriorated in very poor condition to be preserved.[2] Instead, the PRR quietly took another K-4, No. 3750, and renumbered it to represent No. 1737 while the real No. 1737 was broken up for scrap in 1960.[3]

## See also

[edit]

* Pennsylvania Railroad 1361

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Staufer 1962, p. 163.
2. ^ a b Staufer 1962, p. 161.
3. ^ "PRR Pacific Class No. 3750 K4". Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 2014-02-27. Retrieved 2013-11-20.

## Sources

[edit]

* Staufer, Alvin F. (1962). Pennsy Power: Steam and Electric Locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1900-1957 (1st ed.). Standard Print & Publishing. LCCN 62-20878.