Steam & Excursion > Additional PRR T1 information

PRR T1 Additional Information
 
As a follow up to the PRR T1 info covered in Steam Files PRR #9 post a few days ago https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,6041377, I found some additional interesting information.
 
Vernon L. Smith in his book “One Man’s Locomotives” took the time to review the design and what he thought might be substantial improvements that could have made the locomotive more successful. He goes into some detail, but I’ll just summarize it.
 
1. Rotary Cam poppet valves instead of Oscillating.

2. Better spring rigging design, mainly to enhance adhesion and correct excessive slipping issues. As part of the slipping problem he suggested a higher factor of adhesion than the 4.15 they were built with.

3. At 92 square feet, the grate area was too small, the firebox should have been lengthened by 2 more feet.

4. Replacement of the unreliable Hancock Turbo Feedwater Heater with a Worthington Open Type.

5. The streamlined design caused airflow to blow up coal dust from a partially empty tender causing the dust to accumulate and swirl at the back of the cab. This created very dirty and unpleasant cab conditions for the engine crew. His suggestion was a slight design change to change that air flow.

6. Addition of a booster engine to enhance starting heavy trains on grades.
 
It was not mentioned by Smith, as far as I noted, but on June 17, 1947 the ICC issued a Signaling Order which made it a rather moot point of running trains or creating steam locomotives for such high speeds the T1’s were said to be operating. 

Here is a link to that order:

https://jonroma.net/media/signaling/railway-signaling/1947/Signaling%20Order%20Issued%20by%20ICC.pdf
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 06/30/25 08:23 by train1275.

Don't know about other railroads, but the ACL apparently routinely disregarded that ICC order, as noted in the last two paragraphs of this accident report:
https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/44588

mike woodruff
north platte ne

I know the former ACL disreregarded the speed on passenger trains. Prior to the aforeementioned wreck, it was encouraged. I have seen a letter an engineer got for making up about 3 minutes on the schedule of a late train on on of the ACL passenger trains. The best you could make up between Savannah and Jacksonville is about 10 maybe 15 minutes. that ended in January 1953. And Savannah to Jax is a recetrack if allowed to run. Its 145 miles freight and 2 hours 30 minutes has been done a lot, not now though. Passenger , the last tie I fired a passenger train in the mid 1980's the schedule called for 2'30'. It was easy to run in 2'5" so therer was a lot of dead time there. I have been firing and done it in 1'52". The fastest anybody ever knew that was done was 1'45", but that was a long time age in a rr land far away.

Sam