PRR 1361

Pennsylvania Railroad 1361 is a 4-6-2 K4 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built in May 1918 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's (PRR) Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It hauled mainline passenger and mail trains in Pennsylvania, including commuter trains in New Jersey on the PRR until its retirement from revenue service in 1956. Restored to operating condition for excursion service in 1987, No. 1361 along with its other surviving sister locomotive, No. 3750, were designated as the official state steam locomotives by the Pennsylvania General Assembly. In 1988, it was sidelined due to mechanical problems and was currently owned by the Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) in Altoona, Pennsylvania, who were currently attempting to return No. 1361 back to operating condition.

History

Revenue service and retirement as a static display

No. 1361 was one of 425 K4 class locomotives built between 1914 and 1928 for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) as their premier passenger locomotive. Built by PRR's Juniata Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania, No. 1361 was put into revenue service on May 18, 1918, where it joined the other K4s to haul PRR's fast passenger and mail trains between New York City and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, via the PRR Main Line. Additionally, the No. 1361 locomotive was equipped with a 130P75 type tender, which holds of water and of coal. When the PRR's Eastern Region line between New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania was electrified in the 1930s, No. 1361 was relocated to the Central Division, running between Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

In the early 1950s, some of the K4s, including No. 1361, were reassigned to haul commuter trains between Perth Amboy and Bay Head, New Jersey on the New York and Long Branch line as their main line duties were taken over by the diesel locomotives.. In 1956, after traveling over , No. 1361 was retired from revenue service. It was cosmetically refurbished and put on display next to the PRR's famous Horseshoe Curve on June 8, 1957.. For three decades, No. 1361 sat on display outside exposed to the elements, so the members of the Horseshoe Curve Chapter, National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) were volunteered to repaint and maintain the locomotive..

Short excursion service

On September 5, 1985, PRR's successor Conrail and Assemblyman Richard Geist removed No. 1361 from its display site and moved it to the Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) in Altoona for its fifth anniversary on September 16.. There were originally plans to have the No. 1361 locomotive cosmetically restored again, but the RMM have seek interest in restoring it to operating condition for excursion service. On April 15, 1986, the restoration work of No. 1361 began at Conrail's ex-PRR Altoona Car Shop. No. 1361's former display location at the Horseshoe Curve was taken over by an EMD GP9 diesel locomotive No. 7048, painted in PRR livery...

On April 12, 1987, the No. 1361 locomotive moved under its own power for the first time in 31 years and made its first excursion run from Altoona to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. It also ran some excursion trains on the Nittany and Bald Eagle Railroad and Northern Central Railway. On December 18, 1987, the Pennsylvania General Assembly designated Nos. 1361 and 3750 as the official state steam locomotives; the same bill designated the GG1 4859 as the state electric locomotive. In 1988, the No. 1361 locomotive suffered a main bearing and drive axle catastrophic failure, resulting in it being sidelined from excursion service indefinitely for a complete rebuild.

Second attempt restoration

In 1996, the No. 1361 locomotive was disassembled and moved to the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was originally going to be restored through a partnership between Steamtown, the University of Scranton, and the RMM in Altoona. After an initial grant of $420,000, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Ridge released an additional $600,000 in March 2000. But the restoration work progressed slowly, as "every broken pin and bolt had to be replaced with handmade duplicates." Scheduled completion dates were repeatedly pushed back, and after thirteen years, the restoration had cost $1.7 million. The plans to rebuild No. 1361 at the Steamtown facilities were cancelled due to the RMM stopped paying out the funds and made the decision to return the remains of the locomotive and its parts back to their location.

In 2010, most of No. 1361's parts have returned back to the RMM. However, only the cab, driving wheels, frame, tender, and other various small parts were stored in Altoona, while the boiler was stored at the East Broad Top Railroad shops in Orbisonia, Pennsylvania. In February 2015, the museum had completed the construction of the newly constructed ''Harry Bennett Memorial Roundhouse'' and stored No. 1361's tender, frame, and other components inside. In late July 2015, No. 1361's boiler was moved back to Altoona and placed inside the roundhouse with the remainder of the locomotive.

Third restoration

In May 2018, restoration hopes were renewed when former Philadelphia commissioner Bennett Levin and former Amtrak CEO Wick Moorman announced the creation of a private restoration fund. The restoration cost was estimated at least $1,000,000 as No. 1361 needs a newly welded boiler. Additionally, the locomotive's driving axles would eventually be upgraded with rolling bearings. Levin and Moorman also announced that once the No. 1361 locomotive was fully restored, it will eventually pull several ex-PRR P70 passenger cars and B60 baggage cars to be used for a statewide demonstration train.

In February 2019, the group has planned to design a new boiler that would meet FRA and mechanical engineering standards. In October 2019, No. 1361's tender was fully repaired and upgraded with roller bearing trucks, and its water scoop was restored for demonstration purposes. On June 24, 2021, the museum announced that they hired the contracting firm FMW Solutions to rebuild No. 1361's boiler with a new firebox. The total cost of the restoration work are estimated to be $2.6 million. On November 23, 2021, the old firebox was completely removed from No. 1361's boiler as part of FMW Solutions' total renovation.

In late June 2022, the construction of No. 1361's new firebox was commenced. At the same time, the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical and Historical Society (PRRTHS) donated $100,512.33 to the RRM for the construction. On October 14, 2022, the RMM went into partnership with the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad (WMSR) in Cumberland, Maryland to run an evening fundraiser excursion being pulled by WSMR's No. 1309 steam locomotive with more than $13,000 raised to benefit No. 1361's restoration. Additionally, the latter's PRR 3 chime whistle was fitted on the former. By December 2022, the new firebox is starting to take shape.

See also

* Atlanta and West Point 290
*Atlantic Coast Line 1504
* Boston and Maine 3713
* Maine Central 470
*Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis 576
*Norfolk and Western 578
* Reading and Northern 425
* Santa Fe 1316
* Santa Fe 3415
* Savannah and Atlanta 750
*Soo Line 2719
* Southern Pacific 2467
* Southern Pacific 2472
*Southern Pacific 2479
* Southern Railway 1401
*U.S. Sugar 148

References

Bibliography

*
*
*
*

Further reading

*

External links

Pennsylvania Railroad K4 1361
- The Railroaders Memorial Museum
*

{{Authority control

4-6-2 locomotives
Individual locomotives of the United States
1361
Railway locomotives introduced in 1918
Symbols of Pennsylvania
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Preserved steam locomotives of Pennsylvania