Six photographs documenting the locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad [PRR], also known as the “Pennsy,” was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia. Over its existence, Pennsylvania Railroad acquired, merged with, or owned part of at least 800 other rail lines and companies. At its peak in 1882, the Pennsylvania Railroad was the largest railroad (by traffic and revenue), the largest transportation enterprise, and the largest corporation in the world. At the end of 1926, it operated 11,640.66 miles of rail line and carried nearly three times the traffic as other railroads of comparable length, such as the Union Pacific and Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railroads. PRR’s only formidable rival was the New York Central Railroad [NYC], which carried around three-quarters of the Pennsy's ton-miles. Their merger in the 1960s quickly led to the collapse of both.

This collection of six photographs documents locomotives manufactured by the PRR between 1923 and 1944, including the acclaimed Art Deco No. 1600 S-1 steam locomotive.