Nicknamed “The Big Engine”, and appropriately so, the PRR S1 was a experimental duplex locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad. It was designed to demonstrate the technological advantages of the duplex drive wheels. It was recognized as having the longest (140 ft 2 ½ inches) and heaviest (608,170 lbs.) rigid from reciprocating steam locomotive ever built. It was numbered 6100.
The S1 featured the streamlined style shell designed by the famous Ramond Loewy, plus the unique 6-4-4-6 wheel arrangement. The locomotive was able to achieve fast passenger train speeds mainly because articulation was not used. The cost of the S1 was $669,780.00 (or $14,671,066 today). The locomotive was completed at the PRR’s Altoona shops on December 21st, 1938.
Following several test runs, the locomotive was displayed at the 1939 New York World’s Fair with “American Railroads” lettering on the tender, rather than “Pennsylvania Railroad”.
The 6100 began it’s passenger train services from December 1940, however due to it’s size featured many restrictions on where the locomotive could run. It was so large that it could not negotiate the track clearances on most of the lines of the PRR system. Thus it was restricted to service between Chicago, Illinois and Crestline, Ohio.
The S1 hauled many trains such as the Broadway Limited, Liberty Limited, The General, The Trail Blazer, and The Golden Arrow.
In our first production run, we are building a model of the prototype 6100 in it’s Pennsylvania Railroad paint scheme and World’s Fair Appearance. In addition to the prototype locomotives, we are also offering unlettered models, and one model in Tuscan Red Fantasy Paint.
All models have hand-crafted brass boilers, cabs, and tender bodies, and die cast locomotive and tender chassis. In addition to the Paragon4 version, each model is available in our Stealth Series. These are No-Sound / DCC-Ready models that operate on DC out of the box, or a modeler can easily install their DCC decoder of choice. Out of the box, front and rear lights are directional, and other lights are always ON with track power. Note that some light functions may be missing depending on the aftermarket decoder the modeler installs.
Industry-leading Model Features:
- Stealth Series – Model is DCC-Ready out of the box. No sound.
- Out of the box, front and rear lights are directional. Other lights are ON with track power.
- Model comes with 8-ohm speaker installed for easy installation of DCC/Sound decoder.
- Precision Drive Mechanism engineered for continuous heavy load towing and smooth slow speed operation.
- 5-Pole Can Motor with Skew Wound Armature
- Handcrafted Brass Boiler, Cab, and Tender Body, and Heavy Die Cast Chassis for Increased Tractive Effort
- Premium Caliber Painting with Authentic Paint Schemes
- Prototypical Light Operation with Separately Controllable Headlight, Rear Light, Cab Light, Rear Marker Lights, and numberboards.
- Factory-installed Engineer and Fireman Figures
- Many Separately Applied Details such as Handrails, Grab Irons, Ladders, Piping, Cab Glass, Whistle, Brass Bell, and Many Others
- Equipped with Rubber Traction Tires for Increased Pulling Power
- Two spare flanged drivers in the box to swap out for a more prototypical appearance.
- Recommended Minimum Radius: 18 inches
Broadway Limited Imports is proud to reintroduce our Stealth Series. Our Stealth Series provides customers with the ability to purchase highly detailed steam and diesel locomotives at a lower price. Stealth Series models are DCC-Ready with a standard MTC21 pin on the DC motherboard. For more information about Stealth Series models, please see our products page.
**Specifications on this page subject to change.
