“Pennsypacker”

Pennsy “J” #6439 upgrade rounds the mighty Curve. (Photo by Bert Pennypacker©.)

(I wanted to do this last month, but ran outta time.)

—BEHOLD, the greatest train photograph Bert Pennypacker ever took.
The December 2019 entry of my Audio-Visual Designs black-and-white All-Pennsy Calendar is a Pennsy “J” (2-10-4) rounding Horseshoe Curve.
Pennypacker, like my mother, was a motor-drive. He photographed everything he could.
My Al Staufer Pennsy Power books, which I will never part with, have many of Pennypacker’s photographs.
The books detail every Pennsy locomotive. Most of the diesel photographs are Pennypacker. He seemed obsessed with photographing everything, especially from his time after WWII when Pennsy began dieselizing.
Most of his photographs, like my mother, are pedestrian; which leads me to think this photo might be a potshot. That is, the light just happened to be right for this time/location. Perhaps Pennypacker was aware, but so many of his photographs are poorly lit.
My brother and I are overly conscious of lighting, so much we might lose drama.
But Pennypacker was in the right place at the right time.
I was there myself years ago. Getting there now would be challenging. The Curve viewing-area is now completely fenced, and this location, outside the southwest extremity of the Curve itself, can only be accessed by RV-track from a private road.
Pennsy’s “J” is its war-baby. WWII flooded the railroad with traffic, and after investing so much in electrification, Pennsy had tired and antique steam-locomotives.
They needed newer power, but the War Board wouldn’t allow Pennsy to develop new steamers. Diesel production was limited, which is why so many extraordinary steam-locomotives are early ‘40s.
Pennsy had to test two already existing steam-locomotives, Norfolk & Western’s 1200-series “A” (2-6-6-4) articulated, and Chesapeake & Ohio’s T-1 “Texas” 2-10-4.
C&O’s Texas was also Lima SuperPower: a gigantic firebox and boiler, to not run out of steam at speed. Lima’s 2-10-4 is its 2-8-4 “Berkshire” upsized to add a fifth driver-set.
Pennsy, leery of articulation, chose the C&O engine. It’s Pennsy only modern steam-locomotive without its trademark slab-sided Belpaire firebox.
Five driver-sets always bring the problem of balancing heavy side-rod weight. Steel had to be used — aluminum wasn’t strong enough — but those side-rods are long and heavy.
Rotating such weight pounds the rail. At 70 inches the drivers are large enough to permit a lot of counterweight, but counterweights pound the rail too.
The J was a mismatch for Pennsy, powerful but also fast. A lot of Pennsy, especially in PA, was mountainous. That J is a 50-mph locomotive. Locomotives in PA hafta climb heavy grades. That J might be doing 25 mph.
I think the freight speed-limit on the Curve is 30.
Js were used to get trains over Allegheny Mountain in PA, but many gravitated to less mountainous lines west of PA where they could run.

• “Pennsypacker” is not me. That’s the calendar producer. Credit where credit is due.
• “Belpaire” is pronounced “bell-pear.” “Lima” is pronounced as in “lima-bean,” not “lee-muh.” Lima OH not Lima Peru.