PRR E44 - Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

By the late 1950s, with its P5a fleet aging, the Pennsylvania Railroad needed new electric freight locomotives. In fact, the PRR had never really had a successful electric freight locomotive. The P5a was originally built to haul passengers, being bumped from that duty by the more powerful GG1. The GG1s were best at hauling passenger trains; while also adequate for fast, time-sensitive freights, they were not as efficient on heavy freights (especially coal and ore trains), at a time before roller bearings were widely used on freight cars. The PRR had purchased E2b, E2c, and E3b demonstrators, but was not particularly impressed, for a variety of reasons. The railroad even considered complete freight dieselization, and commissioned studies on this from builders Alco, GM's EMD and General Electric; however, all three builders recommended retaining all existing electrification and acquiring new electric locomotives. The PRR took special note of twelve state-of-the-art EL-C electrics built by GE for the Virginian Railway, who was satisfied with their performance on their coal trains in the Blue Ridge Mountains. The PRR then approached GE about building a similar locomotive, resulting in an order for 66 such units in 1959.

The E44 was essentially a more powerful version of the EL-C (later known as the E33), with 4,400 horsepower (3.3 MW) compared to the EL-C's 3,300 horsepower (2.5 MW). One of the most notable differences in appearances between the two locomotives was the pantograph(s): the El-C had one double-arm (Stemmann) pantograph, whereas the E44 had two single-arm (Faiveley) pantographs, a characteristic born of the PRR's operating practice of having two pantographs per locomotive. The EL-C, while of utilitarian design, also had a slightly more rounded appearance than the rather boxier E44. While the E44 was short on aesthetics compared with the GG1 and P5 ("bricks" being a particularly common sobriquet), the units were long on performance.

The Pennsylvania used the E44s on just about any freight assignment imaginable, on all of its electrified lines. They could work both singly or lashed together as multiple units. They quickly proved to be very versatile and could handle just about any train, without helpers. The E44's dynamic braking, a novelty under PRR wires, made them just as sure-footed descending grades as climbing them (although the brakes were not regenerative). They even occasionally hauled passenger trains in emergencies, although they were not very adept in this role, being (officially) limited to 70 mph (112 km/h), having a pronounced oscillating tendency at speed on jointed rail, and of course lacking steam generators for passenger service.

The units were delivered in an entirely new paint scheme. While adorned in the familiar PRR Brunswick Green, the units carried the sans-serif road name in yellow, flanked by two small PRR keystones, together with a keystone on the front and rear, and a large yellow road number. This scheme was unique to the E44; all subsequent diesel orders omitted the road name. The impact of the lettering was diminished by the fact that the units were seldom washed and became very grimy, due to the assignment of the units to diesel service facilities whose automatic car washers lacked overhead wiring.