Railworks America

Hi everyone,

we are currently working on the Hiawata train (1940-1950s). We are currently stuck with the research regarding the cab of the Atlantic locomotive. Any ideas where to find some good pictures, etc?

Many thanks,
Andreas

I spent a couple hours searching for info on the Class A's cab interior, and the closest I could find were some photos of the enclosed rear cab of a brass model. As none of the four Class A's were preserved, my only thought would be to "free-lance" the cab along the lines of a preserved 4-4-2, taking into account coal versus oil plumbing of course. There is a PRR E6 Atlantic on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. If no diagrams, plans, or photos of an actual Class A cab interior turn up; perhaps there is a RWA member in the Strasburg, Pennsylvania area, that would volunteer to provide some photos (?). That is if you are left with no actual Class A alternatives of course. I wish I could be of more help; I really hope your Hiawatha project becomes a reality as it is such an iconic part of our railway history that cannot be properly "faked" with any of our existing models.
Viel Glück!

You could try to to get in touch with historical societies which focus on the Milwaukee Road. I found some reference to the Milwaukee Road's Archives being in the hands of the Milwaukee Public Library, you could try them. If all else fails perhaps you could reach out to the Friends of the 261 and see if anyone there could steer you in the right direction.

Failing that, to freelance a cab, the big question is what kind of throttle did the As have? Dome or Front End? You could roughly deduce the style of throttle lever from that. Then you could use photos of 261's cab as a rough guide for gauges, sight glasses, and other components. The brake handles would probably be the usual Westinghouse style levers. I'm guessing the As had a power reverse so the reverser would be similar to that of 844 or 261. As for firing controls most oil firing setups were roughly the same as far as I know.

MILW A-class were state of the art 1934 ALCo products. It won't do to put an early 20th century PRR cab in your Hiawatha model.
No doubt, many standard ALCo parts were used in the cab and period appliances and instruments. Sampling any modern locomotive cab will do.
The back plate's shape and size should be available on the erection drawings available online.

No steam locomotive cab that hasn't been preserved can be re-created 100% accurate, but nobody alive will notice the difference.