Former PRR F7A & B set is seen on the Kings Port Division!

 Hello!

 As I have occasionally commented to my friend John R. of the New York Central Train Layout fame, I was only "innocently scrolling through eBay" when I came across something to buy!  This time it was a Bachmann Plus Pennsylvania Railroad freight  F7 A&B set listed at a very reasonable price.    Not really needing another couple of locomotives I watched with some interest but let the auction end with the units unsold.  I was surprised that no one bid on them and told myself that if they appeared for sale again I would make an offer.  

 A few weeks later my patience paid off as the locos did indeed appear for sale at the same low price.  I tried to avoid attracting attention to them and waited until the auction's last ten minutes to bid the original asking price...and I won!  I was astounded that no one else bid on these nice looking and smooth running locos in two auctions.   Mine, I think!  :)

Bachmann Plus F units have the reputation for running smoothly and pulling respectable tonnage.  I've been very pleased with a pair of B&O Bachmann Plus units that I bought on eBay a few years ago.  Here they are seen on a coal drag at West Mill.

The seller sent the PRR F units immediately and I was pleased to test them on the Kings Port Division within a few days of purchase.  Here they shine in their Pennsylvania livery circa 1955.

I replaced the horn hook couplers in the front and back of the set.  (I ran out of couplers to change out the ones connecting the A&B together!) and tested the units with several coal hoppers.  The pair ran great!
 

 

I didn't want to paint these nice looking locomotives PC dip black but did want to include them in my Penn Central era roster.  Fortunately conversations with John, and a little research, revealed that several PRR F7s renumbered with larger yellow "conforming numbers" in anticipation of the Penn Central merger kept their original paint jobs for a while in the PC era.   An example of one still in PRR livery but with newer numbers can be seen  Here 

John provided me with information that the PRR and NYC agreed to start numbering their locomotives in a cooperative scheme two or three years prior to the merger.  Apparently the plan was to adopt a joint numbering sequence by locomotive class, with the road having the greatest number of any particular units be the guide for numbers selected.    The New York Central rostered more F7s so their numbering sequence for those units was adopted by the Pennsylvania.    PRR F units absorbed into the Penn Central were numbered 1440-1538 and 1900-1906.    

Here are a couple more photos of PRR FA and B units in the early merger scheme.

PRR F7A

PRR F7B 

Using their numbers and John's information as guides, I created F7A #1485 and F7B #3516.   Numbers on the F7As seem to have been located with classic Penn Central variety on either the lower panel as shown in the photo or above the stripe in the location that became more standard PC practice with their black units.  ACI plaques have been added to both.

The two former PRR units are showing their age and deferred maintenance as part of the Penn Central on the Kings Port Division.

I'll be testing this set with other Bachmann units for potential lashups on my DC layout.  A little locomotive shell switching lets me run this early merger GP30 with the F7s.  John notes that both later NYC and PRR locomotives tended to be more simply painted to make post-merger changes easier and less expensive.  GP30 #2212 sports only the small Keystones as identification.

 Now I can run my latest acquisitions on my PC era layout while other black dipped locos look on.  I still needed to change the number boards on the F7A when this photo was taken.  The previous owner did a nice job on them but....

 

Here we go!   I printed off numbers using Microsoft Word and glued them on.

  Here is the set running with a PC F7A.

Thanks for taking a look!  Expect to see #1485 and #3516 make occasional appearances in future P.C.C.M.s!