To the Pennsylvania Railroad, it was a long overdue, much needed electric freight locomotive, to its builder General Electric, it was the best designers could field in the way of a bold, new electric locomotive that they hoped would inspire additional orders but end the end, the locomotives closed the curtain on the largest electrification project in the US.
The E-44 electric locomotives were much more than that brief introduction. They were products born out of extreme necessity. By 1950, the PRR realized that they needed to design and build an entirely new electric locomotive for their eastern lines, completed between 1935 and 1938. In truth, the PRR never had a specialized, electric freight locomotive but instead made do with the class P5, P5A-Modified and P5B locomotives –all were designed as passenger locomotives but failed that test. Depressed revenues during the 1930s prompted PRR to make good on its investment so the P5, P5A-Modified and P5B locomotives were regeared for freight service. As such, they were at best, a stopgap solution.
A lone DD-2 was built in 1938 but no repeat orders were placed. Despite their caution about expenses, the PRR buried the legacy of the L6 and L6a electric locomotives: 31 were built but only three were fully completed with electrical gear. Those three proved to be too light in freight service and the balance of the fleet never turned a wheel; all were clandestinely scrapped in the early 1940s.
Those limitations could not prevail by the late 1940s. PRR succumbed to the belief that the postwar economy would see traffic rise to new levels of prosperity and they once again, contemplated extending their electrification west from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh. So, the quest began to forge beyond electric locomotive designs from the late 1930s era, where it had ended. The period from 1951 to 1957 found the PRR studying the economies of electrification once again and placing orders for six experimental locomotives of the E2b, E3b and E3c classes built by General Electric and Baldwin-Lima-Westinghouse. They also watched as GE produced the E-33 electric locomotives in 1956 for the Virginian Railway that were deemed successful. By 1958 however, postwar optimism tempered since the anticipated traffic boom never materialized and more concerning, PRR operating losses continued to mount.
Scaling back plans for extending electrification could not forestall the need for new electric freight locomotives. In 1959 PRR placed a $32 Million Dollar order with GE for 66 E-44 ignition, rectifier locomotives, each delivering 4,400 HP. Sixty had silicone diode rectifiers and six had the new silicone diode rectifier system GE instituted and were classed E-44a. The E-44 class were delivered between 1960 and 1963 and bore the road numbers 4400-4465. Design costs were reduced since GE basically used the same design as the E-33 with only minor modifications. Upon delivery of #4465, the entire P5 class were gradually removed from service.
The E-44 served three successions of owners without fail: PRR, Penn Central and Conrail. But during the infancy of Conrail, the entire subject of electrification became energized once again, promoted by oil shortages that prevailed in the 1970s. During that same period, ownership of the Northeast Corridor – the backbone of the original PRR electrification of 1935 – was transferred to Amtrak.
Conrail was essentially left with the electrified freight classification yards and electrified branches, the longest of which were the A&S Branch and Trenton Cut-Off. In the end, the cost benefit-analysis process revealed diesel-electrics were more economical and did not require the cost-intensive electric infrastructure. Accordingly, Conrail ended electric operations in March 1981 and the footprint of the largest US mainline electrification was greatly reduced. Amtrak later purchased several E-44 for maintenance assignments.
Fast forward to the recent announcement by Rapido about their new line of E-44 locomotives, available in all five popular liveries the locomotives displayed. Features include:
- Accurately scaled from blueprints and prototype measurements
- Operating pantographs on DC/DCC/Sound models
- Road number-specific details
- Three styles of roof vents
- Various vent hoods as appropriate
- Three styles of hood doors and end doors
- Full cab interior with lighted consoles
- Mo-Power capacitor system for uninterrupted DCC running
- DC/Silent (21-pin DCC Ready) or DC/DCC/ESU LokSound
- Suggested minimum radius: 22″
The great quality of Rapido products and the uniqueness of the E-44 coupled with our competitive pricing, preorder service, hold and consolidate option and customer care make completing reasons to add several of these locomotives to your fleet.
Frank Wrabel
modeltrainstuff.com