Pre or Post War Pennsy?

[prre6]

A topic recently came up at my model train club about which way we should go: pre or post war pennsy. It seemed like a harmless question but an all out war broke out. We divided into 3 groups: the pre, the post, and (me) confused and undecided. So I need some help. Which one is the better face: the pre or post war version of Pennsy steam?

 

[H222]

Erm. Depends on what you like? Duh, there is no "better"

I prefer post-war, it gives a chance of diesels, plus run-down, older steamers plus the newer post-war beasts.

 

[PBY357]

I'm with H222, with post war, you get behemoths like the J1, T1, S2,S1, Q2... etc. But you also get better technical statistics for locomotives and other rolling stock. In example: Larger Firebox, Streamlined Cars, Different types of valve gear. But pre war Pennsy isn't to much different besides the fact that the pilots were different. Yeah, you don't have the J1 or the T1, but you still have the M1, and I1sa.

 

[simulatortrain]

I prefer to model the oddballs that break the mold, like this one:

It's got both "prewar" and "postwar" features as well as an experimental front end throttle and one of a kind tender "borrowed" from a scrapped K4.

Be original, model somewhere around 1910 when electric lights were a thing of the future. You can still run some pretty modern locomotives, and it's not just one more layout where PRR steam was unboxed and set on the track. It actually took a little doing, you know?

 

[jacksonbarno]

Pre war: The Pennsy Streamliners of the late 30's in all of their glory, the S1, the streamlined K4s, long freights powered by M1s, L1s, and Decs. A better solution would be during WWII, as you can use Q2s, Q1s, J1s, and you can have troop train operations. Also, passenger consists would be long and numerous, and there would be interesting combinations of steam power.

 

[KenRuof]

Personally I like 1940s war time as jacksonbarno said you get the best of the steamers. Post war Pennsy was not in good shape nor was it run very well being they were not railroad men but lawyers and we all know where it ended up. I also like the circle keystone paint scheme and the as built front engine light and generator arrangement. Also like the war time Fleet of Modernism passenger paint schema just wish Auran would do coaches so I can do the "Sprit of St Louis". Last but not least the 5 strip GG1's were the best for electrics.

 

[prre6]

Yeah really. Where is my dining car from the FOM pack huh? :hehe:

 

[cascaderailroad]

Depends which war you are referring to WWI or WII ... the pre 1914 PRR stuff was pretty neat (very antiquated) but very interesting ... I like the era 1800-1920 ... and I like to mix the eras of the stub switch, highball, and the semaphore ... with the PLS era.

And don't forget to include the canal period, an the inclined railways ... which were pretty high tech for their time, before flight was invented.

 

[AMTRAKwannabe]

Pre WWI, that's when the K-4's had class!

 

[boyerm25]

During WW2.

 

[jacksonbarno]

Looks like there will be no dinner for passengers tonight, the dining car has disappeared into thin air!

Also, by the way, the Pennsy during WWII was the last hurrah of he K4 on mainline passener trains, so if you like K4s, then pre war or during WWII is nice.

 

[drchoi21]

WWII please they have wGG1s, DD1s, P5s, P5as, BB1s, FF1s, and other unique electrics operating in that era. I believe Pennsy's electrification is the most significant so you should go with
WWII PRR or even postwar when they had this

 

[prre6]

I like the idea of the steam-diesel era transition, but the other club members want to keep the pre WWI K29 we have in O scale, and when the original K4 looked like an enlarged E6. Personally, that era with the heavyweight 1910's Pullmans is nice. Just cant find the dang thing in Trainz...