P5b #4702 on Test Run at Bellevue, Delaware
This shot is from the 1930's. It shows box cab #4702 with a long test train at Bellevue, Del. Bellevue is a suburban area between Edgemoor and the town of Claymont. This motor was originally built for the PRR as a P5a by Westinghouse in 1932. In a 1937 effort the make the P5a a better freight engine, the PRR gave it motorized lead and trailing trucks and reclassified it P5b. Each truck axle received a 375 horsepower motor raising the locomotive from 3,750 horsepower to 5,350 and increase the weight by 26 tons. The four vents on the lower half of the carbody are the key spotting feature. Apparently the PRR didn't think the modifications were successful enough to repeat them on other units. Maybe this photo shows one of the tests that led them to this conclusion.
John Trowill Jr. Collection, photographer unknown
