Signature Steam Class on the Standard Railroad of the World
Collecting Art, take a look That enduring legacy is bestowed on the PRR class K4s, 4-6-2 locomotive. The K4s was born out of extreme necessity in 1914, when the PRR belatedly confirmed that they had to break with their limiting phobia about adding one extra set of drive wheels to passenger locomotives. Until that time, management steadfastly believed larger 4-4-0 or 4-4-2 locomotives represented maximum efficiency in motive power. To prove the point, PRR built the famous E6s 4-4-2 locomotive that was designed to out perform the standard 4-6-2 locomotives of that era. The E6s could easily move 14-car passenger trains at speed on level mainline, but was challenged on many parts of the PRR mountain-grade mainline in the state of Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The first K4s the “s” designated that the locomotive was equipped with a superheater locomotive #1737 emerged from the PRR Juniata Shops in 1914. The design was not a completely in-house creation since many of the specifications of #17...