Reading Company G Class Locomotive
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The Philadelphia and Reading/Reading Company's G class Pacifics were a series of 50 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works and Reading Company Shops throughout the 20th Century. The classes built were classified as G1sa, G1sb, G2sa, and G3. They were the Reading's primary passenger locomotives until EMD FP7s replaced them in the early 1950s.
History
The Philadelphia & Reading G1a/Reading Company G1sa
By the mid 1910s, the Philadelphia and Reading was strongly looking for a newer, more powerful passenger locomotive to haul steel passenger trains along the route out of Philadelphia to Jersey City, and the "Mainline" to Pottsville, Pennsylvania, and further. Though World War I had slowed the construction of steel cars, the P&R still wanted to experiment. In their first attempt, a small series of 4-4-4 C1-a locomotives was constructed in 1915 numbered 110-113. Though they had the power to haul the heavier passenger trains, they rode rough and bounced along the tracks at high speeds. Within a year, they were rebuilt into 4-4-2 Atlantics and re-classified as P7sa, numbered 350-353.
Taking the successful aspects from the P7 Atlantics and L10 4-6-0s, the P&R's design team erected plans for a G1a Pacific, powerful enough to haul an 8 to 10 steel car train at 90mph. In June, 1916, Pacific 105 was completed at the Reading's shops in Reading, Pennsylvania. After its trial runs were successfully completed along the steep Temple Hill grade, the 105 was put on display at the 1916 Master Mechanics Convention in Atlantic City. By November that year, engines 106-109 were completed and ready for service, making their first revenue runs along the Reading's "Blue Line" between Philadelphia and Jersey City.
The big success of the five G1a's prompted the railroad to build 25 more Pacifics from 1917-1918, 1921 and 1923. Engines 120-124 were built with an increased boiler pressure of 210psi, increasing their tractive effort to 39,045 pounds. In 1923, engines 125-129 were built with 220psi, giving them 41,000 pounds of tractive effort. By 1924, all G1a's were added with superheaters, re-classifying them as G1sa. That same year, the Reading purchased five more G1sa's by Baldwin, numbered 130-134.
On April 17th, 1921, a wealthy stokebroker, E. Lowber Stokes, was planning on catching a train out of Broad Street Station (Philadelphia) to New York City and transfer a train to Montreal for a business meeting. But a derailment at Princeton, New Jersey caused several delays. Wasting no time, Stokes speedwalked to Reading Terminal in Philadelphia. Learning that the next train wouldn't depart until 8 PM, Stokes paid the money for a special train of $427 (about $4,500 today). G1a 119 arrived at the terminal right before Stokes gave his request. The Pacific was quickly serviced and coupled up to two passenger cars, 119 departed at 5:46 PM, making the 90-mile ride exactly 80 minutes, arriving at Jersey City at 7:06 PM. Mr. Stokes was given a ferry ride and made his way to Grand Central Station, catching his 7:45 train to Montreal. According to Reading, Pennsylvania's newspaper, the train only took two minutes to travel 3.9 miles between Weston and Bound Brook Junction, averaging 1.95 miles per minute, resulting in the train's top speed of 117mph! This was the fastest a train had ever gone along the Blue Line before the two streamlined Pacifics took over the territory.
In September, 1925, a scale wooden replica of engine 134 was made by mechanics at the Reading and Camden shops to be displayed at Atlantic City. The replica locomotive was built on two Ford chassis and the tender was built on only one. Eight men pushed the 5,000 pound replica down the Atlantic City Boardwalk as the engineer and fireman kept the bell ringing. The replica locomotive was so popular that the men had to stop pushing it several times so crowds could take photographs.
In 1935, Pacific 108 was given a semi-streamlined appearance, placing its headlight in the smokebox door, moving the bell behind the smokestack, a smooth boiler jacket, and hiding away several components that would normally be exposed to the naked eye. In 1937, engines 117 and 118 were fully covered in stainless-steel shrouding, re-classified as G1sas (the extra "s" for streamlined) and given a matching 5-car consist, becoming the first stainless-steel streamlined train on the east coast, known as the Crusader (train), sprinting from Philadelphia to Jersey City in first class. The added weight from the shrouding and the increased boiler pressure of 220psi gave 117 and 118 40,900 pounds of tractive effort. Engine 108's semi-streamlining was partially removed in 1946, moving its airpumps from the tender to the front pilot, and the cap on top the smokestack was also removed, but her smooth jacketing remained. The Crusader Pacifics had their streamlining removed in 1951, keeping their airpumps on their pilots, and having their headlights and bells returned to their old positions.
After World War II, railroads across the United States were worn from the overload of traffic, but ready to modernize. The G1sa's were especially worn, with engines 105-114 in need of major repairs. The railroad's plan was to use the engines for parts to build their new G3s, but a last minute decision was made to buy all new parts and spare the ten elder Pacifics. Engine 109 was the first G1sa to be scrapped in November, 1950. The rest of the class followed slowly through July and October 1951 and April, August and September 1952.
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Reading Company G1sb
The G1sa's proved to be a superb locomotive for hauling 8-10 car trains, but they had some difficulty along the mainline above Pottsville, Pennsylvania and the Bethlehem Branch. To compensate, the railroad ordered five G1sb locomotives from Baldwin, numbered 200-204. Though the design was almost exactly the same as the G1sa's, the biggest change made was the change in the driver diameter from 80 inches to 74 inches and more weight was placed onto the drivers, raising the tractive effort to 44,200 pounds. Engine 201 was given a special blue paint job with gold striping, possibly in respect of the positive relationship between the Reading and the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and given the nickname, the "Bluebird". After being broken in on the New York branch, the G1sb's were assigned to passenger trains along the mainline and Bethlehem Branch.
In 1947, engines 200 and 202 were the first Pacifics selected to receive a massive overhaul. This included a new cast steel frame, the airpumps were moved to the pilot and covered by a chestplate, the spoked pilot wheels were replaced with solid wheels, the trailing truck frame was replaced with a cast Delta type frame. During the rebuilding, a suggestion was made to give the engines skirting similar to what the Reading T-1s had. Locomotive 202 was the first to be finished on April 9th, 1947. Unfortunately, the rebuild only gave the locomotives six more years of life. The five G1sb's were scrapped in August, 1953.
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Reading Company G2sa
In May, 1926, Baldwin built five more Pacifics for the Reading, numbered 175-179. This time, instead of shrinking the drivers, the engines were built with bigger boilers. The G2sa's worked all over the Reading and P-RSL systems. On September 2nd, 1936, engine 178 was semi-streamlined in a similar fashion to G1sa 108 and was allocated to Philadelphia-Jersey City trips. On the 4th of October, 1936, 178 hauled the very first Reading Rail Rambles, a series of railfan trips organized by a railfan group in conjunction with the Reading. Like the G1sb's, the G2sa's were rebuilt after World War II and given the same treatment. Engine 179 was the last Reading Pacific to be rebuilt and was given a new tender carrying 14,000 gallons of water. The G2sa's were retired only seven years after their rebuilding and scrapped.
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Reading Company G3
When the Reading rebuilt the G1sb and G2sa classes, they began planning to rebuild their ten oldest G1sa's, 105-114, to approximate specifications to their G2sa counterparts. The railroad originally wanted the G1sa's to receive a new boiler with 220psi, but Baldwin suggested a heavier boiler of 260psi. This suggestion was concerning to Reading Company officials, as a union agreement stated that an engine crew running a locomotive with over 200,000 pounds on the drivers had to be paid a higher wage. Baldwin estimated that the new Pacifics would approximately weigh 198,000 pounds on the drivers, but it wasn't guaranteed. Several minor components from the G1sa's, including their tenders, were to be reused as the Reading and Baldwin made several new parts for the rebuilt engines.
When Baldwin released its plan to assist in rebuilding the G1sa's, the Central Railroad of New Jersey alerted the Reading of its plans to remove the track pans near Greenville, New Jersey. The original 9,000 gallon tenders couldn't make the journey without stopping for water, so Baldwin presented a larger tender design, capable of holding 13,500 gallons of water and 17 tons of coal. After deciding to purchase new tenders, the Reading decided it would be more economical to just build ten new Pacifics from the ground up. The locomotives would be classified as G3's, America's last Pacific locomotive ever built, numbered 210-219. The G3 Pacifics were the most modern of the 50 Pacifics owned by the Reading, including a Northington feedwater heater, roller bearings, box-pok driving wheels on the center axle, a standard type HT stoker, and semi-streamlining similar to the rebuilt Pacifics beforehand.
G3 210 was completed and steamed for the first time on February 18th, 1948 with a temporary rebuilt tender. The new frames from the Commonwealth Cast Steel Corporation were delivered on time, but the material for the brakes made by the American Steel Foundry wasn't delivered until June, 1948. 210's temporary tender was a 12,000 gallon tender rebuilt to carry 14,000 gallons. 210 was moved to Baldwin's new location in Eddystone, Pennsylvania to be weighed. The weight was 7,450 pounds over what was estimated and the weight on the drivers was just over 200,000 pounds. The Pacific then went back to Reading to move some weight off the driving wheels.
On March 1st, 1948, 210 made its inaugural run on the Reading's new passenger train, the Wall Street, another first class run from Philadelphia to Jersey City. Once 210 got a chance to return to Eddystone, its final weight was 197,184 pounds on the drivers with a tractive effort of 48,340 pounds. Pacific 211 was completed on March 22nd, 1948, and was the first to receive its new tender on June 14th, 1948. 211's temporary tender was given to engine 215 with extended coal boards, since it was discovered that long mainline runs beyond Pottsville wouldn't be able to return to Philadelphia without refueling. This resulted in the first five new tenders staying to the original design, and the next five tenders would be modified to haul 12,500 gallons and 19 tons of coal.
The G3's were also assigned to haul two other new trains created by the railroad: The Schuylkill (Philadelphia to Pottsville) and the King Coal (Philadelphia to Shamokin). But as soon as they were built, they were already being threatened of replacement. As EMD FP7s took over the Crusader and Wall Street in 1950, and the King Coal and Schuylkill in September, 1952. In 1953, the G3's were assigned to haul trains on the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. Some hauled expresses from Philadelphia to Atlantic City, others hauled trains to Wildwood, New Jersey and Cape May. In 1954, the G3's came back to the Reading temporarily as substitute power along the Jersey City and mainline routes, but went back to the PRSL in 1955.
In 1956, the Reading Railroad offered Pacific 219 to the City of Reading for display, as it was the last steam locomotive built by the Reading and the last Pacific built for any railroad in the United States. The city refused to pay for the costs of moving the locomotive and lifting it to its display stand. In June, 1957, all ten G3's were scrapped.
Accidents Among the G Class
Lebanon, Pennsylvania Wreck
On May 30th, 1945, a little after 5 AM, G1sa 115 was heading a passenger train from Harrisburg to Reading, Pennsylvania. As the train entered the yard in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, the engine slammed into the back of a freight train, derailing and crashing into a passing westbound freight. Incredibly, nobody was injured, and the passengers continued by bus. The wreckage was cleared and the track reopened at restricted speed at 1 PM, and by 6 AM, trains could go on their normal timetable.
Failure of Engine 130
On July 20th, 1951, G1sa 130 was heading westbound from Atlantic City to Philadelphia. The run was a normal run until the train reached Camden, New Jersey. At 8:29pm, the train approached the Delair Bridge at 50mph as 130's left-hand driving rod snapped off and struck the front corner of the firebox, causing scalding steam to escape the boiler and into the cab. The fireman was thrown out of the cab and killed instantly. The engineer brought the train to a safe stop and was rushed to the West Jersey Hospital. He died at 8:50pm the following day. The drive rod failure was caused by a fracture in the metal, undetectable during daily inspections because the crossheads were in the way. The weak point couldn't handle the normal amount of heat it was designed to withstand and galled. 130 was towed back to Reading, most likely stored for spare parts to keep its siblings in operation.
Collision at Newtown Junction
On October 31st, 1940, G1sb 203 was departing Reading Terminal with four coaches at 5PM. At 5:17, the train had to stop at a signal at Newtown Junction near Logan, Philadelphia. Meanwhile, a commuter train with EMU's 800 and 822 was coming up behind. Engineer Showers stopped at a signal that indicated to stop and then proceed slowly at 15mph. Once he saw the home signal change to proceed, he increased his speed to 45-50mph, unaware of the halted passenger train ahead. The commuter was just five car lengths behind when Showers applied the emergency brakes. The EMU rammed into the rear passenger car, shoved the front passenger car onto the back of 203's tender, and pushed the 203 forward about 20 feet. The culprit in this accident was the flagman of 203's train for not providing the proper protection.
Derailment of the Crusader
The Crusader, led by G1sas 118, derailed on October 11th, 1946. A rail had accidentally been left jacked up by the track gang. The engine and all the passenger cars left the rails but everything stayed upright, resulting in only minor injuries and minor damage.
The Belle Mead Derailment
On October 2nd, 1950, G3 213 was heading southbound towards Pottsville Junction as it entered Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. A tank truck filled with gasoline didn't stop at the Newbold Street crossing as 213 rang its bell and blew its whistle. 213 hit the tanker and it exploded in a massive ball of fire, killing the truck driver and 213's fireman. The train went into emergency and the RPO behind the locomotive stopped right on top of the crossing, next to the truck. The engineer and two employees onboard the RPO were seriously injured. The accident made the headlines and the Southern Pacific requested for copies of photographs taken of the aftermath of the accident and hand them out to trucking companies near their territory to inform truck drivers that they always need to be alert at railroad crossings.
Overshoot at Pottsville Station
Pacific 215 was arriving at the Pottsville Station (a terminal station with a trainshed on April 11th, 1949. The locomotive's engineer miscalculated how much distance was needed to stop the train safely. As 215 and its passenger train rolled in, the engineer realized his train wasn't going to stop in time. Putting the train into emergency, 215 casually rolled off the tracks, along the station floor, and poked its face through the station building. No one was injured, and many of the passengers didn't even know the accident even happened until they got off the train!
Explosion at Port Carbon
G3 216 was heading southbound towards Pottsville Junction as it entered Port Carbon, Pennsylvania. A tank truck filled with gasoline didn't stop at the Newbold Street crossing as 216 rang its bell and blew its whistle. 216 hit the tanker and it exploded in a massive ball of fire, killing the truck driver and 216's fireman. The train went into emergency and the RPO behind the locomotive stopped right on top of the crossing, next to the truck. The engineer and two employees onboard the RPO were seriously injured. The accident made the headlines and the Southern Pacific requested for copies of photographs taken of the aftermath of the accident and hand them out to trucking companies near their territory to inform truck drivers that they always need to be alert at railroad crossings.
References
Bernhart, Benjamin L. The Reading Railroad's Mighty Pacifics. The Outer Station Project, 2008.
Gillette, Greg. “Train Collision at Belle Mead, 1950.” MyCentralJersey.com, BRI, 31 Aug. 2016, www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/view-from-hillsborough/2016/08/31/train-collision-at-belle-mead-1950/89642654/.
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