Model of Pennsylvania Railroad's 1910 Electric Locomotive 3977
Model of Pennsylvania Railroad's 1910 Electric Locomotive 3977
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- Description
- This is a model of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s No. 3977, an electric locomotive built in 1910.
- In the early twentieth century, the Pennsylvania Railroad terminated across the Hudson River from New York City. However, its archrival, the New York Central Railroad, operated trains into midtown Manhattan. To compete with the New York Central, the Pennsylvania opened its Pennsylvania Station in the city in 1910. To reach Penn Station, the line tunneled beneath the Hudson River. These long tunnels were unsuitable for steam locomotives, as the smoke that these engines emitted became trapped inside. The No. 3977 was one of thirty-three DD1 class electric locomotives built for service through the tunnels between Pennsylvania Station and Manhattan Transfer, a stop near Newark, NJ. At Manhattan Transfer, the electric engines were cut off and steam locomotives pulled the trains onward.
- One DD1 pair, consisting of nos. 3936 and 3937, survives in the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg, PA. This model is part of the collection displayed in the museum’s Railroad Hall exhibit of 1964-2002 to illustrate the technological development of the locomotive.
- Location
- Currently on loan
- Object Name
- model, locomotive
- Other Terms
- Locomotive Set, D.D.1, 1910; Rail; Electric
- date made
- ca 1962
- used date
- 1910
- maker
- Shawcraft (Models) Ltd.
- Associated Place
- United States: New York
- United States: New Jersey
- United States: Pennsylvania
- ID Number
- TR.320631
- catalog number
- 320631
- accession number
- 242186
- See more items in
- Work and Industry: Transportation, Railroad
- America on the Move
- Transportation
- Data Source
- National Museum of American History
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