Pennsylvania Railroad 520 is a

2-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and two trailing wheel ...

"Mikado" type

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built in 1916 by the

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...

for the

Pennsylvania Railroad The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...

for freight duties as a member of the L1s class. In 1942, the locomotive was involved in a devastating boiler explosion incident that required construction of a new, replacement boiler. After being retired in 1957, the locomotive was saved for

preservation Preservation may refer to: Heritage and conservation * Preservation (library and archival science), activities aimed at prolonging the life of a record while making as few changes as possible * ''Preservation'' (magazine), published by the Nat ...

and placed on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pennsylvania, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Background

The L1s is a class of

steam locomotives that was developed in 1914 to replace the H9s-class. The L1s used boilers identical to the ones eventually used for Pennsylvania Railroad's famed K4s-class steam locomotives. Most L1s locomotives were moved to other duties when the I1s was introduced in 1924.

History

520 was built by the

in December 1916. While pulling freight from Altoona, Pennsylvania, to Conway, Pennsylvania, on November 14, 1942, during World War 2 the boiler on 520 exploded near

Cresson ''Cresson'' is the French word for ''watercress''. It may refer to: ; Places * Battle of Cresson, a small battle fought on May 1, 1187, in what now is Israel, near Nazareth * Cresson, Pennsylvania, a United States borough * Cressona, Pennsylvania, ...

. The explosion killed both the engineer and the brakeman, injured the fireman and

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Music * Conductor (music), a person who leads a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra. * ''Conductor'' (album), an album by indie rock band The Comas * Conduction, a type of structured free improvisation ...

, and shattered windows on a nearby house. Two occupants of the house were also injured by scalding water and flying

ember An ember, also called a hot coal, is a hot lump of smouldering solid fuel, typically glowing, composed of greatly heated wood, coal, or other carbon-based material. Embers (hot coals) can exist within, remain after, or sometimes precede, a ...

s, which also set a rug on fire. The force of the blast derailed the tender and six tank cars. 520 was eventually repaired and placed back into service. On October 20, 1957, 520 pulled a " railfan special" out of

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was d ...

, Maryland, from

Enola Enola may refer to: Places *Enola, Arkansas, USA; a town * Enola, Nebraska, USA; an unincorporated community *Enola, Pennsylvania, USA; a census-designated place * Enola Reef (island), a coral atoll in the Spratley Islands *Mount Vernon–Enola Sc ...

to Northumberland, Pennsylvania. After a round trip from Northumberland to Enola, it was retired to the Pennsylvania Railroad's collection of historical locomotives. 520 was donated to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission in December 1979 by the Pennsylvania Railroad's successor Penn Central. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 17, 1979.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Railroad 0520 2-8-2 locomotives Collection of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Individual locomotives of the United States 0520 Railway locomotives on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Railway boiler explosions National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Preserved steam locomotives of Pennsylvania

Background

History

See also

References

Sources