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 ...

's class H6, H6a, and H6b steam locomotives were of the

2-8-0 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 no trailing wheels. ...

"Consolidation" freight type, the most numerous class on the railroad with 1,707 units and the second most prolific 2-8-0 class in North America, with the USATC S160 class rostering 88 units more. The three subclasses differed as follows: In the 1920s, 699 H6a and H6b had

superheater A superheater is a device used to convert saturated steam or wet steam into superheated steam or dry steam. Superheated steam is used in steam turbines for electricity generation, steam engines, and in processes such as steam reforming. There ar ...

s added, and cylinder size increased from to . These rebuilt units were reclassified to H6sa and H6sb. Class H6 were used throughout the system as mainline freight haulers, on local freights, and as switchers in yards. They were frequently seen double- and tripleheading long freight trains up the steep grades on the Pennsy.Westing, Fred. Pennsy Steam and Semaphores. Superior Publishing During the period when the PRR was building the H-6 class, the railroad had effective stock control of the

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first common carrier railroad and the oldest railroad in the United States, with its first section opening in 1830. Merchants from Baltimore, which had benefited to some extent from the construction of ...

, and installed a PRR vice-president

Leonor F. Loree Leonor F. Loree (April 23, 1858 – September 6, 1940) was an American civil engineer, lawyer, railroad executive, and founder of the American Newcomen Society. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in 1877, a Master of Science in 1880 ...

, as president of the B&O. Subsequently, the B&O bought a large group of identical locomotives from the

American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

; these were initially classified class I-4, later becoming class E-24. The E-24 class had many variations, some being converted to switchers, or receiving superheaters and new valve chests. The E-24a was equivalent to the PRR H-6sb. None of the B&O E-24 class survived to the diesel era.

China

Around 1938, thirty H6sb were sold second-hand to the South Manchuria Railway (''Mantetsu''), which designated them Sorisa (ソリサ) class (''Sori'', from "Consolidation", and ''sa'', from ''san'', "three", to indicate the third class of Consolidation-type locomotives operated by Mantetsu). To distinguish these from the British-made Sorisa 1−7, the H6sb were nicknamed ペンソリ ''Pensori'' (''Penn''sylvania Con''soli''dation). Of these, fifteen were taken up by Mantetsu, which numbered them ソリサ8 through ソリサ22, whilst the other fifteen were assigned to the

Manchukuo National Railway The Manchukuo National Railway (Traditional Chinese and Japanese kanji: , Japanese romanization: ''Manshū Kokuyū Tetsudō'') was the state-owned national railway company of Manchukuo. Generally called the "國線" ("National Line", ''Kokusen' ...

, where they were numbered ソリサ547 through ソリサ561. After the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, both Mantetsu and the Manchukuo National were absorbed by the

China Railway China State Railway Group Company, Ltd., doing business as China Railway (CR), is the national passenger and freight railroad corporation of the People's Republic of China. China Railway operates passenger and freight transport throughout Ch ...

, which designated them class KD10.

Survivors

PRR #2846, an H6sb built in 1905 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 ...

, has been preserved by the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania with two other examples of the H class. #2846 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 as Consolidation Freight Locomotive No. 2846.

References

{{MNR rolling stock ALCO locomotives Baldwin locomotives Lima locomotives 2-8-0 locomotives Steam locomotives of the United States Standard gauge locomotives of the United States Steam locomotives of China Rolling stock of Manchukuo H8 Baltimore and Ohio locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1905 Railway locomotives on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Freight locomotives Transportation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania