The Pennsylvania Railroad's class L2s was a class of

USRA Light Mikado The USRA Light Mikado was a USRA standard class of steam locomotive designed under the control of the United States Railroad Administration, the nationalized railroad system in the United States during World War I. This was the standard light ...

s originally purchased (1919) for the subsidiary Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad. Similar in size to the home-designed and built L1s, the L2s was easily distinguishable by their radial-stay fireboxes and Hodges fabricated trailing trucks. They were built by

ALCO 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 ...

. All were retired in 1948.

History

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the Pennsylvania Railroad needed a lighter 2-8-2 type steam locomotive to handle lighter freight trains on the system. In 1919, 38 locomotives (GR&I 106-112 and PRR 2006-2038) were purchased while the railroad was under USRA control. Alco, Baldwin, and Lima filled the order. Most were sold in 1923 (2006-2038) to the SLSF (Frisco) and MP (Missouri Pacific). Five were retained to run on the Grand Rapids & Indiana and renumbered in 1921 to PRR 9627-9631. All 5 locomotives 9627 to 9631 remaining with the Pennsy were photographed at some stage, most in the 1930s.

Retirement

The five locos remained in service through World War II, until being replaced and dropped from the roster between March and November 1948. Frisco 4018 (former PRR 20030) is displayed at Birmingham, Al.

Train model

LGB produced a

from 2001 to 2004 in

G scale Large scale or G scale (, G gauge) is a track gauge for model railways which is often used for outdoor garden railways because of its size and durability. G scale trains use a fixed track gauge of to accommodate a range of rail transport m ...

in multiple fallen flag railroad names including product number 21872, Pennsylvania Railroad No. 2809. In

HO scale HO or H0 is a rail transport modelling scale using a 1:87 scale (3.5 mm to 1 foot). It is the most popular scale of model railway in the world. The rails are spaced apart for modelling standard gauge tracks and trains in HO. NMRA"Mo ...

Märklin Gebr. Märklin & Cie. GmbH or Märklin (MÄRKLIN or MAERKLIN in capital letters) is a German toy company. The company was founded in 1859 and is based at Göppingen in Baden-Württemberg. Although it originally specialised in doll house accesso ...

produced both a 2 rail version ( TRIX brand) in 2004 (product ID 22804) and a 3-rail version (product ID 37976) in 2011. Both of these faithfully replicate the Pennsylvania lettering and paint scheme of the inter-war years.

References

{{PRR locomotives L2s 2-8-2 locomotives Steam locomotives of the United States Scrapped locomotives Standard gauge locomotives of the United States