PRR M1

M1 is a class of steam locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR). It was a class of heavy mixed-traffic locomotives of the 4-8-2 "Mountain" arrangement, which uses four pairs of driving wheels with a four-wheel guiding truck in front for stability at speed and a two-wheel trailing truck to support the large firebox needed for sustained power. Although built for both passenger and freight work, they spent most of their service lives hauling heavy high-speed freight trains. Many PRR men counted the M1 class locomotives as the best steam locomotives the railroad ever owned.

History

A single prototype, #6699, was built in 1923 at the railroad's Altoona Works. It spent three years in testing, including all kinds of main line service as well as a session on the railroad's static test plant. Having received favorable reports, a further 200 were ordered from commercial locomotive builders; 175 from the Baldwin Locomotive Works and 25 from Lima Locomotive Works. Breaking with the PRR tradition of random locomotive numbering, these were numbered in a solid block from #6800-#6999.