Alco pa & pb

lucakiki

New Member
A simple question,which will denote my ignorance on the subject: please be patient!
Was only one B unit used in the average lash-up ( A+B+A) or did more than one B unit ( A+B+B+A) get added at times?
In other words, did I buy one unit too much for my Santa Fe roster?
Thank you.
 

Chessie6459

Gauge Oldtimer
The santa fe railroad had 28 PA1's & 16 PB1's. I have seen them lashed up with 2 PA1's and 2 PB1's units on tv when they would air about railroads awhile back.
 

eightyeightfan1

Now I'm AMP'd
All the pics I've seen on the Fallen Flags site(http://www.rr-fallenflags.org). looks like the Santa Fe ran the PA in only A+B+A.
If I remember reading somewhere, the Santa Fe actually considered the A+B+A lash-up as one unit. The "B" unit would be numbered as a(ex: 51A).
But since its your railroad, I'm sure you can come up with a good story as why there is an extra "B" unit. (The two A units scrapped, keeping the B unit..especially if its a different number, though I think the Santa Fe would renumber it 51B)
 

lucakiki

New Member
Thank you: so basically I should use the A+B+A configuration, or make up some story if I want to use the A+B+B+A configuration.
I guess I will use the prototypical configuration.
I will have plenty of "errors" on my layout, owing to ignorance, so I would like to avoid what I now know to be wrong .
I will use the " hey it is my layout " formula as a last resort...
 

nkp174

Active Member
Important!

Not all roads used B units.

The NKP had probably the 2nd most famous PAs....and despite multiple offerings of NKP B-units, the road never had any. So check your road before buying. The NKP used a single A unit for their St. Louis trains and a pair for their Buffalo-Chicago trains.

All 4 surviving PA-1s are A units. They started out as AT&SF power...went to the DL&W, and then off to Mexico. 2 are still in Mexico...and Doyle McCormick repatriated the other two. One is going to the Smithsonian painted up for its original railroad, the AT&SF. The one that Doyle is keeping is lettered up for the NKP.
 

railohio

Active Member
All 4 surviving PA-1s are A units. They started out as AT&SF power...went to the DL&W, and then off to Mexico. 2 are still in Mexico...and Doyle McCormick repatriated the other two. One is going to the Smithsonian painted up for its original railroad, the AT&SF. The one that Doyle is keeping is lettered up for the NKP.

The units went to the Delaware & Hudson after the Santa Fe, not the Lackawanna. The DL&W never rostered any Alco cab units.

The 190 still has a long way to go before being complete and only then will Doyle finally start on the Smithsonian's unit. It has come a long way since I last saw it, but still isn't near being finished.
 

nkp174

Active Member
The units went to the Delaware & Hudson after the Santa Fe, not the Lackawanna. The DL&W never rostered any Alco cab units.

The 190 still has a long way to go before being complete and only then will Doyle finally start on the Smithsonian's unit. It has come a long way since I last saw it, but still isn't near being finished.

Thank you for the correction and the additional info!
 

Triplex

Active Member
Here is a link to a picture of a 4 set A+B+B+A. You can barely make out the last A unit in the photo but it is there.
I've seen that shot before and I loved it. I've seen consists of 4 E-units on many roads (even 5 on the UP), but this was the first time I saw 4 PA/PBs.
 
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