Looking for a good book

Greeting Pennsy fans. I'm trying to broaden my horizons, so I am wondering, could anyone recommend a good book on PRR steam locomotives? What I am hoping to find is something similar to an encyclopedia, that lists and describes PRR engine types, spec's, production totals etc. Any drawings would be a bonus.
Is there such a thing out there?

Wikipedia might be a good start.

I have no idea how complete it is, but it's got some neat stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:L ... a_Railroad

Over the course of its existance the PRR is reputed to have owned over 25,000 steam locomotives. Many of the later classes were assigned blocks of consecutive road numbers, but the low end of the list was always a hodgepodge of various classes. A roster does exist, but I've only encountered it on one or two occasions. I'd suggest the PRRT&HS and possibly the PRR Yahoo group as a starting point.

In addition, while perusing the statcks at the Library of Congress, now over twenty years ago, I came across a duplicate of a typewritten list of the disposition of much of Pennsy's later steam power. However, the title under which it was catalogued escapes my memory.

Hi All,

Check out Pennsy Power, Volumes I and II, by Stauffer.

Thanks guys,
I'm mainly interested in spec's, weights, dimensions, pressures, wheel arrangements and class designations, etc.

The two "Pennsy Power" books mentioned above are pretty much the basic sources for PRR steam power data. But if you really want full engine-by-engine detail, try to find a copy of "Keystone Stream and Electric," by William D. Edson, published by Wayner Publications in New York in 1974. This gives basic specifications for each class, a number-by-number listing of all locos in that class with construction and retirement dates, and a cross-reference of engine numbers to classes. As was mentioned, the PRR used a random numbering "system" for most of its steam power, so a cross-reference is especially valuable. (The idea apparently was to avoid any future renumberings by simply giving a new engine whatever number or group of numbers happened to be vacant at the time.)

Hi All,

Depending on how accurate you want the specs for each engine, you might just run into the problem that no two steamers performed exactly alike. Essentially steamers were built as individuals, no production lines as you have for diesels. Each steamer had its own "personality" and therefore some performed better than others etc.

ie, if you considered the specs on the L-1s class of Mikados, you would have to consider a range for each parameter. You would have a figure for, as an example, Tractive effort, and then there would be a plus or minus to represent the individual engine, as it compared to its sisters. As a SWAG, the newer engines would have better specs than the first lot of engines due to experience in construction etc.

The Pennsylvania Railroad 1940-1950 by Don Ball Jr. is a great book of pictures of Pennsy steam and diesel locomotives and operations.

Once again, I thank you all. I have a few books on the PRR, and they don't always tell you what engine they are talking about. Its like they say, you can't tell the players without a program. Is it a 4-8-2, 2-10-2, is it ar ticulated? is so is ir one of those 4-4-4-4's a 6-4-4-6 or something else. Then what class is it? S-1 T-1 Q-2? Its maddening.