First, Pennsylvania Railroad borrowed a Norfolk and Western Northern Type J-Class No.610 on the Chicago Division and impressed the Pennsy. But then Pennsy decided not to buy or built a Northern Type loco. why Pennsy decided they do not want a Northern like other railroads.
I can't answer your question, but Pennsy dubbed themselves "The Standard Railroad of the World." As far as this New York Central guy is concerned, they were far from it. They built some pretty weird alternatives to 4-8-4s, like 4-4-4-4, 4-4-6-4, and the single 6-8-6 steam turbine. Pennsy built one, Lionel thousands. I meant to ask you after your first post, how did you select your "Daylight 4449" name? Are you a fan of 4449? I am.
PRR believed they were the "Standard" but by that nomenclature, most other railroads would be considered abnormal, anomalous, deviant, atypical, eccentric, unusual, odd, or out of the ordinary. I think PRR would have fit any of those other descriptions better. Who else would make hand bomber 4-6-2s the standard when everyone else was installing automatic stokers in anything larger than a Mogul? I think it was because they were so weird that I love the PRR so much. That and the fact that I remember riding the Pennsy when I was not yet 4 years old. The GG-1 is etched in my mind's eye.
