20241027_094517 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM 20241027_094442 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM 20241027_094422 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM 20241027_093952 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM 20241027_100928 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM 20241027_100921 by EdEppy posted Oct 27, 2024 at 10:16 AM I recently acquired this N Scale B unit EMD E-8 Dummy in Pennsylvania Tuscan 5-stripe Logo but cannot find a reference to it anywhere. It has a plastic undercarriage molded to fit either an A or B unit shell. It is printed with Con-Cor Japan and has silver metal non-pizza-cutter wheels. The trucks are molded with 17710 Japan and they have Rapido couplers. The shell is in perfect condition and has no road number. I have an old Atlas EMD E-8 DC-powered A unit (photo also attached) that has a shell that appears to be absolutely identical down to the very last rivet of the unidentified B unit. The PRR logo does seem to be stretched out a bit more on the A unit. Any hobbyists out there with any clue? Could this be a prior owner's kit-bashing effort? Knowing that Con-Cor manufactured for numerous brands, can anyone pinpoint a stock number or reference?
I guess the pictures got squashed by the Certificate Nazis. But this might help you... http://www.spookshow.net/loco/cce78.html
Pictures are there now, I think. Thanks for the prompt reply. Yes, it looks like it's a Con-Cor B unit dummy, likely produced 1985-1992. Original price was $17.98. If you happen to come across a stock number for C-C, please let me know because I have yet to find any references to the PRR logo on the internet.
It's not a B unit made from two A unit bodies, is it? If not, Con-Cor had Rivarossi make a B unit after the association between Atlas and Rivarossi ended. Doug
The B Unit is most definitely a one piece shell and appears to be a factory paint job. The surprise is that there is no road number on it. The Atlas origin of the A unit was a known. My question was specifically about the B unit. Can anyone find a catalog reference or stock number for the presumed Con-Cor Dummy PRR B-unit?
I see the Con-Cor on the bottom, now. It's pretty dark on my monitor. It also says "Made in Japan" which means Con-Cor used what appears to be a Rivarossi shell on a chassis made by Kato as they did with their A units when they started selling them after Atlas discontinued theirs. Of all the old catalogs I have, I don't have any Con-Cor ones so I found the catalog number online. 0001-002761 from a 1987 Con-Cor catalog. Doug
Doug - Thanks for your help. I entered the B-unit on TroveStar so maybe someone else will add some information on it.
Trovestar shows the A and B Units together as sets under Con Cor 0001-2721. As @Doug Gosha posted, the B Unit only is Con Cor 0001-2761 and that also shows in Trovestar. The history of these E-8 shells, mechanisms, varied brands and manufacturers almost defies explanation. @acptulsa 's link to Spookshow does a pretty good job of it.
Hardcoaler - Please note the following variations. On Trovestar, the A-B combo shows a road number of 5900 on the A unit and 5900B on the B unit. The A unit and B unit road logo is also "shortened" and does not run the full length of the 4 portholes. On my B unit, the B unit has NO road number, and the Pennsylvania logo is shortened while the A unit has the elongated version. I do suspect that the Kato and Rivarossi versions may have something to do with this variation.
FYI - PRR did not roster any E-8B units, so a PRR E-8B is a total foobie. Con-Cor was notorious for offering locos painted for many RR's that never owned/operated them. A few examples include PRR U-50B's, PRR Gas Turbines, and PRR 4-6-4 Hudsons. It was their business model and must have worked for them. BLI is starting to do this now with their locomotives. Some people like this and some people don't. To each his own.
Correct. The PRR had E7 A's and B's but no E8 B's. I recall back in the '60's riding PRR trains #3 and #4 (Spirit of St. Louis and The Penn Texas) being pulled by 3 E8 A's
After Pennsy management saw the B units on N scale railroads, they thought, "Gosh, we should have done that." Doug
I doubt that. By the time the N scale B unit came out the Pennsy wanted out of the passenger business, especially after, the mail contract went to the airlines. I last rode the Pennsy in 1966 or early 1967 and it was a dismal affair. However, the Pennsy people (at least some of them) did admit that they should have built more M1's rather than additional K4's.
Doug wasn’t being serious, he was making a joke, however I agree with your post. Through most of the 1960s the Pennsy (and also the New York Central) was in pretty bad shape financially. Passenger trains ran at a loss but with the mail contract the loss was minimized and passenger service was good advertising and public relations. In the 60s losses on passenger trains, competition from trucking, air services and automobiles were killing railroads.
When my family rode out of Chicago on the Gotham Limited in 1956, it had E7s. My brother sketched their image in his doodle pad and they had square port holes. When we got off the train in Philadelphia, they were gone and there was some slick space ship looking thing, the likes of which this 4 year old had never even imagined, on the point. My brothers told me it was a "Lectric" engine. Edit: I changed F7s to E7s.
I can't help you with info on the E8B unit, but wanted to share that I actually have one of those Atlas E8A units with the same Pennsy colors (with the 4 wheel drive) that you showed above. The one I have was bought around 1970, give or take a year.
