Pennsylvania Railroad Class L5

The Pennsylvania Railroad L5 Class were the railroad's second generation electric locomotives after the DD1. The L5 was a single unit (unlike the DD1). The wheel arrangement was 2-4-4-2, or 1-B-B-1 in AAR wheel arrangement. 25 were built in 4 sub-classes. The first unit was AC operation, while the others were DC. PRR wanted to make the L5 interchangeable with AC and DC. 
The class was built with an eye towards future long distance electrification with the idea of a single class that could be used interchangeably between the present and future AC electrified zones and the DC electrified zone in New York City. The PRR also used the L5 order to try out electrical equipment manufacturers other than Westinghouse, which had provided the propulsion equipment for both the PRR DD1 and FF1 classes. The original classes were to be simply L5 for the AC units and L5a for the DC units, but as the additional equipment suppliers were brought on the scheme changed to include the intended function (passenger), the current used and finally the electrical supplier. The L5s were all built by Altoona Works, with the electrical equipment being supplied by General Electric, Westinghouse or Brown Boveri; Westinghouse supplied electrical equipment to 13 locomotives, GE to 6 and Brown Boveri to the remaining 6.
The L5 was not as successful as the DD1 as the side rod electric locomotive concept proved to be unsuited to the demands of long distance electrification. Even in the existing short haul service the L5's long rigid wheelbase and poor weight distribution caused it to be withdrawn significantly before the older DD1s.
==See also==
*Gallery
=== Sources ===
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_L5
*https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Pennsylvania%20Railroad%20class%20L5
Category:Electric locomotives
Category:Pennsylvania locomotives
Category:American locomotives
Category:1-B-B-1
Category:Built in 1924
Category:Scrapped locomotives
Category:Locomotives
Category:Altoona Works locomotives
Category:Passenger locomotives
Category:4 foot 8 1⁄2 inch gauge
Category:Standard gauge locomotives
Category:2-4-4-2 locomotives
Category:Scrapped electric locomotives