56 http://www.ModelRailroader.comProduct Reviews
The boxcabs are back! Broadway
Limited allowed us to get a sneak pre-
view of its new HO scale Pennsylvania
RR P5a electrics, and now we have pro-
duction models in the office to test.
Previously available only in brass,
these boxcab electric models are of pri-
marily die-cast metal construction, giv-
ing them 1 pound, 6 ounces of heft for
potentially pulling long freight or pas-
senger trains.While known as freight haulers for most
of their lives, the P5a was the first success-
ful mainline electric motive power under
PRR catenary. Assigned to pull passenger
varnish from New York’s Penn Station toPhiladelphia’s 30th Street Station, the loco-
motives lost their starring roles when the
GG1 electric came on the scene.
Construction began in 1931 at Juniata
Shops in Altoona, Pa., with a pair of pro-
totypes. After rigorous testing, regular
production commenced in 1932. Starting
on May 1, 1934, the design shifted to a
steamlined centercab design similar to
the GG1 after a collision with a truck
killed the crew in the vulnerable cab of
the flat-faced units.
Once the “modifieds” came into ser-
vice, they were mated with boxcabs as
multiple units so that in at least one
direction crews would have more protec-
tion. By this point, most P5as wereworking as freight engines, where they
were used in multiples of two or three.
When production ended in 1935,
92 P5s had been built in Eddystone,
Erie, and Altoona, Pa. Electrical equip-
ment orders were shared evenly between
Westinghouse and General Electric.
Generally, GE-equipped P5as were
built at GE’s plant in Erie and
Westinghouse-equipped units were
built by Baldwin at Eddystone, but the
final 10 locomotives, all modifieds,
were built in Altoona of both GE and
We st i ng hou se pa r t s.
The P5a locomotives were replaced by
General Electric 4,400hp E44s between
1960 and 1963. Only one P5 has been
preserved, prototype no. 4700 at the
National Museum of Transportation in
St. Louis. The rest were scrapped by the
mid-1960s.Broadway Limited’s model matches
dimensions from prototype equipment
diagrams posted on Rob’s Pennsy Page
at http://www.prr.railfan.net. Our sample was
decorated in as-delivered dark green
locomotive enamel with a brown roof
and gold lettering. Even the smallest
sand box and fuel oil door lettering was
legible. A builder’s plate indicates the
locomotive was built with General
Electric equipment in April 1933.
Pop-off valves for the steam generator,
the bell, and the early trolley whistle are
brass castings. The window frames areBroadway Limited Imports HO scale P5a
Broadway Limited Imports’ P5a has a die-cast metal body shell and frame. The can
motor powers all six wheels through a gear tower under the decoder.Die-cast metal shellMotor and flywheelLighting plugDual-mode decoder Dual speaker enclosuure