After all these years it still tears my heart out to see those magnificent beasts relegated to the scrap heaps.
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Looks like the Juniata Shop complex. I agree with the previous comment...after all that the steam locomotives did for the railroad, they ended up as scrap - so sad. Further added to the sadness, none of the J1 class (2-10-4) in the foreground were saved. Some believe that none of the J1's were preserved because the PRR did not design the J1 - it was a borrowed C&O design. WWII restrictions prevented the PRR time to design and build their own much needed heavy freight hauler because building a new class of freight power would have taken too much time and the country could not wait that long for the PRR during WWII. None the less, the PRR picked a winner when they selected and built the J1 class. On the brighter side, a tender from a PRR J1 class locomotive survives to this day and will be used behind a PRR T1 4-4-4-4 class locomotive that the T1 Trust organization is currently building! Google the T1 Trust and you can see a photo of the J1 tender that the T1 Trust organization is going to use.
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Sadly, and somewhat oddly, C&O saved, or tried to, a good selection of their power but neglected the 2-10-4, one of the best. Of course my favorite was that wonder plumber’s nightmare, the H7.
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Maybe, and this is just speculation, PRR didn't like the Baker valve gear on these J's. IIRC nearly all of the PRR fleet used Walschaert's gear (excepting the direct drive, turbines, etc.) or the C&O style "D"-shaped valve gear hanger (?). Those J's could pull, though, and all the proof you need is on one of the videos (Herron Rail, I think) in their steam and diesel series on the PRR. To add to a previous comment, think how many pioneering steam engines went to scrap without being preserved: "Old Maud", the first American articulated on B&O, the first Mountain (4-8-2) on C&O, or even the first real Pacific (4-6-2), to name 3. It's a good thing so many people took what photos they could to at least keep memories going. Those steamers did so much for so long, and they helped make our nation what it is.
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The choice to build a T-1 while commendable reflects something I see from modelmakers. Do the oddballs and ignore the commonplace. The J was much more worthy of reproduction but if I had my druthers it would be another oddball, the Q2, my favorite PRR steamer.
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With the tender in front of it , it kind of looks like a cab forward, but the Pennsy never ran cab forwards. Also feel free to donate to help with the rebuild of the t1.
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The Pennsylvania RR was already in financial troubles by 1957, reduction in maintenances costs of Diesel vs steam killed them, and the need for cash gained from scrapping steam being the the only way to keep them alive. This was what likely relegated them to extinction.
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