Being the Delmarva Lines of the PRR consisted of many branches, the reduction (& eventual elimination) of passenger service on these branches were a perfect playground for the PRR’s gas-electric & oil-electric motor cars. The PRR had, over a period, 57 motor cars & 2 trailers, but I only want to focus on nine that were assigned to the Delmarva Division from the 4600-series – the 4637, 4638, 4639, 4641, 4650, 4655, 4658, 4659, & 4668. I won’t go into the background of why the PRR wanted to get rid of passenger service & the states (especially Delaware, Maryland, & Virginia) required the railroad to continue to provide service to the towns along the branches, I want to focus on these specific nine cars.
The 4637, 4638, 4639, & 4641 were all, originally, Brill-350’s
built by J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, PA between June & August 1928
& were PRR Class GEW350. The GEW350’s were 73-feet long; had a capacity for
73 passengers (55 regular & 18 in the smoking section); had a 10-foot, 3-inch
baggage compartment; two Winton 110 engines (generating 350 horsepower); &
weighed 132,000 pounds empty.
4637 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Octoraro
Branch on September 29, 1928. 4637 was re-classed GEG350 in December 1937. 4637
was assigned to the Delmarva Division from December 1937 up to & including its
retirement & scrapping on November 28, 1948 (although the MP 229 says it was still assigned
until September 1949 & was off the roster in May 1950). In January 1942,
she was re-classed GEW350, but would not be re-engined.
4638 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Octoraro
Branch on September 29, 1928. 4638 was assigned to the Delmarva Division from
July 1938 until October 1940. She was retired & scrapped on November 28, 1948 (although the MP
229 says it was still assigned to the Atlantic Division until September 1949
& was off the roster in May 1950). She would not be re-engined.
4639 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Octoraro
Branch on September 29, 1928. 4639 was assigned to the Delmarva Division from
September 1935 until December 1937, when she did a 3-year stint on the Wilkes-Barre
Division, returning to the Delmarva from October 1940, until her retirement
& conversion into Tower Car 489503 on February 27, 1951. It’s not known for
certain if the 4639 was re-engined.
4641 was assigned to the Western Region & the Logansport,
IN – South Bend, IN run on September 29, 1928. 4641 was re-classed GEG350 in
May 1939. 4641 was assigned to the Delmarva Division from May 1939 until
November 1942. She was re-classed GEW350 in January 1940. During the Fall of
1940 4641 was assigned to the Easton, MD-Wilmington, DE run. 4641 was re-engined
in April 1943, with 2 Cummins HBIS-6 motors & re-classed OEW350. She would
leave for the Maryland Division from November 1942 until June 1949. She would
return to the Delmarva by June 1949, only to leave & be reassigned to the
Atlantic Division by September 1949, & wouldn’t return. She was awaiting disposition in December 1956, off the
roster by June 1957, & sold to Luria Brothers & Company & scrapped on May 25, 1959.
The 4650, 4655, 4658, & 4659 was a Pullman/Brill-350’s built between March & April 1929, & PRR Class GEG350. The GEG350’s were also 73-feet long but had a capacity of 77 passengers (57 regular & 20 in the smoking section); had a 10-foot, 5-inch baggage compartment; two Winton 110 engines (generating 350 horsepower); & weighed 129,500 pounds empty. These 4 cars would be re-engined as follows:
4650 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Atlantic
Division on September 29, 1928. 4650 was assigned to the Delmarva Division in
September 1935. She would leave for the Philadelphia Division between March 1936
& April 1937. 4650 in April 1937 was re-classed GEG350. She would return to
the Delmarva from December 1937 up to & including November 1943, when she
left for the Eastern Region & wouldn’t return. In May 1939 she was
re-classed GEW350 only to be re-classed as a GEG350 again in January 1940. She received
2 Cummins HBIS-6 motors in December 1941. She was re-classed as OEG350 in
November 1942. She was re-classed GEG350 in January 1944. She was re-classed OEG350
in September 1945. She was off the roster by December 1956, but she would be
cannibalized to keep the fleet running & would be scrapped in May 1959.
4655 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Atlantic Division on September 29, 1928. 4655 was leased to the Baltimore & Eastern Railroad to handle the Oxford Secondary & the Easton & Love Point, MD run from September 1935 until December 1937. By 1937, the schedule was changed to operate between Easton via Clayton, DE & up to Wilmington, DE. The train would be called “The Bullet.” She would stay on the Delmarva until May 1939 when she was re-assigned to the Atlantic Division & wouldn’t return. The 4655 received 2 Cummins HBIS-6 motors in December 1943. She was re-classed OEG350 in September 1945. She was awaiting disposition by December 1956, but she would be cannibalized to keep the fleet running. She was off the roster by June 1957, & sold to Luria Brothers & Company & scrapped on May 25, 1959.
4658 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Irvona, PA
– Cresson, PA run on September 29, 1928. 4658 was re-classed GEW350 in July
1938. She was re-classed GEG350 in October 1940. 4658 was assigned to Delmarva
Division from October 1940 up to May 1950. During the Fall of 1940, she was
assigned to the Clayton-Oxford run. She received 2 Cummins HBIS-6 motors in October
1943. She was re-classed OEG350 in January 1944. She would be re-assigned to
the Atlantic Division in May 1950 & wouldn’t return. She was whitelined on August 1, 1963 & would be scrapped
that month.
4659 was assigned to the Eastern Region & the Atlantic
Division on September 29, 1928. 4659 was on the Philadelphia Division in
September 1935; Wilkes-Barre Division from March 1936 up to & including
December 1937. She was assigned to the Atlantic Division in July 1938 & re-classed
GEW350 while on lease to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines. 4659 was only
on the Delmarva Division in May 1939 & wouldn’t return. She was re-classed
GEG350 in October 1940. She received 2 Cummins HBIS-6 motors in June 1942 &
was re-classed OEG350 by November 1942.
4668 was a Brill-415 built in October 1930, & was PRR
Class GEG415. The GEG415 was 75-feet long; had a capacity for 66 passengers (48
regular & 18 in the smoking section); had a 16-foot, 6-inch baggage
compartment; a Brill 660 engine (generating 400 horsepower); & weighed 139,400
pounds empty. She would be re-engined in April 1942, with a Hamilton 68SA engine
& was re-classed OEG415 by November 1942. 4668 would come to the Delmarva
Division from July 1943 up to & including September 1949, but in September,
she was leased to the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Line. She was re-assigned
to the Atlantic Division by May 1950 & wouldn’t return. She & 4666 were
sent to Wilmington for “protective storage” (READ: might be used for service
again in the future). They would both be dropped from the roster on August 17,
1965. She was sold in 1965 to the Penn View Mountain Railroad, near Blairsville,
PA. She would then spend time at the Illinois Railroad Museum in Union, IL. In the
late 1970s, when was sold to John Kunzie in 1982, & would spend time on his
Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad. Eventually she made her way to her
current location - on the Allentown & Auburn Railroad, in Topton, PA, but it is not
operational – yet.
In the mid-1940s, when the Easton-Wilmington local didn’t run, the car ran on the Chestertown Secondary between Townsend, DE & Chestertown, MD on the Sunday-only round-trip. These runs were considered mixed trains & usually hauled milk cars.
After World War II, rail motor cars continued on the Oxford
Secondary. One car would work the round-trip between Clayton & Oxford. A
second car, usually the 4668, would haul a trailer between Easton-Clayton-Wilmington.
After September 1947, “The Bullet” was discontinued between Clayton &
Wilmington. The 4668 handled the two round trips between Easton & Clayton.
The train ended its run in August 1949. The second car was reassigned in September
1947 to the round-trip between Seaford, DE & Cambridge, MD on the Cambridge
Secondary. This service ended in April 1949.
So, this brings me to trying to get information on 4668
because she appears to be one of the rail motor cars assigned to the Cambridge
Secondary. Maybe more information on assignments will eventually be found. I
know by 1960/1961, she was working the Camden, NJ – Pemberton, NJ local.
