(moved from this page to the BW Guest
Apocrypha Page 2 on 16 Jan 04).
Because the Apocrypha and Guest Apocrypha indices exceeded the capacity of the
individual pages, they are now presented in full on a separate
Berlinerwerke Apocrypha Index (including the
Guest Apocrypha Index).
(03 Oct 06)
Here's a 1935 Berliner nameplate given to me on 28 Jun
2004 (it's actually a 50x35mm (~2"x~1¼" minature
replica); it's from the Berliner Maschinenbau AG
(Berliner Machines Builder, Inc.), a firm that was
formerly (vormals) the firm of L. Schwartzkopf
of Berlin:
Does anyone know from what model it came (the Märklin
HO and Z-scale (1:220) stamping press on the 2001
Museum Cars were from Firma Schuler AG)?
Before I continue, I should note that all this started with a secret project that is still
unfinished and the next major development of the Berlinerwerke was their fabled
DDP45:
For more about her and her family, see my EMD page and
BW-EMD F-45 and FP-45 Variations, on Apocrypha page 4.
BW/PRR ASS 0-4-4-0 Articulated Switcher.
(28 Jan 04)
The PRR Motive Power Department was looking for a quick fix for the
ever-increasing loads in the port and warehouse districts of New York City and
Philadelphia before making a serious committment to dieselize and needed
something much more powerful than the A5 0-4-0 and yet every bit as agile in
the tight curves around these areas. At their wits ends, they casually
mentioned the problem to George Ersatz of the Berlinerwerke, a frequent
visitor; George immediately hit on an idea he ran past his brother, Ira, and
the result was instantly accepted by the Pennsy people and set to work at the
BW. Motive Power found two old A5 engines, the boiler was taken from
C1 0-6-0 #6556 (no, it was NOT scrapped), and a tender scrounged from a
B6sa on the scrap line; all these were put in a box and shaken - well, not quite,
but the two A5 engines were modified with an articulation joint, the C1 boiler
was minimally altered with the addition of steam lines for an extra set of
cylinders, and the generator and first stack were moved forward to make
room for the stack for the second engine. The result was quite an
attractive little single-expansion articulated with double the tractive effort of
an A5 at almost no significant cost to the PRR and with minimal delay:
(28 Jan 04 image by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
As a special version of a Class A, the loco was given a special Class Number,
ASS, Class A,
Special, superheated, and kept the C1's
road number (6556). Immensely popular with switching crews, the loco
was nicknamed the Burro and labored mightily in late wartime
service but it's eventual disposition is unknown; it is rumored to be on the
bottom of New York's Outer Harbor, having supposedly fallen off the end of a
PRR Marine Division car float on it's way down to Meadows Yard for service
and not deemed worth the salvage cost, pioneering 0-B-0 diesel A6 #3905
having come on the scene by this time.
BW/PRR AA½ 0-2-2-0 Articulated Switcher.
(23 Oct 05)
Looking for ways to make the Pennsy A5 switchers even more flexible without
sacrificing power, Ira hit upon a novel way to articulate the loco and persuaded
poor old George to get Motive Power to have a go at it. Incredibly, they
agreed and tired, old A5 #913 and a scrapped twin were requisitioned, cut up,
and reassembled with Ira's novel inside main rods (connected from the inner
sides of the crossheads directly to the driver cranks) as PRR Class AA½,
a most-unusual 0-2-2-0:
(23 Oct 05 image by and © 2005 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
The weirdest part of this story is that, not only did Motive Power try the fool
thing, it WORKED! Puttering around the maze of dock,
warehouse, and factory leads around the Philadephia waterfront, #913 (as
rebuilt) lasted well up to the end of Pennsy steam.
BEDT #1718 0-4-4-0T Articulated Tank Switcher
(24 Oct 05)
This is decidedly odd; I am supposed to be rather knowledgeable about both
the BerlinerWerke and the Brooklyn Eastern District RR
(BEDT) but it seems there were two even newer locos on the BEDT! Not only
that, but they survived, in miserable shape, and the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad
Museum in Parrish, Florida, which is restoring #12,
found the pitiful remnants of both. They were #17 and #18, typical BEDT Porter
0-6-0T tank switchers, and, with the inestimable help of the BW, the FGCRM has
reassembled them into a single 0-4-4-0T which is now up and running:
(24 Oct 05 image by and © 2005 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
I can't imagine how this unit ever got by me but, whatever you do, do NOT
contact the FGCRM about #1718 - for some strange reason, they would deny all
knowledge of it - and do please remember on what pages you saw this!).
BEDT #1920 0-6-6-0T Articulated Tank Switcher
(25 Oct 05)
No sooner did word get out about the old BEDT 0-4-4-0T #1718 than I started getting
rumors of yet another oddity at Parrish; sure enough, it seems there were another
two BEDT Porters lost to posterity until the FGCRM guys found them (they sure are a
close-mouthed bunch down there). Seems that #19 and #20 had also survived,
but in excellent condition (except that one had a rusted-out backhead). The
two were grafted together, very much like #17 and #18, but as an 0-6-6-0T, #1920:
(25 Oct 05 image by and © 2005 S. Berliner, III - all rights reserved)
It's simply amazing what turns up if you just know where to look (but the same
caveat about the FGCRM very much applies, however).
BW/PRR GBBG1
The Northeast Corridor
Freight Engines noted on Guest Apocrypha page 1 are
a direct rip-off from the famed Berlinerwerke special
heavy dual-service electric engine George and Ira
Ersatz worked up during WWII for the Pennsy. How
Bob Ellsworth thought he could get away with this is
quite beyond me, although I had quite forgotten about
the GBBG1. Utilizing components rebuilt from
worn-out GG1s, the BW cobbered up this heavy hauler:
(28 Sep 04 image reworked by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III
after K. Parker - all rights reserved)
Two pans were required to assure full current draw;
this loco was quite a sight running full tilt through
reverse curves or crossovers pulling long troop trains
or massive loads of armor and other heavy materiel.
I found the original drawing:
(restored 04 Oct 04)
(RR Paint Shop image reworked 28 Sep 04 by and
© 2004 S. Berliner, III
after J. Bélanger - all rights reserved - based on
artwork from Joshua Moldaver's
The Railroad Paint Shop)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image;
the full image will require significant horizontal
scrolling!]
[I was unable to get through to either Jacques Bélanger
or Josh Moldover for permission to post this drawing
after over a week of trying. Josh and his
contributors have always been most accomodating in the
past, so I have risked their displeasure and posted
this anyway; if they object, I will have to remove it
and apologize.]
BW/PRR E44, E22, and E11
Poking around in the old BW files, I ran across these
PRR class diagrams of the standard E44 electric and
Ira Ersatz's smaller versions, the E22 and the E11:
(PRR image reworked 29 Sep 04 by S. Berliner, III
courtesy R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
(29 Sep 04 image by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III
after PRR/R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
(29 Sep 04 image by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III
after PRR/R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
[My thanks to Rob Schoenberg for the use (and abuse)
of the PRR E44 locomotive diagram from his fabulous and
comprehensive PRR
pages.]
Rob thought that the E11 would look great pulling the
ancient Pennsy two-axle dynamometer car diagrammed on
his site but I thought it would look better with a
late-model scale test car; you decide:
(PRR images reworked 29 Sep 04 by S. Berliner, III
courtesy R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
(29 Sep 04 image by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III
after PRR/R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
I found lots more but am awaiting permissions to post them.
BW/EMD GM6c, GM4b, GM2a
Poking around on Josh Moldover's
The Railroad Paint Shop) site, looking for E-33 or
PRR E44 drawings (none there that I could find), I ran
across the GM6c electric; AHA! I seemed to
recall that one of Ira's last gasps (or that of an
acolyte using his initials, since Ira died before the
GM6c really got going) was related to this unit.
Sure enough, some diligent searching unearthed the base
drawing and the smaller GM4b and GM2a:
(RR Paint Shop image reworked 28 Sep 04 by S. Berliner, III
- all rights reserved to The Paint Shop)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image.]
(RR Paint Shop image reworked 28 Sep 04 by S. Berliner, III
- all rights reserved)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image.]
(RR Paint Shop image reworked 28 Sep 04 by S. Berliner, III
- all rights reserved)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image.]
Ira was simply the most prolific and amazing guy!
You name it; he worked on it.
[Apparently the 1975 GM6c (and the 1976 GM10b)
demonstrated on Conrail but were never put into
production; I think I got it confused with the
Muskingum Electric's E-50c and other similar GE units.]
BW/Baldwin PRR BW/Baldwin/PRR Oil-Fired Turbine-Electric Class
CCCC
[Moved to page 6 on 11 Oct 04 and expanded.]
BW/PRR RCCR1 4-D+D-D+D-4 "Millipede"
Poor Ira Ersatz was so volatile and erratic that he was
quickly declared Persona Non Grata at Broad Street and
at Altoona; George did all the negotiating with Pennsy
management and the Chief of Motive Power and was well
liked and respected. When electrification was
to be extended beyond Harrisburg to Pittsburgh, George
was called in about a super-power electric engine
capable of pulling any train then in service uphill
around the Horseshoe Curve unassisted.
Brain-storming with Ira, he hit on a super-GBBG1, a
monster 4-D+D-D+D-4; since it could easily be designed
and assembled from existing GG1 drawings and hardware,
Motive Power gave the Berlinerwerke the green light and
the fabled "Millipede" was constructed:
(RR Paint Shop image reworked 03 Oct 04 by and
© 2004 S. Berliner, III
after J. Bélanger - all rights reserved - based on
artwork from Joshua Moldaver's
The Railroad Paint Shop)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image;
the full image will require significant horizontal
scrolling!]
[I aam still unable to get through to either Jacques
Bélanger or Josh Moldover for permission to post this drawing
after over two weeks of trying. Josh and his
contributors have always been most accomodating in the
past, so I have again risked their displeasure and
posted this anyway; if they object, I will have to
remove it and apologize.]
This unit was extensively tested on the complex
trackwork in and around Zoo Tower in Philadelphia in
the dead of night and was found to be eminently
tractable and was soon certified for road service.
Unfortunately, as we all know, electrification did NOT
proceed beyond Harrisburg and the unit never saw main
line service and was apparently scrapped out.
BW/PRR BP120 4-D-D+D-D+D-D+D-D-4 "Millipede II"
What with competing roads coming up with all sorts of
diesel super-power (UP's DD35, etc.) and with the
downgrading of the BP60 "Centipede" fleet to BH50
pusher service, the Pennsy was getting antsy for
something to outclass all other power. The
Berlinerwerke's George Ersatz had long felt that
Baldwin had a true winner in the Centipede and that
the Pennsy simply hadn't utilized it properly, so he
invited the top design engineers from Baldwin and
closeted them for a long weekend at Cresson with Ira
Ersatz and the BW's design team; the result, with
vastly-improved turbochargers and liberal use of
chrome and Stellite facing, was a 4-D-D+D-D+D-D+D-D-4
behemoth capable of outpulling anything ever built.
In fact, just as it had been with the "Big Liz" FF1
electric of 1917, the only KNOWN limit was
drawbar and draftgear strength. Motive Power
jumped at the idea and the Class BP120 was commissioned
and quickly executed:
(03 Oct 04 image by and © 2004 S. Berliner, III
after PRR/R. Schoenberg - all rights reserved)
[Thumbnailed - click on the picture for a larger image;
the full image will require significant horizontal
scrolling!]
[My thanks to Rob Schoenberg for the use (and abuse)
of the PRR BP60/BH50 locomotive diagrams from his
fabulous and comprehensive
PRR pages.]
[Here we go again with weird graphics; sorry. My
drawing, the thumbnail of which which doesn't even show
on my own screen, definitely is on a white background
but sometimes comes up against a dark blue
background here!]
Dubbed the "Millipede II", this locomotive far exceeded
all expectations. However, early one morning,
pulling an enormous unit train of Pennsylvania farm
manure headed out to the midwest westbound through the
Horseshoe Curve, a newly-qualifed engineer, still
inexperienced with the raw, brute power of this beast,
overcompensated for the resistance of curvature as the
engine entered the right-hand curve up at the crest
above the Curve, even though he was out on Track 4, and
pulled the throttle just a bit too far out. The
result was spectacular and disastrous and Altoona stank
for weeks afterward; the whole train pulled inward at
the center and tipped over, spilling thousands of tons
of ripe manure onto Tracks 3, 2, and 1, and almost
wiping out K4 #1361 on display in the park in the
process! The Pennsy immediately withdrew the
engine from service and returned to using pushers and
mid-train helpers. The BP120 was split into two
more manageable BH60a units but, as more and more BH50s
were scrapped out, parts became harder and harder to
find and the units were also cut up (as far as we know).
Because the Apocrypha and Guest Apocrypha indices exceeded the capacity of the
individual pages, they are now presented in full on a separate
Berlinerwerke Apocrypha Index (including the
Guest Apocrypha Index).
(03 Oct 06)
See also the HO (1:87.1) Berlinerwerke saga or the Z
(1:220) Berlinerwerke-Z saga
and Berlinerwerke Guest Apocrypha
(for taller tales?).
Also, see the fabled BW DDP45 and
other EMD engines EMD may never have dreamed of!
Have I ever told you that there are many Web sites and fora and chats and such that
have very serious discussions about the relative merits of DDP-45, the Z6s, and
these other loco locos vis-ŕ-vis the Big Boy, etc.! Doncha just love it!
If you like this sort of nonsense, take a gander at Jim Wells' incredible
and at the AW NUTS Magazine site, "A Publication of the A.W. N.U.T.S. Garden Railway Society".
If you are air-minded (take that as you choose), you must see the Lion Air site! I'd be Lion if I didn't warn you to keep your tongue in your cheek on this one!
Take your tongue out of your cheek and visit D. Dickens' The Patiala State Monorail Tramway site; whooie (and it's for real)!
THUMBS UP!
THUMBS UP! - Support your local police, fire, and emergency personnel!
S. Berliner, III
To contact S. Berliner, III, please click here.
of this series of Berlinerwerke Apocrypha pages.
© Copyright S. Berliner, III - 2004,
2006
- All rights reserved.
Return to Top of Page
times since the counter was
installed.
