Class T1 4-4-4-4 Duplex - Sound and DCC - Paragon4 -- Pennsylvania Railroad #5504 (Fantasy Scheme, Tuscan, gold)

The prototype for this N Scale Pennsylvania Railroad Class T1 4-4-4-4 from Broadway Limited may look and sound like an articulated steam locomotive, but it really was a rigid frame locomotive with a second pair of cylinders dividing the drivers, making it a duplex drive locomotive. The design was a successful one and after a trial of two locomotives, the PRR ordered 50 more. This model represents the production locomotives, as they appeared in service. This duplex design with lighter machinery, shorter cylinder stroke, less wear and tear due to small moving parts and the use of poppet valves allowed the T1's to travel at extremely fast speeds. Unfortunately they were also prone to wheel slip and maintenance issues that the Pennsy struggled to work through - especially the fact that the poppet valves could not withstand sustained operation at 100 mph speeds. These problems likely could have been resolved with some modest design changes, but the PRR, and steam in general, ran out of time