Lionel BB1/3 locomotive

The pantograph raises by simply pulling up on it.  It's manual, not automatic like the JLC GG1 locomotives.

There really is no "correct" Kadee coupler. Most folks use the #805, or the newest, better looking #740. You will just have to determine what will fit. 

Personally, I have no idea what a Lionel "BB1/3" is, which has apparently not been discussed previously here on the 3RS Forum either.

What ever you say Jake. Being a steam guy, I still have no clue what it is, without photos.  Thanks anyway.

The boxcabs on the right

Oh Gawd! Now that you put the Kadee's in, what are you gonna do about the teeny-tiney footboard pilots??

Buzz  

Try ordering scale sized footboard steps from Atlas O. That's what some of us have done on MTH and Lionel 0-8-0 steam switchers after up-grading to Kadee #805 couplers. Not that big of a deal.

Mr. H2O

Good to know they are available. I was going to suggest Precision, but that would have been a lot of work. Cool....Thanks.

Buzz

I have one question... 

The upper marker light are really prototypicals? I Can't find any real B1 or B3 switcher pictures with that "lionel" market light configuration..  

I have the Ballast Train with one, and it's marker lights are low.  This is a web picture, I can't find a picture of mine and it's all boxed up.

gunrunnerjohn I have a MTH double unit and there's only lower marker light too... 

and My first question bring another question, what is the signification of the marker lights? and what color should it be to be prototypical?  (this is a question from a European guy)

That's an excellent question, I'd guess for something like this locomotive they're probably red. 

Hello Sir.

Yes it does but ity's also mentioned that it's a B2 class switcher not B1 or B3... and don't see any difference between B1 and B3.... 

Check this page, lots of boxcabs with no top markers: http://sbiii.com/boxcbprr.html

Here's a B1, no markers up top...

gunrunnerjohn,

It looks like those 3900s have been out of service for a VERY long time and well vandalized, which may be why the markers/class lights are gone.

Somehow I doubt the one that's on display there was vandalized.  In addition, the link I posted has a bunch of pictures from back in the day they were in active service, same story there.

Best to be careful. Just because it is "on display" doesn't mean that it is correct. Look at some of the pieces in the St Louis Museum of Transport, specifically the SP GS-6 #4460.

And the pictures of the ones that were taken when they were in active service?  Those were all vandalized as well?

John, things changed over the years.  They may have been built with markers and had them removed later.  The one in the museum has many updates from when it was built.  That squared off headlight for example, is a later addition.  The Lionel BB1 set is modeling the locomotives in their as built appearance.  They originally ran as pairs and had high and low marker lights as shown in my photo above of both the model and the prototype.  Over time the railroad found it more effective to separate the pairs (which is when they were called B1's, I'm guessing the BB3's were the Long Island RR classification for their versions)

I knew I should have stayed out of this discussion, since gunrunnerjohn is obviously much more of a PRR electric expert. I'll stick to steam locomotives!

Hopefully this quote will solve some of the classification arguments.

"The Pennsylvania Railroad's class B1 comprised 42 switcher-type electric locomotives built between 1926 and 1935. They were of 0-6-0 wheel arrangement in the Whyte notation with 700 horsepower. As built, the first 28 locomotives in the 1926 order formed semi-permanently coupled pairs grouped in three classes.

The first, class BB1, were AC powered and served as prototypes. The second, class BB2, were DC powered and served in the New York Terminal district, specifically between Sunnyside Yard and New York Penn Station. The third, class BB3, was AC powered and built for the Long Island Rail Road's electrified freight operation on the Bay Ridge Branch. In 1934 a follow-up order of 14 locomotives were built as single unit class B1 for the expanding main line AC electrification system. In addition to these new units all previous BB classes were split into single units and the BB2 class were re-powered for AC operation as that system replaced the old 650VDC system in the New York terminal. At this point all 42 units were re-classed as PRR B1.

Most of the B1 fleet spent its time shuttling trains around Sunnyside Yard or between there and Penn Station. Other B1s were also assigned to the Penn Coach Yard at Philadelphia 30th Street Station and a few units even made their way to the PRR Harrisburg Station. As passenger traffic decreased in the 1950s and 60s the need for dedicated electric switchers diminished with only the Sunnyside B1s surviving into the Penn Central era. After retirement all B1s were scrapped except for a single example preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania."

Well Jake, I think we're all guessing on which had or didn't have the marker lights.

Isn't that 3900 an A6B?

The second pic is a B1 "rat" at the Railroad Museum of PA.

One final try.  Here's a closeup of the book photograph showing B1 #3900 with the high marker lights.  Just as Lionel modeled, which should answer the question without all the debating that went on.

BB2's, were identical on the outside to the BB1's, however they were DC powered and the BB1's were AC powered.  The PRR rebuilt all the BB2's to AC power later on and separated all the units making them B1's.

In the photograph, 3900 was still a B2 DC locomotive but later became a B1 when converted to AC

The BB3's, as I said, were AC FREIGHT locomotives built for the Long Island RR.

Railroads made changes over time and built the locomotives over a number of years.  When built, I'm sure the original models all had markers high and low, as shown in the picture of the prototype and on the model.  As things evolved, the later production B1's may not have had them ever and the ones that did had them removed.

As Robert pointed out, PRR #3907 was not a B1 at all, but was their first diesel locomotive which just happened to look similar.

The markers on the 3900 in the picture look very much like the markers used on the steam locomotives of the time, which weren't necessarily permanently mounted.