Key - SER #61 - Locomotive, Steam, 4-6-2, Pacific B&O P-7 - Baltimore & Ohio - 5301

Specific Item Information: Key Imports' beautiful N Scale model is a fine example of a brass locomotive, crafted in exquisite detail by South Korea's Samhongsa in very limited quantities to replicate a specific prototype that would never otherwise be offered. Key also offered a matching five car Cincinnatian passenger set in brass, also custom painted.

Prototype History: B&O class P-7 is a 4-6-2 'Pacific' type steam locomotive, built by the Baldwin locomotive works in 1927 for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. 20 were produced and numbered #5300 to #5319. This type became known as the Presidential Class since all twenty were named (and lettered) after the first twenty presidents of the United States.

This locomotive was assigned on passenger trains and, as the first of the type built, it was (co-incidentally) named "President Washington", after George Washington, the first President of the United States who was President from 1789 through 1797. It was unveiled at the "Fair of the Iron Horse" in 1927.

The P-7s initially hauled the Royal Blue trains between Washington DC and Jersey City, NJ, but they were soon relegated to the western division by the B&O's early dieselisation in the 1930s with the EMC EA/EB units.

In 1947, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad rebuilt four of its class P7 "President" series Pacific 4-6-2 passenger locomotives (numbers 5301-5304, class P7d) for service on a new high-speed daytime run between Washington and Cincinnati. The modified engines had streamlined shrouds (designed by Olive Dennis), and were equipped with larger tenders to reduce the number of stops needed for fuel and water. There were two streamlined heavyweight train-sets of five cars each, strikingly painted in gleaming royal blue, light gray, and black, with yellow striping and lettering. Train length was strictly limited so that the P7d would not require a helper to maintain speed while crossing the Alleghenies. To assist in maintaining its tight 12.5-hour schedule, the Cincinnatian's stops were limited. The train was routed via the Patterson Creek cutoff, and also via the Magnolia cutoff, a line otherwise devoted exclusively to fast freight traffic.

From Locomotive Wiki and The Lounge personal web site.

Road Name History: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (reporting marks B&O, BO) is one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal (which served New York City) and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which would have connected Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. At first this railroad was located entirely in the state of Maryland with an original line from the port of Baltimore west to Sandy Hook. At this point to continue westward, it had to cross into Virginia (now West Virginia) over the Potomac River, adjacent to the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers. From there it passed through Virginia from Harpers Ferry to a point just west of the junction of Patterson Creek and the North Branch Potomac River where it crossed back into Maryland to reach Cumberland. From there it was extended to the Ohio River at Wheeling and a few years later also to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

It is now part of the CSX Transportation (CSX) network, and includes the oldest operational railroad bridge in the USA. The B&O also included the Leiper Railroad, the first permanent horse-drawn railroad in the U.S. In later years, B&O advertising carried the motto: "Linking 13 Great States with the Nation." Part of the B&O Railroad's immortality has come from being one of the four featured railroads on the U.S. version of the board game Monopoly, but it is the only railroad on the board which did not serve Atlantic City, New Jersey, directly.

When CSX established the B&O Railroad Museum as a separate entity from the corporation, some of the former B&O Mount Clare Shops in Baltimore, including the Mt. Clare roundhouse, were donated to the museum while the rest of the property was sold. The B&O Warehouse at the Camden Yards rail junction in Baltimore now dominates the view over the right-field wall at the Baltimore Orioles' current home, Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

At the end of 1970 B&O operated 5552 miles of road and 10449 miles of track, not including the Staten Island Rapid Transit (SIRT) or the Reading and its subsidiaries.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Key Model Imports is an importer of brass locomotives.

Manufacturer Information: Samhongsa was a Korean manufacturer of model trains, well know for its brass models, imported notably by Hallmark Models. The company ceased its activity in the early 2000s. Some of the employees continued the brass model business as Sam Model Tech.