HELP: BLI PRR P5a Questions - Model Railroader Magazine
Trainman440
Does the engine come with a whistle sound as one of the 3 preselect whistles/horns?
Yes, you can choose, IIRC, alternate "horn" 4 for a nice sounding whistle.
(Trivia) did you know the GG1s were originally equipped with whistles?
GG1_top_crop by Edmund, on Flickr
As built the P5s had brown roofs. By 1934 it was realized that the P5 and P5as were not suited for fast passenger service. In 1937 the "Futura" lettering scheme was applied and the brown roof was eliminated and DGLE continued to be applied to the roof. Futura lettering was phased out in the early 1940s.
So you would see brown roof freight motors beginning in 1933 through 1937, give-or-take.
Some of the P5 and P5as were equipped with Westinghouse Pneuphonic horns, presumably after 1932-33 but probably converted to the A-200s around 1936.
PRR_P5a-7898 by Edmund, on Flickr
3. Be sure you get a second-run or at least make sure you don't get an earlier one that has the bad motor which will then toast the decoder. All three of mine had to have decoders and motors replaced (fairly easy job and BLI supplied the repair parts).
PRR_under-wire_2k by Edmund, on Flickr
PRR_P5a_BLI2 by Edmund, on Flickr
Cheers, Ed
