The Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

's class L5 were the railroad's second generation of production electric locomotive

Electric locomotive

An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

s after the DD1

PRR DD1

The Pennsylvania Railroad's class DD1 were semi-permanently coupled pairs of third rail direct current electric locomotives built for the railroad's initial New York-area electrification. They operated between Manhattan Transfer and Pennsylvania Station in New York City, and from there to the...

, and the last to use a jackshaft

Jackshaft

A jackshaft is a device for turning the wheels of a locomotive. It is essentially an axle with no wheels. Each end of the jackshaft has a crank pin and a counterweight. The driving wheels are then connected by side rods. The name may come from a combination of "jack," a slang term for a locomotive,...

 and side rods to drive the wheels. The L5 was a single-unit locomotive instead of the twin-unit DD1. Thirteen were built. One was an AC

Alternating current

In alternating current the movement of electric charge periodically reverses direction. In direct current , the flow of electric charge is only in one direction....

 unit with an overhead pantograph

Pantograph (rail)

A pantograph for rail lines is a hinged electric-rod device that collects electric current from overhead lines for electric trains or trams. The pantograph typically connects to a one-wire line, with the track acting as the ground wire...

 (later two), while the other twelve were third rail

Third rail

A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...

 DC

Direct current

Direct current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...

 units to work on the existing PRR third rail electrification in the New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 area. The wheel arrangement

Wheel arrangement

In rail transport, a wheel arrangement is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed beneath a locomotive.. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and connections, with the adopted notations varying by country...

 in Whyte notation

Whyte notation

The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...

 was 2-4-4-2

2-4-4-2

In Whyte notation, 2-4-4-2 refers to a railroad steam locomotive that has two leading wheels followed by four coupled driving wheels, a second set of four coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels.-Equivalent classifications:...

, or 1-B-B-1 in the Association of American Railroads

Association of American Railroads

The Association of American Railroads is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America . Amtrak and some regional commuter railroads are also members...

scheme.

The L5 was not as successful as the DD1, and was actually outlasted in service by the earlier locomotives.