Pennsylvania Railroad E8s Join the T1 Trust

Published: October 30, 2026

NEW HAVEN, Ind. — Two former Pennsylvania Railroad passenger diesels have a new owner that is building a steam locomotive. The Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Steam Locomotive Trust has acquired E8A Nos. 5702A and 5761A from the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society. The units are on the way to Cumberland, Maryland, for evaluation, mechanical work, and paint at the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.

Pennsylvania Railroad E8A #5761A is seen here between assignments during the 1960s; it is one the PRR E8s recently acquired by the T-1 Trust. American-Rails.com collection.

The trust’s own project is T1 No. 5550, a new duplex patterned on the Pennsylvania’s streamlined 4-4-4-4 passenger engines. The trust says the boiler, frame, and running gear are complete or under assembly, and that the locomotive is past 70 percent complete. The E8s are the trust’s first diesels, and the first motive power it has bought.

From Fort Wayne

Electro-Motive built 5702A in September 1952 and 5761A in November 1952. The Pennsylvania bought 75 E8As, the largest fleet of that 2,250-horsepower passenger locomotive. These two went on to the Penn Central, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, the Green Mountain Railroad, and the Central New York Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, and then into the Iowa Pacific fleet.

When Iowa Pacific’s equipment was scattered, members of the Fort Wayne society bought the pair in 2021 to keep them together. A private donor paid more than $40,000 in storage over five years and financed the sale to the T1 Trust. Kelly Lynch, executive director of the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society, said the job had been to keep the locomotives intact until the right home appeared.

Steam, then diesel, then steam again

Brad Noble, president of the trust, said the Pennsylvania’s mechanical story runs from steam through diesel passenger power, and that 5550 remains the trust’s main work. Lynch pointed out the turn of the calendar. The E8s were among the passenger diesels that closed out steam on the Pennsylvania. A finished 5550 will be a newer locomotive than either of them.

Cumberland is the next stop. The announcement covers evaluation, mechanical work, and paint, and leaves both units without a date to lead a train.

Sources

Trains, October 16, 2026, updated October 23, “T1 Trust acquires former Pennsylvania Railroad E8A diesels.” Nos. 5702A and 5761A, built September and November 1952. Fort Wayne acquisition in 2021. Storage above $40,000, paid by the donor who financed the sale. Pennsylvania fleet of 75 E8As. Later Penn Central, MBTA, Green Mountain, and the Central New York Chapter NRHS, then Iowa Pacific. En route to Cumberland for evaluation, mechanical work, and paint. Trust figure of more than 70 percent on No. 5550. Statements from Brad Noble and Kelly Lynch.

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Pennsylvania Railroad E8s Join the T1 Trust

From Fort Wayne

Steam, then diesel, then steam again

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Sources