Piedmont and Northern No 5103, Spencer, NC, USA
Posted by: 
NCDaywalker
N 35° 41.179 W 080° 26.126
17S E 551084 N 3949303
One of many railroad exhibits in the roundhouse on the grounds of the North Carolina Transporation Museum.
Waymark Code: WMY1XH
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 04/04/2018
Views: 1
"Piedmont and Northern No 5103
Builder: General Electric, Erie, Pa.
Trucks: 4-wheel, class B-B
Date Completed: December 1913
Total Weight 133,800 pounds
Speed: 21 miles per hour on straight track
Industrialist James B. Duke created the Piedmont and Northern in 1911 to merge two smaller electric lines in North and South Carolina neat and southwest of Charlotte. The P&N began operating the two lines in 1914 and raised line voltage from 600 to 1500 volts, the nation's first electric railroad built for both passenger and heavy freight service. Pressure from competing railroads prevented the P&N from ever linking the two segments.
The line ordered six new electric boxcab locomotives, including No 5103. Each had four 250-horsepower motors and each could pull about thirty freight cars. Engineers could run the boxcabs from either end and operate on either 600 or 1500 volts.
The electric locomotives worked freight in South Carolina until 1950 when P&N switched to diesel power there. They moved to North Carolina, but electric power ended here by 1954 - except for one place. An old streetcar line on Mint Street in Charlotte was too light to hold diesels and No. 5103 kept working there until 1958, when P&N ended forty-seven years of electric service.
In 1963 Piedmont and Northern restored No. 5103 as a gift to the Atlanta Chapter, National Railway Historical Society. The chapter sold the engine to the museum in 1995."
Quoted from the information board at the locomotive as displayed by the NC Transportation Museum, Spencer, NC.
Locomotive Type: (required): Diesel Electric
Do you need to pay an entrance fee to view this locomotive? (required): Yes
If a fee is required what is the approximate cost for admittance? (optional):
10
How accessible is this locomotive display? (Required): Only touching is allowed.
If "other" what is the engine type? (optional): Not listed
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