PRR N6 and N6a cabin cars

N6a

General information:

• Most cars rebuilt from 4 wheel wood underframe classes. There were Lines West (of Pittsburgh) cabins rebuilt in Lines West shops, starting 1914. These Lines West rebuilds into class N6a and N6b were concurrent with Altoona production of the N5 all-steel cabins for Lines East.
• Rebuilding these wood 4 wheel bobbers required lengthening the carbody to put it on an 8-wheel steel underframe. A 1913 Ohio law had outlawed pushers behind wood-underframe cabooses
• Cupola placement could be variable: some rebuilds extended the body on only one end (leaving the cupola near the other end), whereas others extended both ends, leaving the cupola in the middle. "End cupola" and "center cupola" are terms used by railfans, but more than just two sets of dimensions have been observed.
• N6b has narrower cupola with sloping sides (tunnel clearance for Panhandle division's 10 tunnels on Pittsburgh to Columbus route).
• N6a has wider "Fort Wayne" cupola; wider than body of car. Much later, this would have been called a "wide vision" cupola. Ultimately, all N6a's were rebuilt into N6b's, or were scrapped.
• Much later than the rebuilding program, some N6b's were transferred to PRR divisions east of Pittsburgh, where they were photographed by fans as late as 1964.

Modeling Information:

Photos online:

Report Mark	Class	Description	Location	Date	Photographer
PRR 980016	N6b	on display at station	Harrisburg, Pa.	?	Rob Schoenberg
PRR 981530	N6b	-	Richmond, IN	Jul-60	Donald Papa (B&W) {Bob Rathke Collection from George Elwood's site)
PRR 982209	N6b	(Sam Wolfe on platform)	Lewisburg, PA	1957	(b&w)