Lionel 2322050 Pennsylvania Railroad PRR Iron Hippo LEGACY Freight Set O SCALE LIMITED NEW

Pennsy men called the I1's "Hippos" and they earned that name on trains like the famous Mt. Carmel ore trains which brought Messabi ore to the mills in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. A single I1 could handle the train for most of the eastbound trip from Lake Erie docks. But the last 27 miles to the Lehigh Valley interchange at Mt. Carmel required a pair of these brutes on the head end with another pair pushing hard on the rear. These trains were a favorite for photographers catching dramatic shots of heavy steam railroading in its final days. Prior to the 1960s, nearly all the ore moved on the Pennsylvania and other eastern lines rode in conventional hoppers designed for coal. Indeed, many of these cars would be loaded with coal for the next trip west. But being much heavier by volume than coal, the ore could only be loaded in small piles in the hoppers. The Pennsy used a variety of hoppers in this service, and some cars pulled from other roads would often show up as well. Now you can add t