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Pennsylvania Railroad class D7

class of 119 American 4-4-0 locomotives

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMay 19, 2025
Entity authorityQ7120475 ↗
Source-derived summary

Class D7 (formerly Class A (anthracite), pre-1895) on the Pennsylvania Railroad was a class of 4-4-0 steam locomotive.

Fifty-eight were built by the PRR's Altoona Works (now owned by Norfolk Southern) between 1882–1891 with 68 in (1.73 m) drivers, while sixty-one of class D7a were constructed with 62 in (1.57 m) drivers.

The D7 was fundamentally an anthracite-burning version of the PRR D6, with a larger fire-grate in order to burn the slower-burning, harder coal.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Pennsylvania Railroad class D7” as class of 119 American 4-4-0 locomotives. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1895, 1882, 1891—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Pennsylvania, Railroad and class can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as class of 119 American 4-4-0 locomotives. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 19, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q7120475. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1895, 1882 and 1891.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
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The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Pennsylvania Railroad class D7”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Pennsylvania Railroad class D7 primary sources, Pennsylvania Railroad class D7 archive and Pennsylvania research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pennsylvania Railroad class D7”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Pennsylvania Railroad class D7” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.