PC: PC E-8 portholes

[KEMACPRR@xxxxxxx]

Looking thru my PC Bi-annual i've found pictures of the following. 4266 ex 
PRR with a freight pilot ! and one porthole on the firemans side. 4316 ex PRR 
( the first Amtrak painted unit ) with no portholes on the firemans side. 
4261 ex PRR with one porthole on the engineers side. 
 One thing to remember all E-7's and E-8's had sides made of metal wood. This 
is a sheet of 1/4'' plywood with a thin steel sheating glued to both sides. 
Water would tend to leak around the portholes rotting out the wood and 
eventually the thin sheet metal causing these panels to fail earlier than the 
non porthole panels. It's easier and cheaper to replace a panel without 
replacing the porthole so the PC probably did just that. This is my 
explanation on why the portholes were replaced randomly and not all at once.  
                                 Ken McCorry