Due to track and switch renovations at the Harrisburg Thansportation Center, the PPR 4859 GG1 and Cabin Caboose needed to be moved about a 1000 ft to the west for temporary storage. Videoed April 5, 2014 Enjoy, thanks for watching!
As a kid I'd go to NY Penn station to see trains. The GG-1's seemed too huge to ever move. I distinctly remember smacking on one end and thinking it was like a armored battleship. The steel was like bedrock. Like others I was drawn to the design while its being kind of spooky.
Scared the hell out of me as a child......that drab paint, cyclops headlight and horn? Forget about t.v monsters.......and let's not forget the sparks when the powerlines were coated in ice......
GG-1 4859 was built in 1937 by Altoona Works, making it the 60th. GG-1 in a series of 139. 4859 was put into service on Jan 15,1938 and retired on Nov 22, 1979. In 1964 the locomotive was shifted to pulling mainly freight, and did so up until retirement. 4859 was restored between Aug. and Nov. 1986. The GG's had a top speed of 100 mph. Nominal hp. 4,620 and short term hp. of 8,000. Each GG-1 weighed 230 tons, drawing power from an 11,000 volt 25 cycle single phase catenary. 12 traction motors, 2 per drive wheel gave the GG a tractive effort of 72,800 lbs. the final day of GG operation was on Oct. 29, 1983.
+Robert Mitchum Thanks Robert ...interesting info ... I was fortunate enough to see them in service just prior to their discontinuance ...very interesting and durable machines ..
And the original design was by the PRR designers. They called in Raymond Loewy, a famous industrial designer of the time, to smooth out the edges, contour the overall look and hide the "bucket of bolts" look of the test loco. They were ALL built in-house by the PRR. That AMTRAK has to go to foreign companies to do what PRR did on it's own is a tragedy of immense proportions.
It would be kinda cool if someone were to restore a GG1 back to operating condition. Hell, I would be happy with it being put back into regular service on the NEC.
The transformers contain PCBs as coolant so they can’t use them anymore. Plus the majority of not all of them had frame cracking issues toward the end of their lives. Unrepairable and unsafe to operate anymore.
@@danielhandler6646 Yup, good ol' Pyranol kept those transformers nice and cool--modern transformer coolants can't quite match it. Not to mention all the weirdness of 11kV 25hz 1ph. Of course, somebody could come along and throw a hundred millions dollars at a bunch of enthusiasts and that'd get us the next best thing: a new, scratch-built GG-1 with modern electricals, enabling it to just run... places, lol. But that's a bit more than a wish, I think--nothing short of a miracle gets us a new GG-1, and nothing short of a time machine and some daredevils unafraid of *ALL* the cancer gets us an original one capable of running. C'est la vie.
The GG1. My favorite train. It took me from Penn Station NYC to 30th St Philly to visit my grandmother many times. I always said the blsck PC GG1 looked like Darth Vader. One badass train!
Just put all her equipment back, give it back its catenary and 11,000 volts of A. C., and that ol' GG1 would really show that diesel pushin' 'er how. That 238-ton monster would flail that new loco around like it was a sack of feathers.
They would need to equip her with "rectifiers" in order to convert the voltage that is now used on the Northeast Corridor; This GG-1 most likely could be returned to running condition and I believe at least ONE should. My late Dad ran these 238 ton beasts for the Pennsy, Conrail and then Amtrak until their retirement in early 1985, after 50 brilliant years of service. I believe you'll see a GG-1 returned to service...if they can bring the Union Pacific 4-8-8-8 "Big Boy" back to running condition, they can do it with this.
@@johnflanagan9153 they will NOT restore one. The transformers contain PCBs and can’t be used, and the PCBs would need cost prohibitive disposal if the transformers were replaced. And as you say, it would need rectifiers to run today.
1981 June Harrisburg PA, Amtrak Broadway limited to Washington DC. GG1 couple to train all by itself no spectators. Had plaque that it had been restored by railroad club. Still smelled of fresh paint. In full glorious Pennsylvania Railroad tuscan red with gold pinstripes. Strong smell of fresh transformer windings that had never gotten that hot before. accelerated trained very strongly from a standstill and then kept right on going until it seem to hit something like 115 mph. Most likely all it could getaway with on its way down to Philadelphia. After Philadelphia it was no holds barred. The train would come up next to what was likely Metroliner service and pass it with a 40 mph edge. Slow trains were just a blur as well as most billboards. We arrived in Washington DC with two passenger car generators smoking. We had been an hour and 15 minutes late leaving Harrisburg and we were now basically on time. I had taken a Porsche 928 out for a top speed run a few months earlier and this train was way faster. The Porsche has a top speed of 140 mph. Metroliner service is supposed to run at 125 mph. It appears the GG1 with its freshly improved and rebuild traction motors was hitting speeds up around 165 mph. And I believe it. Everything appears to have been cleared out of our way so that GG1 could have its restoration see what I can do. No wonder nobody in the crew was visible. They were going to take a once-in-a-lifetime shot and it could be catastrophic. It was actually incredibly competent and I still can't understand how other passengers in the train couldn't recognize that they were in a very different situation. I don't know what GG1 was pulling the train. It shouldn't be that hard to find because it has a plaque on it stating it was restored by a railroad club. For all kinds of catastrophic reasons I doubt that anybody is ever going to admit to the run that that GG1 Locomotive made.
The GG1 looks like something out of 1930s science fiction. I love the way the men walk alongside as if escorting a VIP. And that container train, mostly double stacked, looked endless - and with only 2 locos on the front! As a Brit I salute American railroading.
I always loved the Deco look of the GG1. I live near Harrisburg, and 4859 is still sitting under the roof at the station, but it is degenerating. I would donate some money for an organization to clean and fix it. I understand that it is inoperable, which is why it has to be pushed. Oh, and concatenation stops at Harrisburg. There was a time when the Broadway Limited would pull into Harrisburg with the GG1, uncouple, and have either K4s (Pacifics) or S1s (Streamliners) couple up, and be ready to pull out by the time passengers were boarded. The "Hand-off at Harrisburg".
What I always found interesting is that after the demise of the Pennsylvania RR no matter who used the GG1's be it PennCentral, Conrail or Amtrak they never looked good as when they were in Tuscan red or Hunter green.
Yes with the 5 stripes As a kid I waited for my grandmother to arrive from Maine at the station in Baltimore she caught the PRR in New York when that GG1 came into the station it shook the platform. I have several models of it in HO scale by Varney, Pivarossi and Bachmann and a catenary system on my Model RR.
I totally agree. The Tuscan red was my favorite. I am fortunate to be old enough to a clear and good memory of this great engine. Was always one of my favorites. Now everything looks the same, nothing has any character anymore. Just like trucks and cars.
My understanding is it will never run again due to a a ban on the transformer s being full of PCB. I would love to see on e run. They are strange looking locos and that is part of there appeal. Why I wonder when they built then did they not go for a loco with a cab at both ends with better vision I wonder. They were great locos back in there day.
First train I ever rode was pulled by a GG1. I remember thinking it was strange how both ends of it looked the same. I later had an O guage model of one as an adult . A classic engine.
It's too costly. Components need to be replaced, PTC has to be installed and those PCB laced transformers have to be removed and replaced with more efficient transformers. Not to mention they have to strengthen the car-body and replace or restore those pantographs.
Loved the Goofy Goofy Ones...Man those guys on the ground doing nothing but looking the part for $40 hour...What are they all for ? To all report that it's going well or all needed to report a derailment ? ! ...What ? ! !
I wonder if a GG1 locomotive will ever be restored? I could see Amtrak or someone restoring one to operational condition for special excursion trains and such, like some railroads did with famous steam engines. Nice Amtrak Dash 8, too. I've got an HO-gauge one on my layout with the "Pepsi Can" color scheme of the early '90s.
+wileyk209zback As originally built a GG1 could never run again under it's own power due to the PCB's in it's transformers even if you could provide the correct voltage power. I imagine retro-fitting one to use todays modern drive system would be too cost prohibitive. Amtrak doesn't have a pot to pee in, they'll never do it.
@@The20thCenturyLimited that’s a Little Joe, not a GG1. The Illinois Railroad Museum has the only operating Little Joe remaining. Museum only runs 600 volts and loco is designed for 1500, was originally built for 3000 volt systems, so they don’t use it very much anymore. It’s also hard on the trolley wire at the museum, since the Joe has pantographs that beat up the wires pretty bad.
The people walking along with the GG-1 are members of the National Historical Railway Society who are responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of this restored GG-1 unit number 4859. They apparently supervise every move of the GG-1 and the caboose. See this link to the same move from a different perspective: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mLSc-pz2V-Y.html
I was there in 1983 when the last GG1 pulled into Matawan NJ station (not a normal stop) to commemorate the electrification to Long Branch. Previously it was the engine change at South Amboy. The convenience store at that station made a ton of money with 300 people pulling up every 30 minutes either coming from or going to work. That was also one of the last stations on the NJCL with manually operated gates. Some guy sat in a 3x3' shed and waited for a bell and put down the gates. This was 1983, not 1938. Cripes. I was even on board when a regular car got wedged under a stopped trail at SA with all those grade crossings and minimal lighting.
Back in the day, they used to hold shows of how an electric locomotive could outshove or outpull steam. The GG1, with a power reserve of about 9000 horsepower (shorterm rating) could pull several of those diesels trying to pull the other way like they were in neutral. Trouble with the GG1 is, their driver wheels are big, which means they were "slippery." You'd have to dump alot of sand on the railroad to get traction.
For my money one of the best and most amazing and unique locos ever produced!!! Does anyone know if this one is restored or slated to be restored etc???
Gord Beneteau Too expensive to restore one because of all of the asbestos used in the motors and the cab. It would be Cheeper to replace the motors completely, and Amtrak will not let them run one on the nec, because it won't have the modern in cab signaling and they are operating at a different voltage now so all of the electrical components would have to change, making it only capable to run on the nec
@@Shermanta last i heard when asking the b and o railroad museum they said it was 20th or 28th on the list of restoration projects, though i detest and think it should be farther up that list
We’ve actually been there and have seen it there under the shelter( forget what that type of roof is called) lol,anyway that was prob back in 2005ish? Is it still there ?
Besides the poor old G they don’t run electric freight all electric freight is gone just about when ended the GG1 they also ended, I’m sorry freight electric locomotive is still superior compared to a diesel
I remember watching the GG-1’s blazing past Metuchen station in NJ. Most memorable was GG-1 passing through the station over snow covered tracks.....whiteout conditions prevailed for several minutes. Beautiful machines..
Probably the only time a P32-8 has been coupled up to a GG1, especially since the GG1s were taken out of service almost 20 years before the first P32-8 was built.
Gotta love how they are scared of that gg1. It spent most of its life going over jointed rails not welded rails like they have now! It commuted over a hundred miles an hour at times on worse steel then they have now but if it goes over 5 miles an hour and 50 people are not watching it then the whole world might end! Let that beautiful thing do what it was meant to do!! It wasn't meant to be pushed!
+Satchel Hogan There's no gantries on this part of the system, so it cannot get the electrical power it requires. The GG1 is an electric locomotive, and much of the infrastructure needed to operate one has decayed and been removed because today's trains are usually diesel. I don't see why you couldn't restore one to operating condition, just you would have to set up a museum line with the required overhead wires and power supply because that is gone from the mainline infrastructure.
+Satchel Hogan there isn't a lack of electric in the Pennsylvania area - as someone who lives in Harrisburg almost half of the rails in PA are electrified with wire over head. That sucker was on display for the longest time at the terminal in Harrisburg.
Hallmark's Lionel train series produced two versions of these, a green #4907 offered in 1998 was the third in the series. In 2011 a Tuscan #2340 was offered in a limited edition. These are approximately N-scale, and fit on N-scale track. I have both.
