PRR PC CR NJT Amtrak GG1s
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- An overview of the famous Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 in freight, passenger and helper service for the various owners throughout its history. 4935 and 4877 are shown in regular service and on fantrips. Film sources are listed in the video, film was silent and sounds added from my video library.
I fired on and off the GG-1s from March 1974 till December 1982. I was permanently promoted to Locomotive Engineer on January 1,1983 and went to work for New Jersey Transit Rail Operations. Operated the GG-1s up until they were retired and replaced by E-60s.
When Amtrak began receiving their new Amfleet Cars and retired the Self Propelled Metroliners. Amtrak used the GG-1 in Metroliner service. The train would consist of a GG-1 and Mail Car Converted to a Head End Power car (to provide electricity to the Amfleet Cars) and were also updated to be pulled at speeds exceeding 100mph. Then there would be 3 to 5 Amfleet Cars. Amtrak purchased E-60 Locomotives in anticipation of using them for Metroliner Service. The E-60s were designed to go 110 MPH, but had such extreme lateral motion that the maximum speed was reduced to 80MPH. The lateral motion on the E-60’s
would usually start around 60 MPH. It was scary as hell when this Locomotive would start slamming the sides of the rail. To the point of applying the brakes to try to get it to stop. So Amtrak had no choice but to use the GG-1s. It would get up to 100MPH pulling the Amfleet Cars with ease.
The GG-1 was Extremely Loud, Dirty, Cold in the Winter and Hot in the Summer. But is was the most reliable Locomotive that I ever operated
wow!...thanks!
@@RustBeltRailfan
Sorry for the delayed reply. After January 1 1982, I operated all GG-1’s that NJTRO acquired, from South Amboy NJ to Sunny Side Yard Queens and Penn Station NYC and return. Yes I operated the 4877 and the GG-1 that was painted in the Brunswick Green. I don’t remember what number that one was. Thanks for the like
@@RustBeltRailfan
It was the 4883. Thanks for reminding me. It’s been 40 years since I operated the GG-1.
@@RustBeltRailfan
I also operated the AEM-7 on Metroliner Service on Amtrak when they were put in service until Conrail broke up into the CSX and Northfork Souhthern and some of the freight stayed Conrail. Then passenger service on Amtrak,NJTRO, SEPTA and some other passenger railroads.
The AEM-7’s were excellent locomotives. They were powerful and very reliable. They had Air Conditioning, Cruise Control, Electro Pneumatic Brakes, Head End Power and Dynamic Braking. These locomotives were an absolute pleasure to operate. You could hit station platforms at 50 to 60 mph, Put the Automatic Brake into electric holding. Which keeps the brakes applied while charging your air brake system. Then gently reduce the EP braking effort bringing your train to a smooth stop.
PS, I also have an original, not a copy of the operating manual for the AEM-7.
Can’t beat 25 cycle power the transformer in the loco was very heavy but quiet
A trend setter, they were so different,unlike today’s that all look the same ! Love the GG1’s !
What beautiful machines. I love how there is no graffiti on the rolling stock.
It's a damn shame. Not to see any working GG1's in service anymore. The only way you can see them now. Is in museum's. But it would very nice to ride the old 1950's passenger Electric trains. Than the modern Amtrak trains of today.
I MISS these beautiful GG1s! I suppose this an old railfan film as I have heard that NO GG1s are operating anywhere now. So I suppose I missed out on all these fan excursions! Thoush i will say that though I never got to ride the old Pennsy, I DID have a chance to rid a train hauled by GG1s in PC livery. Bolus in the early days of Amtrak I did rid athe broadway Limited with GG1s from harrisburg to Penn Station in NYC. HI had a nice tablecloth dinner experience whilst becoming hypnotised withthe 11kV/25 Hz catenary! Now it is bhoring, and the ONLY sections I will ride even as the Acela, is the washington - Soutyh Srtation line. I still have not been able to ride the electrified section between new Haven and South Station. I hope to do that first class soon. This is the ONLY railway section I shall ride in the whole of North America as both Canada and México, because it IS electrified.
WE NEED MORE ELECTRIFICATION WITH POWER SUPPLIED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY as we all are entering this possible irreversable Climate Emergency disaster! in aALL OF North America, we now NEED to ELECTRIFY -- N O W ! Not in 2030, but R I G H T N O W , starting in THIS year 2022! Thanks
How many cars would be on the double headers of the coal trains and or mix freight
100 or more.
How many miles did those engines rack up, they could've went to Jupiter and back. Also it would be cool if Amtrak would use a GG1 once in a while again
Some estimates claim the total mileage would be enough to make a round trip to the Sun!
@@russellgxy2905 That’s is some serious build quality. They don’t make them like they used to
GG on not getting your BVDs from the CCP stuck in the CVT. Where are we at on those TPS reports? Dang it I'm out of TP, looks like I'm heade to CVS... LOL
As a retired electrical engineer this video warms my heart. I can almost smell the ozone from the ionized air :) GG-1's are such a good looking unit and very "torqy". GG-1's ... Milwaukee box cabs ... if it was up to me I'd electrify every rail system and I have ozone scratch and sniff patches in every home. Better living through high voltage would be my motto. GG-1 was one big bug zapper heh :)
@J D Yes I have. I believe they were 50's 60's generation. They used AC overhead, tapped down the voltage, but then rectified (ignitron then later silicon diode) to DC for traction motor purposes (series wound motor). The GG-1 were AC overhead, tapped down to lower voltage AC and fed AC series wound traction motors at 16 cycles. I think the E-33 44 would only be freight and not found on the NEC? It's interesting how GG1's, an older technology, could out last newer tech such as E-33 44.
Are you modelling AC units with the overhead catenary structures? You have my respect.
Yeah instant power is fun. Electric and steam same diff are instant torque, crucial to big boy's design 5 miles of train fully loaded. Absolutely incredible power. Gas and diesel cannot achieve this.
Now I'm gonna go look up "ozone" lol.
O3
How could they give off p.c.bs or was that hogwash?
In my opinion, the best locomotive ever built.
Certainly the greatest electric locomotives.
Certainly the most elegant locomotive ever built?
Certainly the most beautiful !!!
In 1973 i was a 12 year old kid living in North Philly, right next to where the Penn Central lines crossed above the Reading Lines at the North Philly Station, i would play on the station platform for hours watching the big GG-1s and the E-44's pull drag freights and coal trains through the station , and I always got to speak with the conductors , when the local passengers trains and the commuter runs stopped , I was a little boy who loved trains and all the engineers knew me, the Amtrak fast runs would play tunes on the horns for me as they passed d thru on the middle track, this video is full of memories for me, PC & Conrail in the 70's !!!!
It's so nice to the trains with no graffiti !
Thank you for the tribute and stroll down memory lane. In 73, 74, I worked for PennCentral and ran those monsters from New York to Washington DC. Still have my time books and engine numbers from each run. My golden years.
What was it like running them? I feel that I was born in the wrong time period, the 50's thru the 80's are the most appealing times in history to me.
@@jonsmith584 Hi Jon. It was not glamorous. They were extremely loud. Dirty. Cab accommodations were rudimentary at best. But, boy, could they pull!. And pull fast. When snow knocked out metro liner service, they used GG1'S to pull and upped speed from 80 to 100. No problem, but interlocking at 100 scared me to death. The engines would pitch hard left and right and you could hear the frame bottom out. I was 19. Not experienced. But the vet drivers all thought it was normal. Unique monsters. Amazing. No one ever died in a GG1 wreck or so the rumor said. With a nose that long, its possible, but track view was horrible. Getting the picture? At the time I thought these were ugly as hell. Now I really appreciate their beauty and power.
I rode the NY/DC route as a boy in the late 40s and am still riding it today. I loved those locomotives. There was a GG1 painted in Pennsy livery still operating on Amtrak as late as 1980.
@@Alanpie314 However unlikely as it may be, there is the slightest of chances i was running your train. Stranger things have happened.
@@johnhauser4589 Maybe. I made at least 10 round trips, and as many as 15, while the GG1s were still running.
Wow ,The Best GG1 video ever !
Those E60's were a beast as well. except the swaying problem .
Why because too top heavy or more rail contact with all the wheels?
Kitty Muffins I think something with the 3-axle freight trucks?
Now that's a horn says "Get the f**k outta the way"
Haha
A favourite loco. It's superb Art Deco styling, with input from famed industrial designer Raymond Loewy, has a style that modern locos can't emulate. Raymond Loewy designed a number of items of rollingstock for the PRR.
And to think, it all started with a garbage can... As a joke, no less.
Thank you for these videos. Finally great video of the GG1, old PRR electrification engines, and a set of Budd cars. Throughly enjoyed this video.
Thank you so very much. I remember the GG1 from 1974, when I took it from New York City to Washington, DC. On the way back to NYC, I took the Metroliner, which cost more. I love this locomotive, and I hope that it has copies kept in running condition. Aarre Peltomaa
La GG1, la más iconica de las locomotoras eléctricas.
Such an enjoyable video! Thank you for your efforts in putting it together. I always enjoy seeing the variety of passenger equipment and trains being pulled by a GG-1!
I got the chance to get in the cab of a GG1 on a static display in the Altoona Railroad museum. The GG1 was the Moose of locomotives. Lots of power and kinda homely yet beautiful at the same time.
I like these old films, because their sound is real, and not modified. Because a person who don't see trains normally thinks trains are very quiet since the 60s-70s.
Caught some footage of GG centipedes !! That is extremely rare to find here on UA-cam , just like the D & H Baldwin Shark noses.
Excuse me, the nickname is centipedes?
@@rebooted.jupiter_ crapton of legs (wheels)
@@rebooted.jupiter_ Baldwin built those. Complex and a pain to keep running.
Superb film and you can see the power, wow! Huge railfan here. These gals are the most intimidating-looking machines I've ever seen.
you haven't seen a New York Central Mohawk yet have you
I talked with a retired PRR engineer at Strasburg years ago, who ran GG-1s. He said he hated it, as the cabs were so incredibly small. I was old enough to have seen them and known what they were as a kid, if only I could have gotten to that corner of the country...
Yeah, I think a fighter pilot has more room than a G driver.
Sensational these images I love electric machines the GG-1 although we didn't have them here in Brazil they were sensational congratulations for the images fills me with joy
Brings back great childhood memories of our Lionel trains in our row home in Germantown, Philadelphia. We had one GG1 that we ran mostly on track DC but we could switch to a line and run on her pantigraffs. (scuse my spelling). We had to manually raise them. The GG1 was my favorite. I never knew what the naming convention stood for, perhaps my Dad did, I don't recall it though. Thanks to this movie I found out.
Best way to see Linden NJ: at high speed!🙂
Raymond Muench haha, or anywhere in Jersey.
Anywhere that’s not Elizabeth station
Their fantastic locomotive 🚂 I never seen them before
A conductor once told me they called it ‘The Mammoth’, so I always referred to it as ‘The Mammoth Train’ growing up taking that Black PC train from Penn Station to 30th st. every month to visit my grandmother. Today I call it ‘Darth Vader on wheels’
Excellent editing and sound dubbing once again. How fascinating to see electric locos with steam heating.
Excellent video. Again I totally enjoyed watching. Thank you for the upload.
I love the GG1! It just looks like the most efficient thing that ever hit the rails. A symmetrical monster!
Still my favorite loco of all time. Big Boy is a close second, but Ole Big Red still takes it in my book. GG1 is power AND grace.
Interesting that this popped up in my suggested. Last week I watched the movie "Pride of the Marines" starring John Garfield released in 1945. He's at the station waiting for a train and in pulls a GG-1 and a string of Pennsy coaches. Sometimes old movies give us a peek a railroading back in the long ago. "In The Heat of the Night" from 1967 is another example as we see the GM&O and MoP on display.
True that that was big time railroading back then this stuff now cheese cloth gg1 badest engine to do it speed and power
Fantastic! Love the GG1s!
The PC black was a insult to the GG-1's.
The GG-1 4877 became very famous worldwide the big red one she appears in several scenes of the movie
Absolutely excellent job thank you.
I did see one of these once, in Long Island in 1979, from the subway. My first trip abroad! I think it was in Conrail colours.
Crikey, I thought the UK Class 92 was a big impressive mobile transformer but the GG1 is on another level way above! Magnificent machines, thanks for sharing.
Hi Jim, are you familiar with the erstwhile Great Northern's W1.? Those things were so huge and handsome. But i can't find any film of them working.?
PS I cut all the traction gearing for the Brush 92's, if that's a claimed any fame.? Oh and the channel tunnel Bo-Bo-Bo's.
@@nigelmitchell351 I'm a newbie to US railroading really, I'm still learning daily (although I'm getting to know my Geeps and Alcos lol). I'll add the W1 to my "must research" list :-)
@@jimdieseldawg3435 Add the Milwaukee roads Little Joe's too. !
I'm not a huge contemporary fan but I do love the historic or fallen flag railroads and of course the monster steam locos.
"50 years of service in a place in history"
I was on one of the last trains on GG1 NJ transit retirement day October 29th 1983. Its hard to believe its been 37 years since they were in service.
I will never tire of viewing these videos. Another EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT one, closer to home. THANK YOU. A+++++++++
Thanks *FM* 👏 ℹ'm a nut for the GG1
I'm so grateful I grew up during the 40s, 50s, 60s, and the70s to experience these wonderful trains of a bygone era. The sounds and smells linger in my memory to this day.
GG1s are so damn cool!
Such a shame none of the surviving examples can run. The PCB oil-cooled transformers were removed because of their toxicity concerns.
I liked the appearances of PRR's Tubular train, a pair of P5as, a PRR B1 electric switcher in the Penn Central era, the savings bonds unit at 16:48, and two of them working with an F40PH
15:52 it took two GG1s to pull six cars?!
These units were probably the best locomotive to run on American rails. They were good at both passenger and freight service and were the oldest locomotives left when they were retired.
15:52 was probably a power balancing move. Or else a "rescue" of a failed unit.
This is how goods traffic should be hauled in the USA.
Loving the workshop footage.!!
Thinking the maroon with speed whiskers was the classiest livery.?
Imho, yes. Others may differ.
5:34 yay dt&i.
Thank you for sharing this!
9:40 The Sunnyside Yard footage brings back memories.....grew up nearby....there is a park at 43rd St/Skillman Ave....behind it is a loop track to the yard...
John Perry My parents use to take me to Honeywell street near Northern Blvd. Got to see GG1’s as well as LI S2’s humping cars.
In the late 70’s I remember watching the GG-1 with the head end power cars on the Northeast Corridor at the portal bridge in Kearny NJ. THX
One of those HEP cars is still in use on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad in Northeast Ohio, powering some of the ex-PRR "Congo" cars they own.
that engine is a beast
8:08 bro nice metroliner horn totally sounds like what it once sounded like
i grew up near the train tracks in Maryland north of DC . i still have a couple coins i set on the rail that were flattened by a GG-1 what an awesome engine.
Brings back a lot of Memories. Thanks for sharing ...
I never realized the GG-1 were used in freight service. Wow
I was fortunate to operate the GG-1’s from 1974 through their retirement on NJT. The GG-1s used in freight were geared differently than the ones used in passenger service. I only had the privilege of running Double Header GG-1’s on freight TV-24 & TV-23 during Locomotive Engineers Training Program during on the job training. Let me tell you. Each of these trains had over 100 TTX cars that each held Two Trailers and the GG-1s had no problem getting up to speed. Which was 60 mph for TTX freight Cars. Don’t tell anyone but on a few occasions. When the train was late at Potomac Yard in Alexandria Va. or Meadows Yard in South Kearney NJ, when the Engineer told me to get the speed up to 80 mph until back on schedule. The TV Freight Trains were Scheduled Trains that we’re in the Timetable along with the Passenger Trains.
I also operated these locomotives on the North East Corridor and on the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge Branch. From South Amboy NJ to Penn Station NYC,NY. Then with New Jersey Transit on the now North Jersey Coast Line until their retirement. Before the AEM-7 came out. Amtrak used GG-1s to pull their new Metroliner service. Pulling at least 5 cars and a updated Mail Car that provided electricity for the coaches. The speed indicator only went up to 100 mph on the GG-1. Believe me when I tell you. We were running these locomotives at 120 mph on the many straight stretches of rail between Penn Station NYC,NY and Union Station,Washington DC. We had to use our watches second hand the Amp gauges and on average every 20 Catenary Poles was a mile to calculate our speed. These Locomotives ran real smooth at 120 mph on their 12 drivers and 8 truck wheels. I only had the Privilege of operating the GG-1 number 4800 once on a freight train from Meadows South Kearney NJ to Harrisburg PA. The 4800 was the Prototype and it was the only one that the Shell was riveted together. There were some slight differences between this locomotive and the other 138 made. The only things I can remember is the Throttle and the Shell were slightly different. The 4800 and a few others have been saved from the scrap yard and are either in Museums or privately owned.
Sorry for rambling, but I’m now retired and there aren’t many Engineers left that are alive that operated these locomotives. As I Fireman I worked with Engineers that hired on in 1929 and were there in 1934 when these locomotives started coming off the assembly line in Altoona Pa. Shops and operated them up till retirement.
The GG-1 was way ahead of its time and as far as I’m concerned. It was the most reliable locomotive I’ve ever had the privilege to operate. Of all the times I either fired or was the Locomotive Engineer on them. Not one time did any break down and had to be towed.
2:00 that is the one and only “Keystone” Tubular Train! Built with a split-level plan with lower center floors, these Budd-built coaches had a lower center of gravity that helped them take curves at higher speeds - and the _tubular_ part comes from its full-body stressed-skin design, forgoing the underframe of typical coaches.
They only ever built the one set, which proved unpopular due to the split-level design causing bottlenecking issues during boarding.
This great video should be digitally remastered….
This was digitized on consumer grade equipment. It has already been processed for color and stabilization. The cost of commercial copying at a higher quality is prohibitive. If you wish to shoulder the cost, I would be happy to provide the original film. Otherwise, what you see is the best I can do.
28:00 Wow! Two GG1 Locomotives (one in Pennsylvania Railroad livery and the other in Penn Central livery) pulling an Amtrak F40PH in the original "Tulip" livery?! Now THAT is foamer PORN LOL
In all of railroading, there is no finer sight than a GG 1 in Pennsylvania Brunswick green or Tuscan red. Even better when double headed. That`s POWER!
These electrics seem to dwarf the Amtrak Diesels I think it might be because of their higher bogies. Excellent video, thanks for sharing! :D
Okay?!?! Now here's a video title ONLY a foamer would know.
I've seen 4876 running a local service at Rahway Station, while most were running express.
Remember see them rounding the Frankford curve at night and the sparks that lit up their wheels.
Thank you, I enjoyed this video. Wonderful history.
Interesting to note that the GG1s, Little Joe's, UP Turbines, NH Jets, VGN rectifiers and others used variants of GE's 750-series traction motors. A most successful design.
Don't see how the GG1 could have used 750 motors, they were DC. G's had AC motors.
Look at all the trash on the tracks
Incredible stuff, what an icon. The basic black livery was really quite sad, and most of Amtrak livery just really boring. Such a graceful machine, and yet they never could improve on the original; what was that, three stripe look with Pennsylvania spaced really far apart across the broadside. Majestic. So what was that little electric helper in the yard? 4756 that was adorable! 😹 Great comments on these videos too. Thanks for everyone’s inside info..
The small electric switcher was a B-1 nicknamed the "Rat".
Once again I am living in the wrong era.
GG1 гудит как советские электровозы серии ВЛ8 и ВЛ10. Очень впечатляющий электровоз👍
I’ve got three GT ones and an old scale I really enjoy them they got sound and everything
The Milwaukee Road was also another great electric railway to disappear!
Personally I find electric locomotives boring I prefer smoke and noise lol
There's a Lima diesel snuck in there! Now THAT is a rare thing. Surprised any of them made it into PC.
Only because it was repowered with an EMD diesel.
@@fmnut Ah didn't know they repowered any of them. There were so few built I assume most were just scrapped. Are there any still in existence? I've seen somewhat recent footage of one on a tourist line and Indiana & Ohio had one but from what I hear it broke down on its first run.
@@thenekom the only operating example I'm aware of is on the Whitewater Valley RR in Indiana. Illinois Railway Museum also has one.
Yeah 8062 and 8063 got EMD V12-567's in the early 60s I believe. Still feels strange seeing them in Philadelphia since the Lima's road switchers were exclusive to the NYC, but at least these two finished their careers around coaches, the same as they started
Everything on the G was unique, and wonderful right down to the horn.
Does anyone have a horn if so how much would they sell for. Thanks.
Do a search on ebay for Leslie A200. One should turn up if you are persistent.
@@fmnut Thanks. I appreciate it.
All ways love gg1 my dad used take me to Newark penn station to see them.
Big n bold is the only way to explain a GG 1 One of kind locomotive
@5:40 -ish what're them large box (?) cars and/or why do they look so weird to me?
Cheerios...
They are 85 foot auto parts box cars. Made for maximum cubic feet since auto parts are high volume low weight contents. They were fairly common up until the 90s when US automakers switched to "just in time" inventory practices and foreign cars took up a larger share of the market. They look odd because the trucks are inset a good distance from the car ends, unlike more conventional box cars. This kept the unsupported span at the center of the car to a reasonable stress level.
Thanks for this great compilation!
like train
like train
Great video, it would be good to see one of these back on the mainline.
While the GG1's are the feature, I appreciate the addition of other locos. The Baldwins are always a treat, and on this most recent rewatch I noticed 9:24 was an "LRS-1200!" I almost forgot the two repowered road switchers worked out their last years in Philly
Now the real question becomes what on earth was a T-Motor doing in Sunnyside Yard?
Great job on the sound, very nice!
12:47 The Conrail scheme is cool.
Were the GG1's built with multiple unit control or were they retrofitted later?
They had MU as built.
@@fmnut I wish they still used them.
@@fmnut I wish they still used those units.
13:25 what’s the story of this one? Looks like it hit a truck and got burned as well.
April 20 1979. Edison, NJ. Brand new Plasser tamper was en route from Bristol MW shop to Hudson. Track Car permit form M issued to run from FAIR to LINCOLN on track 3 against the current of traffic. Per rules at the time, the tamper was insulated and did not shunt. The tower operator at LINCOLN misrouted train 111 with Amtrak GG1 918 westbound on track 3 when it should have been crossed over to track 4. With the tamper not shunting the train proceeded on clear signals all the way to the collision. 73 injured and no fatalities as a result of the crash. There was a brief fire which acounts for the engine's appearance in the film. The tamper was torch cut away from the GG1 which was then sent south dead in train to Wilmington for evaluation. I believe this loco was never repaired but stripped for parts prior to scrapping.
Info gathered from Trainorders.com.
These trains look like GLaDOS in some shots.
Pretty neat to see electric units on the rear!
1:13 that bell sounds so...
The sound is indescribable besides rusty.
It just sounds rusty.
and 8:10 i thought those had S55 S37s, can somebody tell me what horn model that is?
I remember the first GG1 that I saw was at Baltimore Penn Station emerging from the tunnel on the southbound side. That gleaming tuscan red was a magnificent site. I didn’t think the tracks and the platform would be large enough to handle all that power. The engineer waved at me as it past by. I was hooked. I’ve been a GG1 man for life.
A one of a kind with great utility.
Those GG1s are surprisingly fast
I like narration about what's going on.
8:32 9:03 is this the Silver Meteor and Silver Star?
Possibly, hard to tell as this is post-Amtrak and the equipment was pretty well mixed by then.
Awesome!!!