The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 is a class of
streamlined
Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow.
They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady.
Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
s built for the
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad (reporting mark PRR), legal name The Pennsylvania Railroad Company also known as the "Pennsy", was an American Class I railroad that was established in 1846 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was named ...
(PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking
art deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
shell, its ability to pull trains at up to 100 mph, and its long operating career of almost 50 years.
Between 1934 and 1943,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
and the PRR's
Altoona Works
Altoona Works (also known as Altoona Terminal) is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1850 and 1925 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and relat ...
built 139 GG1s. The GG1 entered service with the PRR in 1935 and later ran on successor railroads
Penn Central
The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American Railroad classes, class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania Railroad ...
,
Conrail
Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busin ...
, and
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
. The last GG1 was retired by
New Jersey Transit
New Jersey Transit Corporation, branded as NJ Transit, and often shortened to NJT, is a state-owned public transportation system that serves the U.S. state of New Jersey, along with portions of New York State and Pennsylvania. It operates bu ...
in 1983.
Most have been scrapped, but 16 are in museums.
Technical information
Body and mechanical
The GG1 was long and weighed .
The
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
of the locomotive was in two halves joined with a
ball joint
In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles, and are used on virtually every automobile made. They bionically resemble the ball-and-socket joints found in most tetrapod animals. ...
, allowing the locomotive to negotiate sharper curves. The body rested on the frame and was clad in
welded
Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by using high heat to melt the parts together and allowing them to cool, causing fusion. Welding is distinct from lower temperature techniques such as braz ...
steel plates. The control cabs were near the center of the locomotive on each side of the main oil-cooled transformer and oil-fired train-heating boiler. This arrangement, first used on the PRR's Modified
P5 class, provided for greater crew safety in a collision and provided for bi-directional operation of the locomotive.
Using
Whyte notation
Whyte notation is a classification method for steam locomotives, and some internal combustion locomotives and electric locomotives, by wheel arrangement. It was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte, and came into use in the early twentieth ce ...
for
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...
s, each frame is a
4-6-0
A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...
locomotive, which in the
Pennsylvania Railroad classification system is a "G". The GG1 has two such frames back to back, 4-6-0+0-6-4. The related
AAR wheel arrangement
The AAR wheel arrangement system is a method of classifying locomotive (or unit) wheel arrangements that was developed by the Association of American Railroads. Essentially a simplification of the European UIC classification, it is widely used in ...
classification is 2-C+C-2. This means one frame mounted upon a set of two axles unpowered (the "2") and three axles powered (the "C") hinged with the ball and socket to another frame of the same design (the +). The unpowered "2" axles are at either end of the locomotive. The GG1 was equipped with a Leslie A200 horn.
Electrical and propulsion
A
pantograph
A pantograph (, from their original use for copying writing) is a mechanical linkage connected in a manner based on parallelograms so that the movement of one pen, in tracing an image, produces identical movements in a second pen. If a line dr ...
on each end of the locomotive body was used to collect the 11,000
V, 25
Hz alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current which periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time in contrast to direct current (DC) which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in whic ...
(AC) from the
overhead catenary wires. In operation, the leading pantograph was usually kept lowered and the trailing one raised to collect current, since if the rear pantograph failed it would not strike the forward pantograph. A
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
between the two cabs stepped-down the 11,000 V to the voltages needed for the
traction motor
A traction motor is an electric motor used for propulsion of a vehicle, such as locomotives, electric vehicle, electric or hydrogen vehicles, elevators or electric multiple unit.
Traction motors are used in electrically powered rail vehicles (ele ...
s and other equipment.
Twelve GEA-627-A1 traction motors (AC commutator motors, not AC induction motors) drove the GG1's diameter
driving wheel
On a steam locomotive, a driving wheel is a powered wheel which is driven by the locomotive's pistons (or turbine, in the case of a steam turbine locomotive). On a conventional, non-articulated locomotive, the driving wheels are all coupled ...
s on six axles using a
quill drive
A quill is a writing tool made from a moulted flight feather (preferably a primary wing-feather) of a large bird. Quills were used for writing with ink before the invention of the dip pen, the metal-Nib (pen), nibbed pen, the fountain pen, and, ...
. The power required was such that double traction motors were used, with two motors driving each axle. The traction motors were six-pole field, 400 volts, 25 Hz rated each at . The motors were frame-mounted using quill drives to the sprung driving wheels, providing a flexible suspension system across a relatively-long locomotive frame, which allowed full wheel weight to rest on the rail for good traction regardless of track condition. A series-wound commutator motor's speed is increased by increasing the applied voltage to the motor, thus increasing the current through the motor's armature, which is necessary for increasing its torque and thus increasing motor speed. The engineer's cab had a 21-position controller for applying voltage to the motors. Four unpowered
leading
In typography, leading ( ) is the space between adjacent lines of type; the exact definition varies.
In hand typesetting, leading is the thin strips of lead (or aluminium) that were inserted between lines of type in the composing stick to incre ...
/
trailing
Trailing can mean, among others:
* Facing and trailing, in railroads
* The act f using a Trailer (promotion)
* Trailing wheel
* Trailing arm
* Trailing edge
* Hound trailing
* Trailing twelve months Trailing twelve months (TTM) is a measurement of ...
wheels were mounted on each end of the locomotive.
Steam generation for heating
In the 1930s, railroad passenger cars were heated with steam from the locomotive. The GG1 had an oil-fired
steam generator A Steam generator is a device used to boil water to create steam. More specifically, it may refer to:
*Boiler (steam generator), a closed vessel in which water is heated under pressure
*Monotube steam generator
*Supercritical steam generator or Ben ...
to feed its train's "steam line."
History
Beginning in the late 1910s, the PRR received the
FF1, but decided that it was too slow for passenger trains; it was relegated to heavy freight service. In the mid-1920s, it received the L5 electric, which had a third-rail power supply at the time. When the Pennsylvania built the O1 and the P5, it chose the P5 over the O1 for its ability and power on the rails. After a grade-crossing accident with the P5, the cab was moved to the center and was designated
P5a. PRR still searched for the ultimate electric, since the P5 did not track well at high speeds and was wondering if the P5a could be improved even further. Soon enough, the Pennsylvania was in luck and found two contacts as early as 1932. The mechanical design of the GG1 was based largely on the EP3, which the PRR had borrowed from the
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...
to compare it to the P5a. In 1933, the PRR decided to replace its P5a locomotives; it asked General Electric and
Westinghouse to design prototype locomotives with a lighter
axle load
An axle or axletree is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearing ...
and more power than the P5a, a top speed of at least , a streamlined body design, and a single (central) control cab.
![FWPNW026Miscellaneous698D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/FWPNW026Miscellaneous698D.jpg)
Both companies delivered their prototypes to PRR in August 1934.
Westinghouse's
R1 was essentially "little more than an elongated and more powerful version of the P5a" with an AAR wheel arrangement of 2-D-2.
General Electric delivered its GG1. Both locomotives were tested for ten weeks in regular service between New York and Philadelphia and on a test track in
Claymont
Claymont is a census-designated place (CDP) in New Castle County, Delaware. The estimated 2017 population of the 19703 ZIP code, which Claymont encompasses, was 15,292.
History
The community now known as Claymont started on the banks of Naamans C ...
, Delaware.
PRR chose the GG1 because the R1's rigid wheelbase prevented it from negotiating sharp curves and some
railroad switch
A railroad switch (), turnout, or ''set ofpoints () is a mechanical installation enabling railway trains to be guided from one track to another, such as at a railway junction or where a spur or siding branches off.
The most common ty ...
es. On November 10, 1934, the railroad ordered 57 locomotives:
14 assembled by
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
in
Erie
Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...
, 18 by the PRR's own
Altoona Works
Altoona Works (also known as Altoona Terminal) is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built between 1850 and 1925 by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and relat ...
, and 20 more in Altoona with electrical components from Westinghouse in
East Pittsburgh
East Pittsburgh is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, about southeast of the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny rivers at Pittsburgh. The population in 1900 stood at 2,883, and in 1910, at 5,615. As of the 2020 census, t ...
and
chassis
A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
from the
Baldwin Locomotive Works
The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railroad locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades t ...
in
Eddystone. An additional 81 locomotives were built at Altoona between 1937 and 1943.
On January 28 1935, to mark the completion of electrification of the line from
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, PRR ran a special train hauled by
Pennsylvania Railroad 4800
Pennsylvania Railroad 4800, nicknamed "Old Rivets", is a GG1-class electric locomotive located at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the prototype GG1 and was originally numbered ...
before it opened the line for revenue service on February 10.
It made a round-trip from D.C. to
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
; it completed the return leg in a record 1 hour and 50 minutes.
In 1945, a Pennsylvania GG1 hauled the funeral train of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
from
Washington Union Station
Washington Union Station is a major train station, transportation hub, and leisure destination in Washington, D.C. Designed by Daniel Burnham and opened in 1907, it is Amtrak's headquarters, the railroad's second-busiest station, and North Ameri ...
to
New York Pennsylvania Station
Pennsylvania Station, also known as New York Penn Station or simply Penn Station, is the main intercity railroad station in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States ci ...
.
In the mid-1950s, with declining demand for passenger train service, GG1s 4801–4857 were re-geared for a maximum speed of and placed in freight service.
They initially retained their train-heating steam generator, and were recalled to passenger service for holiday-season mail trains
and 'Passenger Extras' such as those run for the annual
Army–Navy football game in Philadelphia.
Timetable speed limit for the GG1 was 75-80 mph until October 1967, when some were allowed 100 mph for a couple of years. When
Metroliner cars were being overhauled in the late 1970s, GG1s were again allowed 100 mph for a short time when hauling
Amfleet
Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An in ...
cars on trains scheduled to run 226.6 miles from New York to Washington in 3 hours and 20 to 25 minutes.
On June 8, 1968, two Penn Central GG1s hauled
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
's
funeral train
A funeral train carries a coffin or coffins (caskets) to a place of interment by train, railway. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders, national heroes, or government officials, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were som ...
from New York Penn Station to Washington, D.C.
Shell design
The first designer for the GG1 project was industrial designer Donald Roscoe Dohner, who produced initial scale-styling models, although the completed prototype looked somewhat different.
At some point, PRR hired famed industrial designer
Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy ( , ; November 5, 1893 – July 14, 1986) was a French-born American industrial designer who achieved fame for the magnitude of his design efforts across a variety of industries. He was recognized for this by ''Time'' magazi ...
to "enhance the GG1's aesthetics."
The final design is retrospectively 'Art Deco' as we know it today.
Although it was thought until 2009 that Loewy was solely responsible for the GG1's styling, Dohner is now understood to have contributed as well. (Dohner's GG1 designs influenced the modified P5as, which debuted before the GG1 — not, as was thought, the other way around.
) Loewy did claim that he recommended the use of a smooth, welded body instead of the
rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite to the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the rivet is placed in a punched ...
ed one used in the prototype.
Loewy also added five gold
pinstripes
Pinstripes are a pattern of very thin stripes of any color running in parallel. The pattern is often found in fashion.
The pinstripe is often compared to the similar chalk stripe. Pinstripes are very thin, often in width, and are created with ...
and a
Brunswick green
Spring green is a color that was traditionally considered to be on the yellow side of green, but in modern computer systems based on the RGB color model is halfway between cyan and green on the color wheel.
The modern spring green, when plott ...
paint scheme.
In 1952, the paint scheme was changed to
Tuscan red
Tuscan red is a shade of red that was used on some railroad cars, particularly passenger cars.
The color is most closely associated with the Pennsylvania Railroad, which used it on passenger cars and on its TrucTrain flatcars. It also was used ...
; three years later, the pinstripes were simplified to a single stripe and large red
keystones
A keystone (or capstone) is the wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault. In both cases it is the final piece placed during construction and locks all the stones into position, allo ...
were added.
Incidents
On
September 6 1943, the ''Congressional Limited'' crashed at
Frankford Junction
Frankford Junction is a railroad junction, and former junction station, located on the border between the Harrowgate neighborhood of Philadelphia and Frankford, Philadelphia. At the junction, the 4-track Northeast Corridor line from Trenton ...
, in the
Kensington
Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London.
The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...
neighborhood of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, in the United States. The train was pulled by GG1 4930. The accident was caused by a
journal box
A bogie or railroad truck holds the wheel sets of a rail vehicle.
Axlebox
An ''axle box'', also known as a ''journal box'' in North America, is the mechanical subassembly on each end of the axles under a railway wagon, coach or locomotive; ...
fire (a
hot box
A hot box is the term used when an axle bearing overheats on a piece of railway rolling stock. The term is derived from the journal-bearing trucks used before the mid-20th century. The axle bearings were housed in a box that used oil-soaked ...
) on the front of the seventh of the train's 16 cars. The journal box seized and an axle snapped, catching the underside of the truck and catapulting the car upwards. It struck a
signal gantry, which peeled off its roof along the line of windows "like a can of sardines". Car #8 wrapped itself around the gantry upright in a figure U. The next six cars were scattered at odd angles over the tracks, and the last two cars remained undamaged. In total, 79 passengers died, all from cars #7 and #8, and 117 were injured, some seriously.
On January 15 1953, train 173, the overnight ''
Federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
'' from Boston, was approaching Washington behind GG1
4876. The train passed a signal north of
Union Station
A union station (also known as a union terminal, a joint station in Europe, and a joint-use station in Japan) is a railway station at which the tracks and facilities are shared by two or more separate railway companies, allowing passengers to ...
between , and the engineer decreased the throttle and started applying the brakes. When the engineer realized that the train was not slowing down, and applying the
emergency brake had no effect, he sounded the engine's horn. A
signalman
A signalman is a person who historically made signals using flags and light. In modern times, the role of signalmen has evolved and now usually uses electronic communication equipment. Signalmen usually work in rail transport networks, armed for ...
, hearing the horn and noting the speed of the 4876, phoned ahead to the station master's office.
4876 negotiated several
switches
In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...
at speeds well over the safe limits and entered the station at around .
["Accident at Union Station", p. 5.] The train demolished the bumping post, continued through the station master's office and into the
concourse
A concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.
The term is not limited to places where there are literally pathways or roadways or t ...
,
where it fell through the floor into the station's basement. Thanks to the evacuation of the concourse, no one died, either in the station or aboard the train. A temporary floor was erected over the engine, and the hole it created, for the inauguration of
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
.
4876 was eventually dismantled, removed from the basement and reassembled with a new frame and superstructure in Altoona. The reconstructed 4876 survives at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore.
The accident was determined to have been caused by a closed "angle cock", a valve on the front and rear of all locomotives and rail cars used in the train's airbrake system, on the rear of the third car in the train. The handle of the angle cock had been improperly placed and had contacted the bottom of the car. Once it was closed, the air brake pipe on all the cars behind the closed valve remained at full pressure, keeping the brakes released on those cars while the brakes on the locomotive and first three cars were applied in emergency.
The only major electro-mechanical
breakdown
Breakdown may refer to:
Breaking down
*Breakdown (vehicle), failure of a motor vehicle in such a way that it cannot be operated
*Chemical decomposition, also called chemical breakdown, the breakdown of a substance into simpler components
*Decompo ...
of the GG1 was caused by a February 1958 blizzard that swept across the northeastern United States and put nearly half of the GG1s out of commission. Exceptionally fine snow, caused by the extreme low temperatures, passed through the traction motors' air filters and into the electrical components.
When the snow melted, it
short-circuit
A short circuit (sometimes abbreviated to short or s/c) is an electrical circuit that allows a current to travel along an unintended path with no or very low electrical impedance. This results in an excessive current flowing through the circuit. ...
ed the components.
On about 40 units, the air intakes were later moved to a position under the pantographs.
Disposition
![South Amboy Station 1981](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/South_Amboy_Station_1981.jpg)
In 1968, the PRR, with its 119 surviving GG1s, merged with the
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...
to form Penn Central.
Penn Central went bankrupt in 1970 and its freight operations were later assumed by government-controlled Conrail, which used 68 GG1s in freight service until the end of electric freight traction in 1980.
After its creation in 1971,
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
purchased 30 GG1s for $50,000 each and leased another 21, of which 11 were for use on
New York and Long Branch commuter trains. Amtrak initially renumbered the purchased GG1s as Nos. 900 to 929; later the railroad added a prefixed "4". This replicated some of the numbers of the leased units, which were renumbered 4930 to 4939, except 4935, which kept its old PRR/PC number.
Amtrak unsuccessfully attempted to replace the GG1s in 1975 with the General Electric
E60. An E60 derailed during testing at , forcing an investigation (the E60 used the same trucks as the
P30CH diesel then in service with Amtrak) that delayed acceptance. The hoped-for service speed was never achieved (timetable limit was 90 mph, then 80, then 90).
A replacement was finally found after Amtrak imported and tested two lightweight European locomotives: X995, an
Rc4a built by
ASEA
''Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget'' (English translation: General Swedish Electrical Limited Company; Swedish abbreviation: ASEA) was a Swedish industrial company.
History
ASEA was founded in 1883 by Ludvig Fredholm in Västerås as ...
of
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
, and X996, a French design. The railroad picked the ASEA design, initially nicknamed the "Swedish swifty"
[Burks 1980] or the "Mighty Mouse" and later often referred to as the "Swedish Meatball".
Electro-Motive Diesel
Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...
, then a part of
General Motors
The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
, was licensed to build a derivative called the
AEM-7
The EMD AEM-7 is a twin-cab four-axle B-B electric locomotive built by Electro-Motive Division (EMD) and ASEA between 1978 and 1988. The locomotive is a derivative of the Swedish SJ Rc4 designed for passenger service in the United States. The ...
.
As AEM-7s arrived, Amtrak finally ended GG1 service on April 26, 1980.
The last GG1s in use were some of the 13 assigned to New Jersey Transit (#4872–4884) for its
North Jersey Coast Line
The North Jersey Coast Line is a commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or com ...
between New York and
South Amboy
South Amboy is a suburban city in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located on Raritan Bay. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 9,411.[PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...]
in the insulating oil.
![PRR 4927 at IRM](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/PRR_4927_at_IRM.jpg)
*
PRR/PC/CR 4800 —
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museu ...
,
Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It developed as a linear village stretching about along the Great Conestoga Road, later known as the Strasburg Road.Susan M. Zacher, NRHP Nomination Form Strasburg/ref> The population w ...
(nicknamed "Old Rivets" due to it being the only GG1 to have been built with a riveted body)
*
PRR/PC/CR 4859 —
Transportation Center,
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...
(designated
Pennsylvania State electric locomotive in 1987)
*
PRR/PC/CR/NJT 4876 —
B&O Railroad Museum
The B&O Railroad Museum is a museum and historic railway station exhibiting historic railroad equipment in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) company originally opened the museum on July 4, 1953, with the name of the Balti ...
,
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
(Reconstructed with new frame and superstructure as well as reusable components from the original 4876 following the 1953 Washington Union Station wreck)
*
PRR/PC/CR/NJT 4877 —
United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey The United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey, Inc. (or URHS of NJ) is a non profit educational organization directed at supporting the preservation of New Jersey's historical railroad equipment and artifacts for the proposed New Jersey Trans ...
, Boonton, New Jersey (nicknamed "Big Red")
* PRR/PC/CR/NJT 4879 — United Railroad Historical Society of New Jersey,
Boonton, New Jersey
Boonton is a Town (New Jersey), town in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town's population was 8,815, an increase of 468 (+5.6%) from the 2010 United States census, 20 ...
* PRR/PC/CR/NJT 4882 —
National New York Central Railroad Museum,
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart ( ) is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, Indiana, east of Chicago, Illinois, and north of Indianapolis, Indiana. Elkhart has the larger population of the two principal cities of th ...
(currently painted in Penn Central colors)
* PRR/Amtrak 4890 —
National Railroad Museum
The National Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, US.
Founded in 1956 by community volunteers, the National Railroad Museum is one of the oldest and largest U.S. institutions dedicated to preserving and in ...
,
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...
* PRR 4903/Amtrak (4)906 —
Museum of the American Railroad
The Museum of the American Railroad, formerly known as the Age of Steam Railroad Museum, is a railroad museum in Frisco, Texas. The museum has more than 70 pieces of steam, diesel, passenger, and freight railroad equipment; guests may walk through ...
,
Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...
(hauled
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
's
funeral train
A funeral train carries a coffin or coffins (caskets) to a place of interment by train, railway. Funeral trains today are often reserved for leaders, national heroes, or government officials, as part of a state funeral, but in the past were som ...
with GG1 4901 from New York to Washington on June 8, 1968).
* PRR 4909/Amtrak 4932 — Leatherstocking Railway Museum, Cooperstown Junction, New York
* PRR 4913/Amtrak (4)913 —
Railroaders Memorial Museum
The Railroaders Memorial Museum (RMM) is a railroad museum in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The museum focuses on the history of railroad workers and railroad communities in central Pennsylvania, particularly Altoona, the Altoona Works, and the greater ...
,
Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona is a city in Blair County, Pennsylvania. It is the principal city of the Altoona Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The population was 43,963 at the time of the 2020 Census, making it the eighteenth most populous city in Pennsylvania. ...
* PRR 4917/Amtrak 4934 — Leatherstocking Railway Museum, Cooperstown Junction, New York
* PRR 4918/Amtrak (4)916 —
National Museum of Transportation
The National Museum of Transportation (NMOT) is a private, 42-acre transportation museum in the Kirkwood suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1944, it restores, preserves, and displays a wide variety of vehicles spanning 15 decades of Americ ...
,
St Louis
St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
,
Missouri
Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
* PRR 4919/Amtrak (4)917 —
Virginia Museum of Transportation
The Virginia Museum of Transportation is a museum devoted to the topic of transportation located in Downtown Roanoke, Virginia, US. children under two years do not to buy tickets and students can get a discounted $10.5 ticket.
History
The Virg ...
,
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is lo ...
* PRR 4927/Amtrak 4939 —
Illinois Railway Museum
The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago.
Overview
Histo ...
,
Union, Illinois
Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 580 at the 2010 census, up from 576 in 2000.
History
A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of th ...
* PRR 4933/Amtrak (4)926 — Central New York Chapter of the
National Railroad Historical Society
The National Railway Historical Society (NRHS) is a non-profit organization established in 1935 in the United States to promote interest in, and appreciation for the historical development of railroads. It is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsyl ...
,
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
. It has been cosmetically restored and is on display at the NYS Fairgrounds Historic Train Exhibit.
*
PRR 4935 / Amtrak 4935 —
Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museu ...
, Strasburg, Pennsylvania (nicknamed "Blackjack")
In popular culture
During the mid-1930s, many railroads
streamlined
Streamlines, streaklines and pathlines are field lines in a fluid flow.
They differ only when the flow changes with time, that is, when the flow is not steady.
Considering a velocity vector field in three-dimensional space in the framework of ...
locomotives and passenger cars to convey a fashionable sense of speed.
While the
Union Pacific
The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...
had the
M-10000
The M-10000 was an early American streamlined passenger trainset that operated for the Union Pacific Railroad from 1934 until 1941. It was the first streamlined passenger train to be delivered in the United States, and the second to enter regula ...
and the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...
the ''
Zephyr
In European tradition, a zephyr is a light wind or a west wind, named after Zephyrus, the Greek god or personification of the west wind.
Zephyr may also refer to:
Arts and media
Fiction Fiction media
* ''Zephyr'' (film), a 2010 Turkish ...
'', the PRR had the GG1.
The GG1 has "shown up over the years in more advertisements and movie clips than any other locomotive." It was also featured in art calendars provided by PRR, which were used to "promote its reputation in the public eye."
PRR-painted GG1s appear in the films ''
Broadway Limited
The ''Broadway Limited'' was a passenger train operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) between New York City and Chicago. It operated from 1912 to 1995. It was the Pennsylvania's premier train, competing directly with the New York Central R ...
'' in 1941, ''
The Clock'' in 1945, ''
Blast of Silence
''Blast of Silence'' is a 1961 American neo-noir written, directed by, and starring Allen Baron. The film also stars Molly McCarthy and Larry Tucker and features Peter H. Clune. It was produced by Merrill Brody, who was also the cinematographe ...
'' in 1961, the 1962 version of ''
The Manchurian Candidate
''The Manchurian Candidate'' is a novel by Richard Condon, first published in 1959. It is a political thriller about the son of a prominent U.S. political family who is brainwashed into being an unwitting assassin for a Communist conspiracy.
The ...
'', and ''
Avalon
Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...
'' in 1990. Two GG1s appear in the 1973 film ''
The Seven-Ups
''The Seven-Ups'' is a 1973 American neo-noir mystery action film produced and directed by Philip D'Antoni. It stars Roy Scheider as a crusading policeman who is the leader of the Seven-Ups, a squad of plainclothes officers who use dirty, unortho ...
''—a black Penn Central locomotive and a silver, red and blue Amtrak locomotive. A Penn Central GG1 also appears in another 1973 film ''
The Last Detail
''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James, ...
''. PRR GG1 4821 appears briefly in the 1952 film ''
The Greatest Show on Earth'', hauling the
Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus into Philadelphia's Greenwich Yard, as the movie's director Cecil B. DeMille narrates the scene of its arrival. Near the end of the 1951 film ''
Bright Victory
''Bright Victory'' is a 1951 American drama romance war film directed by Mark Robson and starring Arthur Kennedy and Peggy Dow.
Plot
During World War II, American sergeant Larry Nevins is blinded by a German sniper while fighting in North Africa ...
,'' GG1 #4849 is shown pulling into the station.
A GG1 and the ''Congressional'' were featured on a
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
as part of the
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...
's
All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains
In August 1999, the United States Postal Service issued a set of 33¢ postage stamps entitled ''All Aboard! 20th Century American Trains'' to "''pay tribute to American industry and design, and specifically to the heritage of our railroads.''" Art ...
set in 1999.
["All Aboard!"]
The PC games ''
Railroad Tycoon II
''Railroad Tycoon II'' is a business simulation video game in the ''Railroad Tycoon'' series developed by PopTop Software and published by Gathering of Developers. It was released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, PlayStation and Dreamcast
Game ...
'', ''
Railroad Tycoon 3
''Railroad Tycoon 3'' is a video game, part of the '' Railroad Tycoon'' series, that was released in 2003.
Gameplay
With nearly 60 locomotives in the game (nearly 70 in the Coast to Coast expansion), the game has the most locomotives of the Rail ...
'', ''
Sid Meier's Railroads!
''Sid Meier's Railroads!'' is a business simulation game developed by Firaxis Games on the Gamebryo game engine that was released in October 2006 and is the sequel to ''Railroad Tycoon 3''. Although Sid Meier created the original ''Railroad Tycoo ...
'', ''
Train Fever
''Train Fever'' is a business simulation game by Swiss developer Urban Games, funded via the crowdfunding platform Gambitious on 20 March 2012 for a total budget of €300,000 and therefore published digitally by Gambitious Digital Entertainment ...
'', ''
Transport Fever'' and ''
Transport Fever 2
''Transport Fever 2'' is a business simulation game developed by Urban Games and published by Good Shepherd Entertainment. It is the third video game of the '' Transport Fever'' franchise, and became available for Microsoft Windows and Linux on 1 ...
'' allow players to purchase and operate GG1 locomotive engines on their train routes. The GG1 is also available with the default Trainz Simulator Games in recent years, and is available as add-ons for Railworks, Train Simulator by Dovetail Games and Microsoft Train Simulator.
Model GG1s have been produced in G, O, S, HO, N and Z scales by Rivarossi, Bachmann, Tyco, Lionel, MTH, USA Trains, Kato, Astor, Fine Art Models, Marklin and other manufacturers.
References
Sources
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Further reading
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External links
GG1: An American Classic 1984 documentary on the last run of the GG1 at
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
{{Authority control
General Electric locomotives
2-C+C-2 locomotives
11 kV AC locomotives
GG1
The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 is a class of streamlined electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking art deco shell, its ability to pull trains at up to 10 ...
North American streamliner trains
Passenger locomotives
Electric locomotives of the United States
Railway locomotives introduced in 1934
Conrail locomotives
Amtrak locomotives
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Raymond Loewy
Streamlined electric locomotives