Pennsylvania Railroad 4859 is a

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 ...

-class

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 ...

located in the

Harrisburg Transportation Center The Harrisburg Transportation Center (HTC, formerly Pennsylvania Station, Harrisburg or Harrisburg Central Railroad Station) is a large railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downto ...

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

in the U.S. state of

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, ...

. It was operated by 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 ...

and its successors,

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 ...

and

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 ...

. 4859 pulled the first electrically powered train from

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 ...

to Harrisburg on January 15, 1938. It was used in various freight and passenger service until November 22, 1979, when it pulled the last GG1-powered

freight train Rail freight transport is the use of railroads and trains to transport cargo as opposed to human passengers. A freight train, cargo train, or goods train is a group of freight cars (US) or goods wagons (International Union of Railways) haul ...

on November 22, 1979. Originally located in Strasburg, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1982 and was moved to its current location in 1986. It was designated the state

of Pennsylvania in 1987 by the

Pennsylvania General Assembly The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times (1682–1776), the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania ...

and was re-listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

Background

The GG1 was developed in 1930s 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 ...

as the replacement for the Pennsylvania Railroad's then standard electric locomotive, the P5a, and was based largely on the

New Haven EP3 New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. The GG1 was capable of a top speed of , powered by its twelve

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. The prototype GG1,

PRR 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 ...

, was tested against Westinghouse's submission, the R1. The Pennsylvania selected the GG1 over the R1, as the R1 was not

articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were someti ...

and the GG1's traction motors were similar to ones already in use. An order for 57 GG1s was placed in November 1934 and the first locomotives were delivered in April 1935.

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 ...

was hired by the Pennsylvania to "enhance the GG1's aesthetics." Loewy had the production locomotives' bodies be welded together, instead of

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 the way 4800 was, to give the GG1 a more streamlined appearance. Loewy also formulated the

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 and the 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 ...

, nicknamed "cat's whiskers", which was eventually applied by the Pennsylvania to all of its locomotives for the next 20 years.

History

4859 was built in December 1937 at the Pennsylvania Railroad'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 ...

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. ...

. The electrified Philadelphia–Harrisburg line was opened on January 15, 1938, with 4859 pulling the inaugural train, Train #25 '' The Metropolitan''. Its departure from Philadelphia was accompanied by a cacophony of various

train whistle A train whistle or air whistle (originally referred to as a steam trumpet) is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive, used to warn that the train is approaching, and to communicate with rail workers. Modern diesel and electric locomot ...

s and fire

sirens Siren or sirens may refer to: Common meanings * Siren (alarm), a loud acoustic alarm used to alert people to emergencies * Siren (mythology), an enchanting but dangerous monster in Greek mythology Places * Siren (town), Wisconsin * Siren, Wisco ...

leading some residents, who were unaware of the event, to believe that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

was invading. 4859 was regeared to have a top speed of when it was shifted to freight duty in 1964. Although used primarily for freight, 4859 continued to pull " Clockers", short-haul passenger trains from New York to Philadelphia, and commuter trains on the

New York and Long Branch Railroad The New York and Long Branch Railroad was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad. The railr ...

. 4859, accompanied by PRR 4887, pulled the last freight train to be powered by a GG1 from the

Enola Yard Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Built in 1905 and expanded through the 1930s, Enola was the world's largest freight y ...

Enola, Pennsylvania Enola is a census-designated place (CDP) located along the Susquehanna River in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. The population was 6,111 at the 2010 census. Norfolk Southern operates Enola Yard, a large rail yard and lo ...

, to

Edgemoor, Delaware Edgemoor is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 5,677 at the 2010 census. Geography Edgemoor is located at (39.7501139, -75.4996414). According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP ...

, before being retired by Conrail on November 29, 1979.

Preservation

Strasburg - Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 Locomotive at Museum

After its retirement, 4859 was purchased in for $13,000 by the Harrisburg 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 ...

and donated to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. It was sent to the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg in the early 1980s, where restoration of 4859 was carried by the workshops of the nearby

Strasburg Rail Road The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad and the oldest continuously operating standard-gauge railroad in the western hemisphere, as well as the oldest public utility in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Chartered in 1832, the Strasburg Rai ...

. The body and chassis were

sandblasted Sandblasting, sometimes known as abrasive blasting, is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface or remove su ...

, primed and repainted back to its original 1938 appearance. The main

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' ...

was removed and drained of the hazardous

polychlorinated biphenyl 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 ...

(PCB) used as

coolant A coolant is a substance, typically liquid, that is used to reduce or regulate the temperature of a system. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, chemically inert and neither causes nor promotes corrosio ...

. 4859 was listed on the

on August 19, 1982, while still in Strasburg. The deed to 4859 was transferred from Redevelopment Authority to the

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC) is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage. The commission cares for ...

on November 13, 1986. Two days later, the engine was moved into the Transportation Center and rededicated. The Pennsylvania General Assembly designated 4859 the official state electric locomotive on December 18, 1987, while also designating two

K4s The Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) K4 4-6-2 "Pacific" (425 built 1914–1928, PRR Altoona, Baldwin) was its premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957. Attempts were made to replace the ...

locomotives as the state steam locomotives in the same bill. 4859 was listed on National Register of Historic Places for a second time on May 5, 2004. "Soft" materials, like insulation, were removed from the cab in 2005 on orders from the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

to remove residual contamination from the PCBs. In 2010, 4859 received some cosmetic restoration of its truck assemblies which were re-painted black to eliminate a noticeable coating of rust. On April 5, 2014, the locomotive and its caboose were temporarily moved west of the Transportation Center, approximately , to a

siding Siding may refer to: * Siding (construction), the outer covering or cladding of a house * Siding (rail) A siding, in rail terminology, is a low-speed track section distinct from a running line or through route such as a main line, branch l ...

, and covered with

tarpaulin A tarpaulin ( , ) or tarp is a large sheet of strong, flexible, water-resistant or waterproof material, often cloth such as canvas or polyester coated with polyurethane, or made of plastics such as polyethylene. Tarpaulins often have reinforced ...

s to allow Amtrak to perform renovation work on the station's

catenary In physics and geometry, a catenary (, ) is the curve that an idealized hanging chain or cable assumes under its own weight when supported only at its ends in a uniform gravitational field. The catenary curve has a U-like shape, superficia ...

, signals,

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 ...

and tracks. By October 17, 2015, the renovations were complete enough to allow 4859 to return to the station, though the project overall remains in progress.

Notes

Footnotes

References