For all of the "trainspotters" here on the cafe, here's a look at the finest piece of electric motive power ever built.
The renowned GG-1. Built for and by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the GG-1's ran from 1935 to 1983. They totaled 139 engines and cost about $250,000 apiece, which back then was unheard of. Each one was insured by Lloyds of London. Their sleek look was created by the famous industrial designer Raymond Lowey.
A single GG-1 generated roughly 4000 hp, but could be overloaded to 9500 hp for short periods. The railroad could use them alone or in multiple quantities to achieve the right amount of muscle. Each GG-1 weighed in at about a half million lbs.
They hauled everything ever thrown at them from crack streamliners (where they cruised at 100 mph without breaking a sweat) to the heaviest freight trains. Their high rate of availability (ready to haul trains) was literally 100%.
Some even say that they helped the United States win World War II by keeping everything (freight / passengers / GI's / POW's / armament, etc.) moving on the vital routes between Harrisburg, Pa.- Philadelphia-Boston-N.Y.-Washington.
Their highlights are too many to list, but the one that stands out is the GG-1 that lost it's brakes heading into Washington Union station in 1953. It was hauling passengers for Eisenhower's inauguration. The train plowed into the station and the GG-1 sunk down to the basement. It was boarded over and after the inauguration, was cut up into 4 pieces and hauled off to Altoona, Pa. (where they were built). It was reassembled and ran on until the 1980's.
They finished their careers by toting commuters here in New Jersey until retirement. They might still be running except they were built in the era before all of the PCB awareness. Their transformers contained PCB's.
Anyway, this short blurb only tells a small tale of how great the GG-1's really were. There are several good videos on YouTube, in case you want to see one in action.
And now a few choice vignettes that I shot when they ran.......
View attachment 869302
View attachment 869303
All on Kodachrome 64 with various Nikon bodies and Nikkor lenses.
The renowned GG-1. Built for and by the Pennsylvania Railroad, the GG-1's ran from 1935 to 1983. They totaled 139 engines and cost about $250,000 apiece, which back then was unheard of. Each one was insured by Lloyds of London. Their sleek look was created by the famous industrial designer Raymond Lowey.
A single GG-1 generated roughly 4000 hp, but could be overloaded to 9500 hp for short periods. The railroad could use them alone or in multiple quantities to achieve the right amount of muscle. Each GG-1 weighed in at about a half million lbs.
They hauled everything ever thrown at them from crack streamliners (where they cruised at 100 mph without breaking a sweat) to the heaviest freight trains. Their high rate of availability (ready to haul trains) was literally 100%.
Some even say that they helped the United States win World War II by keeping everything (freight / passengers / GI's / POW's / armament, etc.) moving on the vital routes between Harrisburg, Pa.- Philadelphia-Boston-N.Y.-Washington.
Their highlights are too many to list, but the one that stands out is the GG-1 that lost it's brakes heading into Washington Union station in 1953. It was hauling passengers for Eisenhower's inauguration. The train plowed into the station and the GG-1 sunk down to the basement. It was boarded over and after the inauguration, was cut up into 4 pieces and hauled off to Altoona, Pa. (where they were built). It was reassembled and ran on until the 1980's.
They finished their careers by toting commuters here in New Jersey until retirement. They might still be running except they were built in the era before all of the PCB awareness. Their transformers contained PCB's.
Anyway, this short blurb only tells a small tale of how great the GG-1's really were. There are several good videos on YouTube, in case you want to see one in action.
And now a few choice vignettes that I shot when they ran.......
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View attachment 869302
View attachment 869303
All on Kodachrome 64 with various Nikon bodies and Nikkor lenses.
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