   #copyright

PRR GG1

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

   CAPTION: PRR GG1

   PRR GG1
   Amtrak #928, a former PRR GG1, speeds through North Elizabeth, New
   Jersey in December, 1975
   Power type Straight electric
   Designer Raymond Loewy
   Build date 1934 – 1943
   Total production 139
   AAR wheel arr. 2-C+C-2
   Gauge 4  ft 8^1⁄[2]  in (1435  mm)
   Length 79 ft 6 in (24.23 m)
   Total weight 477,000  lb (216,000  kg)
   Electric system 11,000 V AC, 25  Hz
   Collection method dual pantograph
   Engine type quill drive
   Top speed 100  mph (160  km/h) (passenger)
   90 mph (144 km/h) (freight)
   Power output 4,620  hp (3,660 kW)
   Tractive effort 70,700 lbf (314 kN)
   Career Pennsylvania Railroad, Penn Central, Amtrak, New Jersey Transit
   Class GG1
   Locale Northeast United States
   Disposition most scrapped, several preserved in static display around
   the U.S.

   The Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 class of electric locomotives were
   built between 1934 to 1943 at the PRR shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania,
   with a total of 139 units constructed. They remained in service with
   the PRR's successors until the early 1980s. The GG1 became one of the
   most recognized and famous classes of locomotive worldwide.

Technical information

   The GG1s were large locomotives, 79 ft 6 in (24.23 m) long and weighing
   477,000 lb (216,000 kg). The main body was a single unit formed as a
   bridge-truss framework and clad in welded steel plate. The driving cabs
   were set up high about a third of the way along the locomotive from
   each end for greater crew safety in an accident. A narrower section of
   nose in front of the cab windows enabled view forward, although the
   nose remained full height to carry the current-collection pantographs.
   The bodywork as a whole was smoothly rounded.

   This was mounted upon two great cast steel locomotive frames linked by
   a hinge at the locomotive's middle which allowed side-to-side movement.
   Six driving wheels (three axles) were fitted towards the centre of the
   locomotive on each truck (twelve in total) and a four-wheeled,
   unpowered guiding truck was mounted toward each end. In the Whyte
   notation for steam locomotives, each frame comprised a 4-6-0
   locomotive; in the PRR's classification system, 4-6-0s were class "G".
   The GG1 consisted of two such locomotive frames mounted back to back,
   so it was classified GG—4-6-0+0-6-4. This arrangement is called 2-C+C-2
   in AAR wheel arrangement notation. Each driven axle was powered by two
   385 hp (305 kW) GEA-627-A1 traction motors mounted above and to either
   side of the axle. Drive was through a reduction gear and a quill drive
   assembly.

   While the famous industrial designer Raymond Loewy did not design the
   shape of the GG1 electric locomotives, he did improve their looks by
   recommending a smooth welded construction be used (rather than riveted
   construction), along with a pinstriped paint scheme to highlight their
   smoothly rounded forms. The real design behind the GG1 came from the
   New Haven Railroad EP3 electric. The New Haven allowed the PRR to
   borrow a pair of EP3s for testing, and the PRR was quite impressed with
   their performance and decided to base the design of its electric
   locomotive on the EP3.
   Penn Central #4801 and #4800 haul freight through North Elizabeth, New
   Jersey in December of 1975.
   Enlarge
   Penn Central #4801 and #4800 haul freight through North Elizabeth, New
   Jersey in December of 1975.

   The GG1 was designed to run on the standard Pennsylvania Railroad
   catenary power of 11,000 V AC, 25 Hz. This high voltage was stepped
   down by a large transformer mounted in the centre of the locomotive
   body for the traction motors, cooling blowers and all other onboard
   equipment. The locomotive's power was controlled via a tap-switching
   arrangement; the number of secondary windings in use could be varied,
   thus adjusting the output voltage. The units were rated at 4,620 hp
   (385 hp per motor) continuous rating and a maximum of 9,500 hp at 49
   mph (intermittent duty). For passenger service, the GG1 was geared to
   run at 100 mph maximum although it achieved 110 mph in testing. For
   freight service, the locomotive was geared to run at 90 mph maximum.

History

A GG1 crash

   One of the more interesting moments in the history of the GG1
   locomotive took place on the morning of January 15, 1953 at
   Washington's Union Station. Due to a brake line cock (valve) that
   closed due to poor location (its location caused the valve to close due
   to contact with the bottom cross member of the car), the Federal
   Express from Boston was unable to apply the brakes on part of the
   train. Pushed by the unbraked cars, the GG1 engine (#4876) and two
   passenger cars ran off the end of Track 16 and crashed through the
   floor of Union Station and into the baggage room. With President
   Eisenhower's inauguration in days, the cars were hauled out by the next
   day. The GG1 was left in the basement under a temporary flooring. After
   the inauguration, in a remarkable demonstration of the durability of
   the GG1 engines, Engine #4876 was later cut into three pieces, removed
   from the baggage room, and reassembled at the Altoona (PA) shops of the
   Pennsylvania Railroad. It then re-entered commercial service and went
   on to be one of the last-serving GG1 engines. As of August 2006 it is
   owned by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

Disposition

   While it is widely believed that the GG1s were retired due to a change
   in the electric power supply on the former PRR electrified zone, other
   concerns led to the retirement of the GG1s. Aside from maintenance and
   performance issues, the nail in the GG1's coffin was an ever growing
   problem with frame cracks which were expensive to repair and occurring
   more and more frequently. Amtrak's first attempt to replace the GG1,
   the E60, did not live up to expectations. Amtrak's purchase of AEM-7
   electric locomotives allowed it to retire its fleet of GG1s. With the
   AEM-7s on hand Amtrak was not only able to replace its own GG1s, but
   sell a number of E60s to New Jersey Transit to replace their GG1s
   operating commuter trains on the North Jersey Coast Line.

   It has often been proposed for a GG1 to be restored to operating
   condition. While it would be theoretically possible to run a GG1 on the
   current Northeast Corridor's electrical system, surviving GG1s contain
   large amounts of toxic PCBs in their electrical systems as well as
   asbestos. These put a restoration far out of reach for most non-profit
   preservation groups.

Surviving examples

   Pennsylvania Railroad #4890, on display at the National Railroad Museum
   in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
   Enlarge
   Pennsylvania Railroad #4890, on display at the National Railroad Museum
   in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
   PRR 4927, still lettered for Penn Central, at IRM.
   Enlarge
   PRR 4927, still lettered for Penn Central, at IRM.
     * PRR 4800 — Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Strasburg, PA (a.k.a.
       "Old Rivets" — the prototype GG1 and was the only GG1 that had a
       riveted body; was formerly painted in Bicentennial colors and was
       the only GG1 to receive Conrail blue).
     * PRR 4859 — Transportation Centre, Harrisburg, PA (designated as
       official electric locomotive of PA in 1938).
     * PRR 4876 — B&O Museum, Baltimore, MD (as of Spring 2006, in rapidly
       deteriorating condition); the GG1 was languishing in a CSX Yard
       south of downtown Baltimore (seen from Interstate 95 northbound
       between Washington Boulevard and Maryland 295), but as of summer
       2006 has been moved back onto museum property. Restoration plans
       are unknown.
     * PRR 4877 — New Jersey Transit yard, Morristown, NJ. Currently
       undergoing renovations at Lebanon Station (Raritan Valley Line).
     * PRR 4879 — URHS of NJ.
     * PRR 4882 — National NYC Railroad Museum, Elkhart, IN (currently
       painted as Penn Central 4882)
     * PRR 4890 — National Railroad Museum, Green Bay, WI.
     * PRR 4903/Amtrak 4906 — Age of Steam Museum, Dallas, TX (pulled
       Robert Kennedy's funeral train along with GG1 4901 from New York to
       Washington on June 8, 1968).
     * PRR 4909/Amtrak 4932 — Cooperstown Junction, NY (arguably the most
       confused ownershipped surviving GG1; cited and/or supposed owners
       have ranged from Steamtown National Historic Site to the Henry Ford
       Museum).
     * PRR 4913/Amtrak 4913 — Railroader's Memorial Museum, Altoona, PA.
     * PRR 4917/Amtrak 4934 — Leatherstocking RY Museum, Cooperstown Jct,
       NY (one of 75 GG1s built with Westinghouse components, the other 64
       GG1s used GE devices and motors).
     * PRR 4918/Amtrak 4916 — Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, MO (was
       once the property of the Smithsonian Institute).
     * PRR 4919/Amtrak 4917 — VA Museum of Transportation, Roanoke, VA.
     * PRR 4927/Amtrak 4939 — Illinois Railway Museum, Union, IL (Amtrak's
       renumbering in 1976 to 4939 bucked 42 years of numbering by making
       it the highest numbered GG1).
     * PRR 4933/Amtrak 4926 — Central NY Chapter NRHS, Syracuse, NY (plans
       are to make it run via a diesel motor).
     * PRR 4935/Amtrak 4935 — Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania (a.k.a.
       "Blackjack" — arguably the best-restored and best-displayed GG1 due
       to its display in a climate controlled environment).

Last scrapped GG1s

     * PRR 4872/NJT 4872 — Date Scrapped Unknown by New Jersey Transit.
     * PRR 4873/NJT 4873 — Sold for scrap in 1992 by the Whippany Railroad
       Museum.

The GG1 in the movies

     * In the 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate, the train that
       Marco ( Frank Sinatra) takes north from Washington, D.C. is being
       pulled by a Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 dressed in the standard PRR
       pinstripes.
     * A GG1 can be seen briefly during the first robot attack sequence in
       the 2004 film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.
     * A GG1 can be seen briefly during the first few minutes of the 1945
       film The Clock.
     * Two GG1s (one painted black with white Penn Central logo; the other
       in silver, red and blue for Amtrak) can be seen at the end of the
       movie "The Seven Ups."
     * An inoperative GG1 can be seen in a train station in Barry
       Levinson's movie Avalon. The scene was filmed at Baltimore's
       Pennsylvania Station and the train was actually pushed by a diesel
       locomotive and can be heard in the movie.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRR_GG1"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
