@Don McErlean posted:GG14877...WOW!! You weren't kidding, that is some collection of GG1's. I rode behind the G's when the corridor was still PRR. I rode from New Brunswick to Newark NJ weekends to go home from college. An hr to 90 minute drive was a scheduled 17 minutes behind a G...and when we loaded in New Brunswick, we loaded in the forward cars, usually coaches although they were still served by Pullman porters, but when we took off the acceleration was unbelievable. We were doing 100 mph before the last car cleared the platform!
Thanks for showing me your collection
Don
Don,
My first GG1 experience was in 1975 when I was 6. My family took a CNJ train up the Jersey Coast Line which terminated in Penn Station, Newark under what I later learned was the Aldene plan. I have always been a railfan since I remember which goes back to my first train memory of riding the Strasburg when I was about 3. My dad, being a railfan just like my grandfather pointed to the Clocker that pulled into the train shed at Newark while we were waiting and said, "that's a GG1!". It scared me and thrilled me at the same time. I have been a fan ever since. Later as a teen my father took me and a friend of mine to ride the last ride of the GG1 in 1983 behind GG1 4877. My future two rail layout that is designed in my head if not on paper yet is all PRR and CNJ.
One might ask, why Santa Fe? When I moved to Arizona in 1992 I was still a die-hard PRR fan. It took all the way until 2014 before I finally came around as a "Westerner" to finally appreciate what an amazing operation the Santa Fe was. PRR trains were worn out and dirty. Deferred maintenance ruled the road from the mid 50's on. Penn Central was a disaster. Meanwhile, Santa Fe was still providing first class service on a daily basis between Chicago and points west. What finally got me hooked was when I was working on the 3rd Rail FT project. No eastern roads I modeled purchased the FT. As a matter of course, I like to have at least one example of each project I work on as part of my portfolio. The original cream yellow cat whisker scheme was really attractive, so I got an ABBA set. I was sold. Since then, I still get a 3rd rail PRR locomotive in 2 rail when it is available, but often get a 3 rail ATSF locomotive to go with it. The rest is history as you might say.
Here is a poor set of photos of that FT set that got me hooked on the Santa Fe. Pardon my wordiness, when I get passionate on a subject the drivel flows!
And a video of an AB set pulling 50 cars on the Paradise and Pacific in Scottsdale:
