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I thought of the AEM-7 after I posted my initial question.  I had seen them at a train meet many years ago.  I thought they were quite nice and more realistic than anything I was accustomed to seeing.  That's when I had been away from "O" scale for a few years and it seems like so much progress was made in that time period.  

The GE-60s were an initial experiment by Amtrak, I believe.  They had plenty of power but were lacking in some way, of which I no not.  I used to take my daughter down to 30th Street Station and photograph the engine facility from the parking deck.  That was about the time that the AEM-7s were not on the scene yet.

As a side note, on my forays to 30th street, I met Dan Henon, a fellow "O" scaler.  He invited me to his house to view his two rail empire.  His wife was very gracious and she and my daughter, five at the time, had tea together.  You can meet some nice people in this hobby if you let yourself. 

DP posted:

The GE-60s were an initial experiment by Amtrak, I believe.  They had plenty of power but were lacking in some way, of which I no not.  I used to take my daughter down to 30th Street Station and photograph the engine facility from the parking deck.  That was about the time that the AEM-7s were not on the scene yet.

The E60CP (later E60CH after rebuilding with head-end-power) was a freight locomotive shoehorned into a passenger package. It had problems with its trucks hunting at high speeds (that is, the trucks would oscillate back and forth between the railheads, gaining sideways momentum that if not interrupted could lead to derailment).

I thought about the Atlas (or MTH) AEM7 pantographs as upgrades, but was concerned about being able to get enough of them, as I also have six Williams Metroliners using the same sheet-metal pans that I'd like to replace as well. Any issues getting seven pairs of these? 

---PCJ

Atlas pans are available.  The E-60 was thought to be the perfect replacement for the GG-1.  That was the thought.  Nothing then could replace the GG-1.  The only thing that took out the G is the same thing that will take all of us out.  That is time.  As a kid in the 50s, I spent many hours at 30th street station watching the many GG-1 locomotives come and go.  They were a sight to see.

The Gs were  wonderful.  I saw them on the Corridor and at 30th St. during the early '70s and even was aboard for the "Last Run" but my fondest and most powerful memories come from the later mid '70s, when I was living in Central PA.

On many an evening, friends and I would lie in wait for the Broadway near the Salunga exit on Rt. 283, westbound, positioned so that I could see the main line in the side view mirror.  As soon as the headlight was visible in the mirror it was time to "tromp it", otherwise she'd leave you far behind in the dust.  The experience was beyond description - every time - all the senses were engaged.  The thrill of our collective speed, the sound of that huge chunk of iron in full flight mere yards away, the wave from the Engineer, the Golden Glow of the headlight in the gathering gloom, the smells of hot gear grease, ozone, and the all the scents from the kitchen - you could even smell the charcoal.  Euphoria!

We'd pace the G, sometimes two Gs, MUed, to the point at which the highway and railroad diverged, slack off on the accelerator and check the rear view for cops.  We were never caught though we violated the speed limit by double digits, perhaps they just took pity on us.

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