GG1 In standard gauge

It might be cheaper to buy an existing Standard Gauge GG1. Several models have been offered by the smaller manufacturers over the years. (I have tried in vain to get USA Trains to offer their 1/29th #1 scale GG1 in Standard Gauge.)

Kirk

Hello Kirk
Can you point me in the right direction as far as websites or manufacturers? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks John

John Daniels did a SG GG1 some years ago. A friend of mine had a green one, and it had the "stubby" look of an O gauge Lionel GG1.

I have been watching Ebay and a few other sites. Any other sites that I should watch? Thanks John

Just be careful with the older std gauge GG1s. The bodies are OK, but some had problems with castings (expanding and cracking) for the motor trucks of which there are no replacements. I looked at one for a store and they ended up dumping it on ebay as-is (many years ago).

Didn't Roberts Line offer a Std. Gauge GG1 at some point?

According to Peter Riddle, Roberts Lines offered a GG1 made by Bob Hendrich. The John Daniels GG1 is the one that had the metal fatigue problems (at least the one I worked on). Daniels also made a Std gauge Hiawatha.

Go out and check out my blog. By far, the best GG1 in standard gauge was the "Gold's GG1". Here is the URL:

http://stdgauge.blogspot.com/2...d-standards-gg1.html

This is directly from a wonderful TTOS article on the subject. Recent SGMA meets have been using the Gold GG1 with some heavyweight cars and they are both fantastic.

Two places you can go for this engine:

eBay (comes up for auction once every year and a half or so). Or:

Advertise in the TCA and TTOS bulletins. The bulletins will yield better results however beware that these don't come cheap. As I recall, the quality is outstanding and they are really great GG1's. Just takes some time for both solutions, the bulletins are more reliable.

There are a few other standard gauge GG1's, most notably high rail versions that are well above $5k a pop. Beautiful but expensive. The Daniels GG1 uses McCoy motors which were well designed but had some faulty castings. My buddy Al Merris replaced the motor with a new motor and the GG1 (Daniels) absolutely screams around his layout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7E1FVJseVc

By the way, Al put together some of the best Steeple Cabs ever to grace a train layout. They are out there on Youtube. Go check them out.

Marc

The Standard Guage Modular Group was at the last Greenberg Show at Monroeville. They had a GG1 running. Check out the thread "STG for all" to see it in operation. Those guys would probably be a source for info.

Norm

Arno "moderneraSG"
Welcome to the Tinplate Forum. A great bunch of guys/gals here that love Tinplate.

quote:

Collector of Modern Era Standard Gauge trains
Writing the book on little known standard gauge trains.

This book that you are writing, will it be in print form or maybe on CD/DVD and do you know when it might be available ?

Robert

I don't believe you can call a GG1 tinplate even though they were around before WW2.

Semantics?

Found this one on the Tube:

I saw a Forney GG1 years ago but was very unimpressed with the body, as it was coming apart at the seams - literally. I thought it was made of fiberglass over a metal framework, but, it could just as easily have been Bondo or something like that. Whatever it was, the paint was coming off pretty badly and there were cracks developing just about everywhere. Needless to say, I didn't buy it.

I would LOVE for Mike Wolf to offer a standard gauge GG1 with a couple of BAL motors in it. Heck, for that matter, do it with one BAL motor in it and size it along the lines of the Ives Olympian. Put it out there with a string of 19" Flyer repro cars done up in Pennsy tinplate colors and I think he'd really have something. I'm not big into repros, but if they never made one to begin with, no harm, no foul, and it would be a gorgeous set - I'd buy one!

I don't understand why a GG1 can't be "tinplate". From a design perspective it certainly has the "Art Deco" aesthetic that characterizes the best in "tinplate", and models of this beautiful locomotive could easily be made using the same techniques that were used to build the best locomotives of the classic Standard Gauge era. Seeing a Gold Standard GG1 pulling a string of AF or Lionel freight or passenger cars is a real treat.

Check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...rALc&feature=related to see a Gold Standard GG1 in action!

And funny enough, there happens to be a JAD Hiawatha on the Bay right this minute. I'd keep quite, but its already out of my range.

have at it, it's a beauty!

quote:

And funny enough, there happens to be a JAD Hiawatha on the Bay right this minute. I'd keep quite, but its already out of my range.

Must be this one ? Interesting the person advertised it as a McCoy
Robert

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Mc-Coy...&hash=item45ffcb2881

Thanks for all the great info and ideas! I will just have to keep my eyes and ears open, one will turn up!! Thanks John

Any JAD/McCoy needs a test run before considering a purchase! There are good ones and bad ones.

BTW, thanks Arno for your post!

Kirk

So,
the JAD Haiwatha went for $1480... That is a lot of train for the money.

Would be neat if MTH would make stuff like this and the M10000, and GG-1 in std guage.