Born and raised in Chicago I don't ever remember seeing them or even pictures of the here?
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Are you serious?- Jim
You don't know what you don't know. Thanks for your help.
Because they were electric and required canetery over head wiring , they are limited to areas that had such equipment. This is limited to the northeast corridor , Washington to Boston and from Philadelphia to Harrisburg . I am not sure if they were able to travel west from Harrisburg Pa . There are no bad questions ! Jim
They were at the Chicago railroad fair in 1948-1949. On the bay search chicago railroad fair and you will see pictures
I'm no Pennsy fan or expert, but I believe Summerdale Junction is correct. Harrisburg was the west end of the wire, so no GG-1's in Chicago. They may have visited, but they had to be pulled there.
Jeff,
The iconic electric GG1only ran as far west on the Pennsylvania RR as Harrisburg PA. I believe that in the days when the Pennsy was flush in capital that it considered going further west, possibly to Pittsburg, but the newer diesels changed that possibility. I'm sorry that you never had the pleasure of seeing them in operation. They were impressive indeed! They congregated in numbers at 30th St Station in Philly and I passed by there often. I took my family along for one if the "Last Runs" on the Main Line, Port Road, and Corridor years ago. A friend of mine ran them on Conrail freights into Enola yard (across the river from Harrisburg PA).
Today we just have them on videos...but with fond memories.
Earl
Jeff T posted:Born and raised in Chicago I don't ever remember seeing them or even pictures of the here?
*edited for accuracy. meant Washington not Baltimore*.... The GG1's were electric locomotives powered by 25 cycle 11,000 volt AC overhead power wire (catenary). Thus by design they were limited to railroads that had trolley wire (catenary) that had the same voltage and frequency
They were used on the PRR from New York City south to Washington DC and West to Harrisburg.
There were other overhead wire electric railroads - for example, some used DC power (the Milwaukee Road/Lackawanna/Chicago South Shore South Bend)... and some used third rail (New York Central).
There were other railroads such as the New Haven and the Virginian that used 25 cycle 11,000 volt AC electricity to power the trains. Theoretically, they could have ran the GG1 also but the PRR in it's heyday had enough work to keep the G's busy on their own trains.
Oh, and modern AC electric railroads in the USA like AMTRAK, SEPTA and New Jersey Transit use 60 cycle AC, the same frequency as used in common 220/110 house current.
Do not forget the second Great Northern electrication. It was 11000 volts, 25 cycle. I believe they had the largest electric locomotives in the US. Some of their locomotives went to the PRR after the GN discontinued electric operation, around 1956. The B and M electrification in Western Mass. I think was also 11000 volts, 25 cycle.
Many of the G's were built in Altoona so they did make a least the trip east in non-electrified territory - pulled by steam, of course. I have an old photo some place; taken in my hometown of Lewistown, PA; of a number of G's being towed east toward Harrisburg.
And with regard to David's comment about some of the Great Northern electrics going to PRR; the Pennsylvania used them as snappers in the Philadelphia area. I've read the traction motors were geared so low that the motors couldn't be operated at speeds above 30 MPH, hence their suitability in snapper service.
Curt
GG1 territory went a bit farther, south to Union Station in Washington, DC. at the time of their use, catenary ran north to Stamford, CT where the occasional GG1 would be replaced by New Haven diesel power on to Boston.
in addition, the Trenton 'cutoff' was strung with catenary and G's pulled freight on that line as well.
it wasn't until well after the G's were retired that catenary was extended up to Boston.
One of our RR group ran GG1s on his layout sans catenary. He explained that his RR liked the look of the GG1s they bought several and "dieselised" them. What a joker he was!
Larry
They were used on the PRR from New York City south to Baltimore
As Chris notes, they went to Washington. The catenary actually continued down to Potomac Yard, at the north end of Alexandria, Virginia, but only freight electrics went that far. Thewre was also catenary on the branch that ran along the east bank of the Susquehanna.
I question whether GG-1's went north of NYC. That was NYNH&H territory, and I believe they may have used different power (voltage/hertz).
The catenary didn't stop at Stamford; it went up to New Haven, until Amtrak extended it to Boston.
As pointed out in freight service GG1's ran to Potomac Yard - sometimes triple headed. From Alexandria traffic moved south via either RF&P or Southern Railway tracks. The C&O also exchanged freight with PRR in Pot yard via trackage rights over the Southern and RF&P. In the steam to diesel transition period Alexandria, VA must have been a great place to railfan.
Ed Rappe
LLKJR posted:One of uur RR group ran GG1s on his layout sans catenary. He explained that his RR liked the look of the GG1s they bought several and "dieselised" them. What a joker he was!
Larry
Not that's a Clever Little Boy!
Ed, RF&P limited access to the yard, and being elevated above the adjoining streets, it was difficult to observe. I did get to go through it once, when the Four Mile Run flood control project was being planned. What I remember is all the switchers had flashing lights atop the cabs, which the boss said was so that they could keep track on their location and to make sure they weren't goofing off.
Thanks to all for the education, I certainly appreciate it!! It also helps explain why east coast modelers have such an affinity for the GG1 as well!
Summerdale Junction posted:Because they were electric and required canetery over head wiring , they are limited to areas that had such equipment. This is limited to the northeast corridor , Washington to Boston and from Philadelphia to Harrisburg . I am not sure if they were able to travel west from Harrisburg Pa . There are no bad questions ! Jim
This is correct, although the PRR did electrify a short stretch of track running from Harrisburg (Wormelysburg) to Enola. That's north for us in the real world, but railroad west (if you know what I mean). I cross those tracks every Sunday going to / from church.
With the electrification of the northeast, the Pennsy took their (now) excess K4s and L1s locomotives and moved them to other parts of the railroad, primarily Lines West.
George
Jeff T posted:Thanks to all for the education, I certainly appreciate it!! It also helps explain why east coast modelers have such an affinity for the GG1 as well!
Yes, this thread was a good education! Thanks to all who replied.
Tony
There is still catenary as far west as Lancaster/Harrisburg, PA. I'm not sure were the power change occurs on the Amtrak Pennsylvanian, though the diesels used, fit under the catenary.
