Using 26 lbs of video equipment in 1980 on an early cloudy day in October I was lucky to catch some rare moves. GG 1's, E-8's, E60's,F-40's.RS -3's plus some Extras. Enjoy.
"Roger Williams" was what this set was called. It was originally a NH train set, Amtrak got it and used them out of NH on the Springfield Line. No's 140 and 141 were applied by Amtrak to this set. I worked at Tower 75 in NH at the time, and often rode on this set...
To think, back in 1980, we had old GG1 electric locomotives pulling new Amfleet cars. Now we have new ACS-64 electric locomotives pulling old Amfleet cars! :P
Im a gg1 die heart she was my favorite engine man could she pull those cars regardless of good or bad weather over fifty years of service longest in railroad history
Those GG1’s: so industrial in appearance yet so aesthetically artistically designed! What a wonderfully successful blend of typically incompatible looks. Beautiful!
This is way cool... Reminds me of a trip to DC from Chicago in 77 I took as a kid with my family. Amtrak everything... All shapes, sizes, and paint schemes. I told my dad I wanted Union Station in our living room.... He said, "We can leave you here."... I said, "would ya?!"... Hahahahaha!
@@Kentucky_Trainiac I heard from an independent documentary that Amtrak did not place any orders because the locomotives weren't met to their expectations.
I was there in June of 80 just shy of my 15th b day. We took a regional down from Springfield to New haven E8s F40s and E60s in motor storage. Budd cars back, and the old Roger Williams was there in Springfield when we got back.
It’s crazy to think that during this period there were locomotives built in the 1930s and 1940s that were still in Amtrak service, and some of the other locomotives would remain in service until the mid 2000s. Half a century of technological advancements in one power pool. Granted that’s not actually that unusual when you consider original SD40s are over 50 years old, and GP7/9s are still in service some 70 years after they were introduced. But it’s still strange when you consider this was the pinnacle of American passenger service at the time.
Wow! Great footage of the RDC-A set! What a unique set. And the SPV-2000s too. And those RS-3s! The LRC cars being pulled by GG-1s! What a variety! I wish I had been alive at the time.
I renember seeing those exact GG1s running up next to rhe highway in CT. They are a beautiful sight to see. I still remember it 50 years later as if I was there.
Awesome, awesome, awesome! Thanks so much for posting this. Brings back a lot of great memories. The equipment had a lot of soul back then. Great, great stuff.
Those diesel MU's with Metroliner bodies were pretty doggone handsome. Miss the E60s - I know stability at high speeds messed with their reputation, but dang - it LOOKED like a real locomotive. Alas, the GG1 proved a hard act to follow. Thanks for this vintage footage! What were those machines that looked like an E-diesel nose grafted on to an RDC?
Wow!!! GREAT stuff. Reminds me of things the way the were when I was a kid. You even got the 4879 before it went to NJT and helped pull one of the last GG1 trains before they were retired. Thanks so much for putting this up...
This video illustrates how literally every loco and most coaches on the NEC have been renewed since 1980. pre-1945 GG1 motors working alongside E60s and F40PHs. We forget that those ghosts of PRR were still on the property until the AEM-7 locos had proved themselves.
Note the Roger Williams unit (140 or 141) coupled to the Seldom Powered Vehicle in the beginning of this great video. I worked at the Tower 75 from 1972 to 1992, and saw this stuff every day, I miss it now.....
Those poor GE E-60s had one devil of a time staying on the rails at speed, probably better suited to freight hauling. #973 sounds like its also suffering from some severely flat-spotted wheels.
The E-60s were turkeys almost from the start, and Amtrak had to develop the AEM-7s fairly quickly. The E-60s were very quickly relegated to hauling LD consists New Haven - Washington, or sometimes even Philly, then were disposed of. They didn't even last as long as the Hippos....
The White cars with red and blue on the bottom seen at 09:00 are Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) cars. These are the same cars that VIA Rail still uses. Amtrak had two or 3 sets of these with LRC locomotives, leased from Bombardier. They only had them for two years I believe then returned them to the builder who sold them to VIA Rail
Really telling that even in 1980, after enough mergers and corporate woopa-doops to make your head spin, the Gs were still just too reliable to take out of service. If not for all the frame cracking and the super-toxic transformer coolant (mm, delicious Pyranol) I reckon the old gals might've even lived to see service in the new millennium. Who knows, right? Cheers to the intrepid uploader--80s video equipment was no joke.
Living 4 miles North of New Haven's Union Station, I rarely saw any electric locomotives since, at the time, the caternary was only on track 4 and being removed. In the late 60's there were a few Virginians hauling freight and the Passenger trains in and out of NY were hauled by FL9's. The two tracks in the forefront at 7:45 with the Satation to the left were motor storage for those FL9's at the ready. The RS3's are most likely repainted NH units after the PC buyout and that paint scheme (the "Worms) logo) didn't last long once Amtrak and Conrail formed immediately after. The RDC Budd cars with a cab "nose" are rare and one of the former Restauranteurs of Savin Rock fame had one in the NH livery stored behind the old Cedar Hill transload dock where the former Circuit City store was built. The Lamberton Street Diesel Shops are now owned by Metro Notrh.
4:00 That is AMTK #499, an EMD E8 locomotive that was equipped with Head-End Power. Apparently she’s still around, as one of the Juniata Terminal Company’s PRR E8s.
Hm...the shot @1:28 makes me wonder if the SPV-2000 ever used the same S55/S37 dual-chime horn as the Metroliner. I know MNRR put the standard RS2Ms once they had them, but I'm wonder if Amtrak did as well.
I'm guessing those are the weird diesel railcars? why America is so against ACTUAL multiple units? Like their first attempt at a high speed train was essentially just a box, the whole concept of having high speed "rail cars" is bizzare when the rest of the world has at least 4 cars for high speed stuff as it looks a lot better
Ah the Amtrak's DMUs. So good that the they had to handicap them to meet regulstions. Now were runninf loco hauled trains with 3 coaches when 3 of those DMUs could serve the same job ehile being cheaper, faster, and more efficient 😊
8:55 that car between the Gs and the LRCs does not appear to have window glass and it sounds like there is a little diesel generator or something in there. Is that some kind of HEP car? I don’t see a regular HEP conversion short troop baggage car on that train either.
It would've had to be. GG1's were never equipped with HEP, so during the latter part of their Amtrak careers, they had to run with an HEP car behind them for heating and lighting of the coaches. Also, yeah, apparently many of Amtrak's HEP cars were converted from Troop-Kitchen cars, while others were converted from baggage cars and EMD E8B units.
I think they could. Freight is heavier now than ever so they probably wouldn't beat the rails down as much as they did. Don't know about power supply though..plus that whole leaking PCB's issue. We can hope
+Curt Ray That's the Roger Williams set, an experimental New Haven train. Both end cars and one of the intermediates are at the Danbury Railroad Museum.
What in the name of God is that abomination at the beginning of the video? Did they just weld the nose of a locomotive the the back of a passanger car?
"Roger Williams" was what this set was called. It was originally a NH train set, Amtrak got it and used them out of NH on the Springfield Line. No's 140 and 141 were applied by Amtrak to this set. I worked at Tower 75 in NH at the time, and often rode on this set...
To think, back in 1980, we had old GG1 electric locomotives pulling new Amfleet cars. Now we have new ACS-64 electric locomotives pulling old Amfleet cars! :P
Those GG1s were nearing 60 too. An Amtrak employee once told me the GG1 was the best engine Amtrak had in the area.
Thunderbolt 1000 Siren Productions all engineers would say that. Although the GG1 interior is really cramped.
Im a gg1 die heart she was my favorite engine man could she pull those cars regardless of good or bad weather over fifty years of service longest in railroad history
And 30 years into the future... the ACS96.... WILL BE PULLING AMFLEET CARS..🤣!!! Those workhorse coaches will be pulled for years to come!!
@@damumuhammad3992 GG1 is a he not she.
Those GG1’s: so industrial in appearance yet so aesthetically artistically designed! What a wonderfully successful blend of typically incompatible looks. Beautiful!
This is way cool... Reminds me of a trip to DC from Chicago in 77 I took as a kid with my family. Amtrak everything... All shapes, sizes, and paint schemes. I told my dad I wanted Union Station in our living room.... He said, "We can leave you here."... I said, "would ya?!"... Hahahahaha!
XD
this is some great footage! thanks for posting it!
have you ever seen a GG1 in action
yes, when i was a kid. it was my fav engine to see, since it looked like two "fronts" put together to me! of course, i dont have video :-(
Hey!
GG1's pulling LRC's... I never knew I needed this until now!
Thanks for identifying those coaches. I knew they weren't Horizon cars, but they were not Heritage Fleet cars either.
Those are Amfleets
@@Kentucky_Trainiac At 9:00 those are LRCs. LRC cars and locomotives were leased briefly from Bombardier as demonstrator units around 1980-81.
@@amtrak706 oops lmao my apologies
@@Kentucky_Trainiac I heard from an independent documentary that Amtrak did not place any orders because the locomotives weren't met to their expectations.
I was there in June of 80 just shy of my 15th b day. We took a regional down from Springfield to New haven E8s F40s and E60s in motor storage. Budd cars back, and the old Roger Williams was there in Springfield when we got back.
Thanks for posting this. Vert few people captured GG1s on videotape.
As a kid in the early 80s, the E60 was my favorite Amtrak engine.
It’s crazy to think that during this period there were locomotives built in the 1930s and 1940s that were still in Amtrak service, and some of the other locomotives would remain in service until the mid 2000s.
Half a century of technological advancements in one power pool.
Granted that’s not actually that unusual when you consider original SD40s are over 50 years old, and GP7/9s are still in service some 70 years after they were introduced.
But it’s still strange when you consider this was the pinnacle of American passenger service at the time.
Wow! Great footage of the RDC-A set! What a unique set. And the SPV-2000s too. And those RS-3s! The LRC cars being pulled by GG-1s! What a variety! I wish I had been alive at the time.
I renember seeing those exact GG1s running up next to rhe highway in CT. They are a beautiful sight to see. I still remember it 50 years later as if I was there.
Awesome, awesome, awesome! Thanks so much for posting this. Brings back a lot of great memories. The equipment had a lot of soul back then. Great, great stuff.
Awesome clips! Thanks for sharing! Ah, those were the days. If only i was around during that time. 5/5 and favorited!
this is GOLD!! a monent in time we never will relive: GG1's F40's FL9...
Those diesel MU's with Metroliner bodies were pretty doggone handsome. Miss the E60s - I know stability at high speeds messed with their reputation, but dang - it LOOKED like a real locomotive. Alas, the GG1 proved a hard act to follow. Thanks for this vintage footage! What were those machines that looked like an E-diesel nose grafted on to an RDC?
Wow!!! GREAT stuff. Reminds me of things the way the were when I was a kid. You even got the 4879 before it went to NJT and helped pull one of the last GG1 trains before they were retired. Thanks so much for putting this up...
this brings back many of memories when I watch this wow tks again
Nice to see the GG1's pulling the LRC cars. I guess that even a model railroader couldn't pull that one off!
This video illustrates how literally every loco and most coaches on the NEC have been renewed since 1980. pre-1945 GG1 motors working alongside E60s and F40PHs. We forget that those ghosts of PRR were still on the property until the AEM-7 locos had proved themselves.
Love love love the GG1s
Note the Roger Williams unit (140 or 141) coupled to the Seldom Powered Vehicle in the beginning of this great video. I worked at the Tower 75 from 1972 to 1992, and saw this stuff every day, I miss it now.....
Thanks a ton for posting this, I just got an Amtrak GG1 and wanted to see what it could've pulled back in the day.
As a boy I use to enjoy the names given to the number trains.
Great video, love those SPV2000!! Nice to see them actually run.
Cool video. The LRC's in 9:00 look very nice.
Great Video..........SPV 2000's and GG1 Locomotives. The equipment that they used back then was great.
I saw those RDC cab cars at the Hobo Railroad in New Hampshire in 2013
Thank you for sharing this video, I greatly enjoyed it!
Those poor GE E-60s had one devil of a time staying on the rails at speed, probably better suited to freight hauling. #973 sounds like its also suffering from some severely flat-spotted wheels.
The E-60s were turkeys almost from the start, and Amtrak had to develop the AEM-7s fairly quickly. The E-60s were very quickly relegated to hauling LD consists New Haven - Washington, or sometimes even Philly, then were disposed of. They didn't even last as long as the Hippos....
The White cars with red and blue on the bottom seen at 09:00 are Bombardier LRC (Light, Rapid, Comfortable) cars. These are the same cars that VIA Rail still uses. Amtrak had two or 3 sets of these with LRC locomotives, leased from Bombardier. They only had them for two years I believe then returned them to the builder who sold them to VIA Rail
Wow, an amazing jump into Amtrak history 👏
A train kid’s dream environment
This is an incredible time capsule!
I see locomotives during the 80s were very long.
No matter how hard they try you can never copy the ‘splendor’ of the original GG1’s.
They were. Those are the Amtrak's SPV's which was supposed to be Budd's successor to the RDC which was a failure.
THE TRAIN IS LOUD MAN!
Great vid. Used to see a lot of this equipment go by growing up in the Bronx.
The AEM7,s are on the endangered
Ist
And now they're gone 😫
Hmm. Impressive. Very impressive. Most impressive.
Great post. Anything from New Haven in the 1980s is appreciated.
this is awesome!
Cool to see the Amtrak LRC coaches.
Really telling that even in 1980, after enough mergers and corporate woopa-doops to make your head spin, the Gs were still just too reliable to take out of service. If not for all the frame cracking and the super-toxic transformer coolant (mm, delicious Pyranol) I reckon the old gals might've even lived to see service in the new millennium. Who knows, right? Cheers to the intrepid uploader--80s video equipment was no joke.
Thanks, Some times it just takes TIME.. Bob
Miss those MN M2s
Living 4 miles North of New Haven's Union Station, I rarely saw any electric locomotives since, at the time, the caternary was only on track 4 and being removed. In the late 60's there were a few Virginians hauling freight and the Passenger trains in and out of NY were hauled by FL9's. The two tracks in the forefront at 7:45 with the Satation to the left were motor storage for those FL9's at the ready. The RS3's are most likely repainted NH units after the PC buyout and that paint scheme (the "Worms) logo) didn't last long once Amtrak and Conrail formed immediately after. The RDC Budd cars with a cab "nose" are rare and one of the former Restauranteurs of Savin Rock fame had one in the NH livery stored behind the old Cedar Hill transload dock where the former Circuit City store was built. The Lamberton Street Diesel Shops are now owned by Metro Notrh.
Note the RDC-amfleet-metroliner combo DMU's
Spv-2000s
0:25 cricket sound
GG1 #4879 was actually owned by NJT. She was featured in the head-end ride video PENNSYLVANIA RAILROAD GG1 from Railroad Video Productions.
4:00 That is AMTK #499, an EMD E8 locomotive that was equipped with Head-End Power. Apparently she’s still around, as one of the Juniata Terminal Company’s PRR E8s.
I guess she was used for expieriments or as backup at the time?
@grizzleybearz282004 That was one of the four remaining E's still in service out of New Haven
Those were the unpowered coach units of an Amtrak TurboLiner
all of this, 10 years before i was even born
I go to new haven often pretty cool! Gg1 is pretty cool engine
This is some great footage
What video format is this, where you don't see as much film grain as the Super 8 mm film? What were the earliest films / TV shows that used it?
Hm...the shot @1:28 makes me wonder if the SPV-2000 ever used the same S55/S37 dual-chime horn as the Metroliner. I know MNRR put the standard RS2Ms once they had them, but I'm wonder if Amtrak did as well.
10 minute video, first parked GG-1 at 2 minutes in, first running GG-1 at 6 1/2 minutes in.
Too bad the SPV-2000's were such a monstrous failure. They'd be perfect for some of today's short runs on, say, the LIRR or MetroNorth.
I'm guessing those are the weird diesel railcars? why America is so against ACTUAL multiple units? Like their first attempt at a high speed train was essentially just a box, the whole concept of having high speed "rail cars" is bizzare when the rest of the world has at least 4 cars for high speed stuff as it looks a lot better
Ah the Amtrak's DMUs. So good that the they had to handicap them to meet regulstions. Now were runninf loco hauled trains with 3 coaches when 3 of those DMUs could serve the same job ehile being cheaper, faster, and more efficient 😊
wait!!!!!! since when did the metro liners had diesel engines i thought they where electric mu's
It’s actually the SPV-2000, an ill-fated successor to the Budd RDC.
Opening: Is that an RDC with an improvised cab built out on the end? Never seen one like that!
Eric Smyth it's the roger Williams trainset built for the new haven railroad. It was preserved and now resides at the hobo railroad in New Hampshire.
Awesome!
used to live near the four track mainline in New Rochelle.
MetroNorth Bar Car @ 4:56?
An amtrak painted Budd Car hooked up to some engine/coach combo at the beginning of the video. Does anyone know the story with this?
*****
Thanks for the info. Whoever shot these videos knew he was documenting a changing chapter in Amtrak history.
The unit is a cross between a P-12-42 and an RDC.
It almost looks like the Roger Williams.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_(train)
GG-1 horn at 5:54
It's sad that they had to scrap the gg1s and the other locomotive
Aksel Papa There is an abandoned Amtrak GG1
Still very much the Rainbow fleet during this time
8:55 that car between the Gs and the LRCs does not appear to have window glass and it sounds like there is a little diesel generator or something in there. Is that some kind of HEP car? I don’t see a regular HEP conversion short troop baggage car on that train either.
It would've had to be. GG1's were never equipped with HEP, so during the latter part of their Amtrak careers, they had to run with an HEP car behind them for heating and lighting of the coaches. Also, yeah, apparently many of Amtrak's HEP cars were converted from Troop-Kitchen cars, while others were converted from baggage cars and EMD E8B units.
Damn I was 5 years old in 1980. My whole life in Bridgeport.
GG1’s on a phase 3 paint scheme
What is that at the very beginning? It looks like a Budd RDC with a streamlined front end.
That RDC at the beginning sounded like it was dying
good video, wish all of the locomotives in this footage were still around... GG1s need to be brought back
agreed
I think they could. Freight is heavier now than ever so they probably wouldn't beat the rails down as much as they did. Don't know about power supply though..plus that whole leaking PCB's issue. We can hope
Was the E8 at 4:07 one of the small handful of E8s that were equipped with HEP?
What locomotive is at at beginning? Just Curious.
0:30 look SPV-2000
4:45 seriously Metro North is as old as E60s???
good stuff.never seen a passenger car with a f-7 nose on it.never seen anyone modelon either which is more odd
+Curt Ray That's the Roger Williams set, an experimental New Haven train. Both end cars and one of the intermediates are at the Danbury Railroad Museum.
BNSF1995 hobo railroad now
Great footage! The last passenger train in the second-last clip, those 3 coaches, were those LRC coaches?
This is back when Railroading was railroading
8:17 what type of passenger cars are the two GG1s pulling?
Hey i cnt see the Bombardier LRC Locomotive (Owned by VIA and Amtrak)
What is the name of the locomotive in 0:32 for example p42 D.C. Or something
The Last N&W Y6b in service its the SPV2000
Is that you take is video in the 80s?
Y did I see a venture coach being pulled by 2 gg1s???
This video was 2009
Whats the one at the begining?
They are so long
Are those Amtrak Amfleet RDC'S?
What was that abomination at the very beginning? Looked like a custom cab-car with the nose of a locomotive duct taped on to a passenger car.
Dude what was that thing right at the beginning
4:52
What train is that? It's so weird.
0:01 what is that? I've never seen it
First gen of a cab car eh?
and it was moving on its own, mustve had an engine or something cause it had no pantograph
they died too fast than the current trains
But not all of the gg1s were painted that ugly color
What in the name of God is that abomination at the beginning of the video? Did they just weld the nose of a locomotive the the back of a passanger car?