A all time classic train. I’m 65 years old now but as a small child when the GG1’s roared thru New Brunswick it was something I’ve never forgot to this day. Never be another like her and I don’t think it has
I’ve been been a rail fan all my life. The GG1 is my all time favorite locomotive. My favorite train trip was behind a G in a congressional special train to the World’s Fair in 1964 that ran nonstop from Washington to New York. The saddest train trip was the funeral train for Robert F Kennedy.These engines were good at everything they ever attempted.
I cab rode in Conrail 4800, the Bicentennial GG1. She is my spirit locomotive, and is in many photos hanging up in my house. Nothing can replace a GG1. I have Pennsylvania Railroad heritage in my family, my family served the PRR, PC, and Conrail. So I am proud to have GG1 blood running through my vanes! PENNSY PROUD!!!
"Old Rivets" was retired in October 1979 after 45 years' service, victim of a burned-out main transformer only a month before CR retired the last of its Gs.
The moment when Electrics get the "Farewell," treatment like Steamers did, you know they're significant. The last pre-WWII Electrics in main line use, and if I'm not mistaken, the last of the original Pennsy breed. Quite an achievement. The only other Electrics I can think of that come close to this is the BR class 86, but they're still in use, and came from the 60s.
+Russell Streak Reminds me of when Metra in Chicago had special farewell excursions for the old Burlington Northern E-units after over forty years of service. And some got sent to MARC for even more service, while two are at the Illinois Railway Museum, keeping a bunch of other Covered Wagons company.
So...was this in the 80s or the 90s? It couldn't have been that recent. I've lived in the DMV for almost a decade now, and I've never seen a single Cab unit wearing MARC paint. Hoods, yes. Cowls, yes. Cab, I wish. I wonder if that'll happen to the Genesis diesels when they're retired from Amtrak. As far as I know, they're the only Diesel Cab units in service right now. The Siemens Sprinters are cab units as well, and I hear the Chargers (ironically the Diesel equivalent of the Sprinters) is going to be a Cab as well. About time we got some more Amtrak power out west. It's only the Genesis' and maybe a few passenger Dash-8s.
+Russell Streak The Burlington Es were retired in 1994, so that would've been before your time there, I suppose. I don't know how long they served in MARC service. Currently, IRM has a nice collection, a green-and-white Burlington Northern E9, all three BN Executive units, Milwaukee Road E9 and F7 (jokingly called the "Rust Rockets" for their dingy appearance), a beautifully-restored C&NW F7 to pull a set of Pullman bilevels from the NorthWestern's original order in the 1950s, and the stainless-steel jewel of the collection, the Burlington E5A, the only one left, pulling the Nebraska Zephyr trainset.
Sylderon Ah Silver Pilot. She's currently my favorite diesel. As much as I love the Bluebonnet Santa Fe PAs and F units, I just have something more for stainless steel. I wonder why more railroads didn't try this. Makes me wonder what a PA, FM, or Babyface would've looked like with stainless steel
At 2:00 Some miles have passed beneath Big Red--believe me, she's gone far. She's seen her share of railroads--her tracks could reach a star. She's ridden into Washington, New York & Harrisburg. And done it all while comin' through, doin' ninety-third Ol' Big Red--Speeding up & down the line Ol' Big Red--Gets her people there on time. She's a mighty GG1--my favorite, you see. Her 50 years of service won a place in history.
I remember driving to my parents boat many times in the early 80s along route 495 just north of Wilmington Delaware. GG1's were parked on the tracks next to the Delaware River. Must have been 50 or 60 units. All being scrapped .... So sad to see them go.
@dasbooterror Bought it before boarding the last run. Had it framed a few years later. Now it's at the top of the stairs in the great room. Even those who nothing nothing of the GG-1 love it.
The E60 was a beauty with lots of muscle and was mechanically reliable. Problem was that it was too heavy and had a tendency to yaw (side to side sway) and pitch (up & down motion) severely at high speeds enough to worry locomotive crews about potential derailments, so the FRA restricted them to 90mph speeds. I can't remember which but there are 2 RUclips videos where you can actually see approaching E60s rocking on the rails. Fortunately 2 have been preserved.
@@rearspeaker6364 Yes, I see what you mean if you're referring to the GE U-Boat style chassis. Confusing though is that even though the frame vaguely looks like a stretched version of the U-33C, I remember reading that the E60s's frame design was influenced by the GE E-44 "Bricks" that Pennsy had.
+prdawg215 They better. In terms of Electric power, they're the oldest locos under Amtrak ownership still in use. They even outlasted the newer E60s and HHP-8s on the roster. It took 40 years for a real replacement to finally come about. Nice one the GGs though. The longest-live main line Electrics in America. I can't think of any other of it's type that lasted half a decade. Well, the longest-single unit Electrics. As much as I admire the DD1s which were around for almost 40 years as well , I still consider them two engines, permanently coupled. Working as one, but still two engines.
great locomotive for sure ...nothing like it ...that said she was ideal for the main areas she worked but out of the question for vast tracts of low density so where the diesel electrics shone and still shine..can't just put electrified rail everywhere...great vid..
Great video of an all time classic electric locomotive - though there's no chance any have gone ''further than the sun''! The sun is 144 million KM away, very few main line electric locos have ever passed 10 million kilometers even over 5 decades of service. To get to 144 mil they would need to rack up 55,400 km per week with no breaks over 50 years! Anyway, RIP GG1.
I had the same reaction until I realized that the claim made in the film was that the *class* (139 engines) had gone farther than the sun, not that a single engine had. (You're quite right to say that claiming that distance for a single engine would be nuts.) For 139 engines to run a total of 93 million miles over an average lifespan of 40 years comes out to a little under 325 miles/week. A single round trip between New York and Washington is 450 miles. I think it's pretty safe to suppose that most of these engines averaged more than 450 miles/week when in service (which would then allow some time off for maintenance, failures, the time it took to rebuild #4876 after it fell into the baggage room in Washington Union Station, and so on).
Agreed, but likely too costly for them. The price of automotive paint products has shot through the roof. I remember not long ago being able to buy 1 gallon of IMRON White for $33, now it's over $100 per gallon. When we add in the cost of sanding materials, masking, prep materials, use of an EPA approved paint booth, Haz-mat disposal, liability insurance clauses, etc (even with volunteers doing the work) the cost can easily exceed $10,000. It's ridiculous, yes, but these are the times we live.
@@rearspeaker6364 Still available, but under Axalta now. I wonder, though, if they're using the same formulas that we had back in the 80's, when it was a durable product.
@@rearspeaker6364 You're likely right. So much has changed. Imron was relatively inexpensive, easy to mix and spray. Very glossy and durable (as long as you didn't spray it over a cheap primer). I can imagine now that the durability might no longer be the same and the price tag is likely a wallet cruncher.
@DaftStrings The person who wrote the song might have been inspired to do so WITHOUT being commissioned to do it. And influential seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
That person was Cliff Underwood, who by 1983 was NJT's senior engineer. He was in command of 4877 on the last day of service, only to have it fail humiliatingly, and forcing sister 4879 to rescue the train.
I'm writing this in May, 2016 and still can't figure out why, if it worked , they had to fix it ? ! ! ! . If this loco was as good as was said to be, then why mothball it ? ! ! The NE corridor is still electrified, so why didn't they merely keep either refurbishing existing ones and or built new ones with basically the same powertrain and maybe a bit of modernization, say ? ! !
The GG1's were from the 1930's. They were too old to keep fixing all the time. And something old always has the tendency to break down. Modernizing a whole fleet would've cost about as much as buying a fleet of new trains. Not even the AEM-7's which also were damn good trains stayed for 50 years. Don't get me wrong, the GG1 is a legend, but keeping them over 50 years is a little far fetched.
During the last inspections of the GG1s before what was scheduled as a fleet rebuild , many were found to have serious cracks in their frames from years of faithful service. Couple that with the fact that the cabin heaters drew warm air from the motors which were insulated with cancer causing materials and it was decided that the cost of bringing the GG1s up to safe contemporary standards would far exceed the cost of replacing them . The GG1's record of safe , powerful and reliable service is a legend that stands the test of time even when compared to any present day motive power , diesels included . As with all things though , their time had come and it was time to move on.
From now and the American are trying to establish have own high speed train but some of this are waste but now they have ambition to create an inter country high speed railway across america.
A all time classic train. I’m 65 years old now but as a small child when the GG1’s roared thru New Brunswick it was something I’ve never forgot to this day. Never be another like her and I don’t think it has
There will be Pennsylvania Railroad 5550, hopefully!
I’ve been been a rail fan all my life. The GG1 is my all time favorite locomotive. My favorite train trip was behind a G in a congressional special train to the World’s Fair in 1964 that ran nonstop from Washington to New York. The saddest train trip was the funeral train for Robert F Kennedy.These engines were good at everything they ever attempted.
With today's technology, this and similar videos can be digitally remastered to a crystal clear appearance.
I cab rode in Conrail 4800, the Bicentennial GG1. She is my spirit locomotive, and is in many photos hanging up in my house. Nothing can replace a GG1. I have Pennsylvania Railroad heritage in my family, my family served the PRR, PC, and Conrail. So I am proud to have GG1 blood running through my vanes! PENNSY PROUD!!!
"Old Rivets" was retired in October 1979 after 45 years' service, victim of a burned-out main transformer only a month before CR retired the last of its Gs.
@@smwca123 I was born in 1976 and I was 4 when I can rode in 4800.
I so much enjoyed this video; rode the N. Jersey Coast line for 22 years.
I rode the Farewell to the Amtrak GG-1 which had the 4877 and the 4876, plus and F-40 for HEP. Nice 80 MPH runby at Lancaster. UNFORGETTABLE!!
The moment when Electrics get the "Farewell," treatment like Steamers did, you know they're significant. The last pre-WWII Electrics in main line use, and if I'm not mistaken, the last of the original Pennsy breed. Quite an achievement. The only other Electrics I can think of that come close to this is the BR class 86, but they're still in use, and came from the 60s.
+Russell Streak Reminds me of when Metra in Chicago had special farewell excursions for the old Burlington Northern E-units after over forty years of service. And some got sent to MARC for even more service, while two are at the Illinois Railway Museum, keeping a bunch of other Covered Wagons company.
So...was this in the 80s or the 90s? It couldn't have been that recent. I've lived in the DMV for almost a decade now, and I've never seen a single Cab unit wearing MARC paint. Hoods, yes. Cowls, yes. Cab, I wish. I wonder if that'll happen to the Genesis diesels when they're retired from Amtrak. As far as I know, they're the only Diesel Cab units in service right now. The Siemens Sprinters are cab units as well, and I hear the Chargers (ironically the Diesel equivalent of the Sprinters) is going to be a Cab as well. About time we got some more Amtrak power out west. It's only the Genesis' and maybe a few passenger Dash-8s.
+Russell Streak The Burlington Es were retired in 1994, so that would've been before your time there, I suppose. I don't know how long they served in MARC service. Currently, IRM has a nice collection, a green-and-white Burlington Northern E9, all three BN Executive units, Milwaukee Road E9 and F7 (jokingly called the "Rust Rockets" for their dingy appearance), a beautifully-restored C&NW F7 to pull a set of Pullman bilevels from the NorthWestern's original order in the 1950s, and the stainless-steel jewel of the collection, the Burlington E5A, the only one left, pulling the Nebraska Zephyr trainset.
Sylderon Ah Silver Pilot. She's currently my favorite diesel. As much as I love the Bluebonnet Santa Fe PAs and F units, I just have something more for stainless steel. I wonder why more railroads didn't try this. Makes me wonder what a PA, FM, or Babyface would've looked like with stainless steel
Don't forget CN's Boxcabs, retired in 1995
Theres a GG1 in Elkhart, Ind. at the National NYC museum painted in PC black. I wish someone would restore it to the PRR Tuscan red.
At 2:00
Some miles have passed beneath Big Red--believe me, she's gone far. She's seen her share of railroads--her tracks could reach a star. She's ridden into Washington, New York & Harrisburg. And done it all while comin' through, doin' ninety-third
Ol' Big Red--Speeding up & down the line
Ol' Big Red--Gets her people there on time. She's a mighty GG1--my favorite, you see. Her 50 years of service won a place in history.
That's doing 90-per.
I remember in late '78 A GG-1 pulled the Southern Crescent south with me on it.
From Philly.
I remember driving to my parents boat many times in the early 80s along route 495 just north
of Wilmington Delaware. GG1's were parked on the tracks next to the Delaware River. Must have been 50 or 60 units. All being scrapped .... So sad to see them go.
Probably ex-Conrails. CR retired the last of their Gs from freight service on November 22, 1979.
what a beauty.
@dasbooterror Bought it before boarding the last run. Had it framed a few years later. Now it's at the top of the stairs in the great room. Even those who nothing nothing of the GG-1 love it.
The E60 was a beauty with lots of muscle and was mechanically reliable. Problem was that it was too heavy and had a tendency to yaw (side to side sway) and pitch (up & down motion) severely at high speeds enough to worry locomotive crews about potential derailments, so the FRA restricted them to 90mph speeds. I can't remember which but there are 2 RUclips videos where you can actually see approaching E60s rocking on the rails. Fortunately 2 have been preserved.
U- Boats weren't designed to go above 80 mph.
@@rearspeaker6364 Yes, I see what you mean if you're referring to the GE U-Boat style chassis. Confusing though is that even though the frame vaguely looks like a stretched version of the U-33C, I remember reading that the E60s's frame design was influenced by the GE E-44 "Bricks" that Pennsy had.
One of them did derail in February 1975.
Will the AEM-7, meatballs, toasters, or whatever you want to call them get this kind of same respect when Amtrak retires them fully?
prdawg215 AHAHAHAA
Amtrak would never do that....
I mean look what happened to the E60's o_o
+prdawg215 They better. In terms of Electric power, they're the oldest locos under Amtrak ownership still in use. They even outlasted the newer E60s and HHP-8s on the roster. It took 40 years for a real replacement to finally come about.
Nice one the GGs though. The longest-live main line Electrics in America. I can't think of any other of it's type that lasted half a decade. Well, the longest-single unit Electrics. As much as I admire the DD1s which were around for almost 40 years as well , I still consider them two engines, permanently coupled. Working as one, but still two engines.
they aren't as pretty, but to their credit, the were the first locomotives worthy of displacing the then 40 year old GG1s
Not a chance!
They did
I love GG1 i like❤️
0:34
That's a lot of metroliner MUs
0:31
Beautiful just beautiful
The Farley Post Office/New York Penn Station and the Madison Square Garden just right above in 1983 6:52
J have model GG-1 for Mehano Slovenia. Super eletric loko.. 😊😊
great locomotive for sure ...nothing like it ...that said she was ideal for the main areas she worked but out of the question for vast tracts of low density so where the diesel electrics shone and still shine..can't just put electrified rail everywhere...great vid..
Great video of an all time classic electric locomotive - though there's no chance any have gone ''further than the sun''! The sun is 144 million KM away, very few main line electric locos have ever passed 10 million kilometers even over 5 decades of service. To get to 144 mil they would need to rack up 55,400 km per week with no breaks over 50 years! Anyway, RIP GG1.
I had the same reaction until I realized that the claim made in the film was that the *class* (139 engines) had gone farther than the sun, not that a single engine had. (You're quite right to say that claiming that distance for a single engine would be nuts.)
For 139 engines to run a total of 93 million miles over an average lifespan of 40 years comes out to a little under 325 miles/week. A single round trip between New York and Washington is 450 miles. I think it's pretty safe to suppose that most of these engines averaged more than 450 miles/week when in service (which would then allow some time off for maintenance, failures, the time it took to rebuild #4876 after it fell into the baggage room in Washington Union Station, and so on).
Get a grip you unbearable git!
I have one - and it's sweet!
Awesome!
@metrocityrr Simple fact: they weren't built anywhere nearly as well.
Loewy was the the original designer of the GG1.Trains Magazine reported otherwise
Ray Dohmer was the original designer. Loewy cleaned up the design, mainly by going from riveting o welding.
Man oh man the ame-7 the hhp8 this is there grandad
No. The AEM-7s dad is the Rc-4. The HHP-8s grandad is the Alstom Class CC 7100
Nice
Did this engine ever make it to Boston?no,new haven too Boston was not electrified then overhead. When I first saw the GG1 I was scared to death.!!!
Agreed, but likely too costly for them. The price of automotive paint products has shot through the roof. I remember not long ago being able to buy 1 gallon of IMRON White for $33, now it's over $100 per gallon. When we add in the cost of sanding materials, masking, prep materials, use of an EPA approved paint booth, Haz-mat disposal, liability insurance clauses, etc (even with volunteers doing the work) the cost can easily exceed $10,000. It's ridiculous, yes, but these are the times we live.
and now you cant buy IMRON!
@@rearspeaker6364 Still available, but under Axalta now. I wonder, though, if they're using the same formulas that we had back in the 80's, when it was a durable product.
@@ACLTony my guess is that the formulas are changed due to enviro concerns.
@@rearspeaker6364 You're likely right. So much has changed. Imron was relatively inexpensive, easy to mix and spray. Very glossy and durable (as long as you didn't spray it over a cheap primer). I can imagine now that the durability might no longer be the same and the price tag is likely a wallet cruncher.
You realize, of course, that the sun is 96 million miles. "
@DaftStrings
The person who wrote the song might have been inspired to do so WITHOUT being commissioned to do it. And influential seems to be in the eye of the beholder.
That person was Cliff Underwood, who by 1983 was NJT's senior engineer. He was in command of 4877 on the last day of service, only to have it fail humiliatingly, and forcing sister 4879 to rescue the train.
Ole big red
I met to say he was NOT the orignal designer
some one turn down his dam mic!
Lol
too bad i never had the chance to see these in service if its been running for half a century why cant the let the e60 nor the aem-7 run just as long
metrocityrr the AEM-7 ran for over 40 years.
I'm writing this in May, 2016 and still can't figure out why, if it worked , they had to fix it ? ! ! ! . If this loco was as good as was said to be, then why mothball it ? ! ! The NE corridor is still electrified, so why didn't they merely keep either refurbishing existing ones and or built new ones with basically the same powertrain and maybe a bit of modernization, say ? ! !
The GG1's were from the 1930's. They were too old to keep fixing all the time. And something old always has the tendency to break down. Modernizing a whole fleet would've cost about as much as buying a fleet of new trains. Not even the AEM-7's which also were damn good trains stayed for 50 years. Don't get me wrong, the GG1 is a legend, but keeping them over 50 years is a little far fetched.
During the last inspections of the GG1s before what was scheduled as a fleet rebuild , many were found to have serious cracks in their frames from years of faithful service. Couple that with the fact that the cabin heaters drew warm air from the motors which were insulated with cancer causing materials and it was decided that the cost of bringing the GG1s up to safe contemporary standards would far exceed the cost of replacing them . The GG1's record of safe , powerful and reliable service is a legend that stands the test of time even when compared to any present day motive power , diesels included . As with all things though , their time had come and it was time to move on.
theres one in syracuse ny was pennys then stupid peoplethought that it would look better a an amtrack
@KMSalex LOL
From now and the American are trying to establish have own high speed train but some of this are waste but now they have ambition to create an inter country high speed railway across america.
歌が無ければなぁ