"Phil Kane" wrote in message . net...
On 15 Feb 2004 13:55:43 -0800, Brian Kelly wrote:

Whew. You hit some more buttons with this one. I like the T1 better
than the S1. But the K4 is the ultimate classic PRR power.

The ultimate class is the GG-1. Someday one will run again.....

They were magnificent beasts, no question about that and they're
probably the most memorable of the PRR power roster. Unfortuantely
they "didn't get around" all that much because of the limited amount
of PRR electrified mileage.

I was raised and still live in the heart of GG-1 country, I got GG-1
stories . . ! The best visual I ever had of one was when I was a young
kid. We have a neighborhood electrified PRR commuter and freight
branch line on which, back then, they normally ran those early 1900s
junker MU car commuter rattletraps. But every time TWU 234 struck and
the city transit company shut down the commuter mobs had to switch
from the stranded suburban trolleys to the PRR to get to their
downtown jobs. That's when the Pennsy rolled up it's sleeves and put
real trains on the West Chester line. Watching an inbound GG-1 pulling
a long string of 80 foot smoothside coaches glide into Clifton-Aldan
station was like a religious experience . .

Much later in life I did a good bit of business with the electric car
shops in Wilmington DE which is where the Pennsy based it's GG-1 fleet
and where Amtrak still headquarters it's electrics. More GG-1 tales: I
don't know where it is now but during that timeframe the shops
completely tore down an reassembled a museum-quality GG-1. Ya could
use the paint as a mirror . . I saw the GG-1 they cut in half and
converted into a brush-burner, the GG-1/2. And the GG-1 they turned
into a monster snow blower.

http://www.spikesys.com/GG1/

http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/about/roster/gg1.htm

One of 'em might run again somewhere some day. It's been my ongoing
understanding that the overhead power system had been switched from 25
Hz 11Kv to 60Hz but that's apparently not the case, the changeover
never happened so operating a GG-1 should still be possible. *IF* they
can replace the original PCB-laced transformer oil to an oil which is
not as toxic.

w3rv