(first posted 3/6/2012) You all should know that my collection of train books probably exceeds the one with cars, and if I ever burn out on CC, I’ll start Trackside Classics. And today I’m in the mood to reflect on what I consider the two greatest electric locomotives ever. Both appeared in 1935 and were the most powerful and fastest passenger locos of the time. And both continued to serve admirably for some fifty years or more, in a triumph of their superb design.
The Pennsylvania GG1 could pull a huge string of luxurious passenger cars at up to 100 mph. And the high speed variant of the German E18 (E19) did an easy 110-120 mph, and was designed to go up to 137 mph (225 kmh), to initiate the world’s first true high speed train service in 1938. Only WW2 put a stop to that, temporarily. Ironically, the GG1 survived an effort to be retired by a new high-speed train.
We’ll do the E18 first, since that parallels my introduction to both of them. I grew up in the Alpine part of Austria, which was mostly electrified in the 1920s, so sadly, steam was not part of my early and formative train experiences. But I loved trains, and was always gazing if not riding, which we did constantly, being car-less at the time. And nothing got my juices flowing more than when a big ÖBB (Austrian Federal Trains) 1018 came humming down the tracks where we waited.
I knew they were the fastest locomotives of the fleet, as well as the most powerful, even more so than the German E18 from which they were derived, despite being already old and looking it. Their ability to keep heavy passenger trains moving at high speed even through mountainous terrain was unparalleled. They had the higher power motors and transformers from the extra-high speed German E19, with some 4000KW (5,364 hp), a stellar output that is still comparable to modern locomotives.
The German E18 (blue, in top photo) was developed in 1934 to pull longer and heavier express trains on the key Berlin – Munich line, at speeds up to 150 kmh (90 mph). Some 53 were built before the war, and after the war, some of the remaining ones ended up in Eastern Germany and Austria. The E18s served in Germany well into 1980s.
Four of the E19s (red) were built by AEG with more powerful motors and different gearing, and initiated a regular high-speed service between Berlin and Munich with speeds of up to 180 kmh (110 mph). But these engines were designed for a top speed of 225 kmh (137 mph). The only obstacle to actually running trains at that speed were the brakes; modern disc brakes as now used on high-speed passenger cars were unknown, and the existing equipment could not maintain German Railways’ standards for stopping distances.
The Austrian 1018s continued to serve well into the 1990s, by which time they were sixty years old. I was thrilled to see one when I was there in 1980, even if it wasn’t on our train, which actually was pulled by an even older locomotive! (it was just a local train to Seefeld).
The ÖBB 1018 was the pride of my Märklin HO train fleet, which my godfather augmented regularly with gifts sent from Austria. When I asked my mother some years back where my Märklin trains were, she told me she had thrown them all out! Beautiful diecast metal, as they all were! Life can be brutal.
In 1965, we moved from Iowa to Baltimore, which re-opened the world of electric trains, on the only (still) electrified mainline in the US, Pennsylvania’s Northeast Corridor. And the GG1s ruled there, as they would for some fifty years, despite efforts to push them aside.
The GG1 wasn’t actually designed by Raymond Loewy, but he did consult and advised welding the shell (instead of riveting) for a smoother look, and designed the famous pinstripe paint job. The GG1 was created specifically to haul very long (over 14 cars) and heavy passenger trains, which its previous electric engines were having to double-head in order to maintain the brisk schedules of the times (often better than today’s). Twelve 385 hp motors drove the twelve drive wheels, with a total of 4,620 hp. That may be less than the German E19, but the GG1 was heavier, had more drive wheels, and thus had greater tractive effort, better suited for American train’s heavier weights and lower speeds. Here’s a more detailed look at the GG1.
This decidedly political ad highlights the dilemma that all American railroads were facing, or had already decades earlier. The Pennsy was still doing a decent passenger business on its main lines, but regulatory requirements to keep its money-losing smaller lines running directly contributed to the eventual decline and bankruptcy of Penn-Central.
The High Speed Ground Transportation Act of 1965 (sound familiar?) began the first of several efforts to turn the NE Corridor into a high-speed one. That led to the development of the Budd Metroliner, an EMU (electric multiple unit) train that reached some 164 mph in test runs. It was intended to replace the GG1-powered conventional equipment from the corridor.
Its a long and sad story, but the Metroliner was an expensive failure. The tracks were never upgraded for its potential, and the trains themselves proved to be highly unreliable. The GE E60C locomotives ordered by Amtrak to haul conventional trains in the face of the Metroliner’s demise also had serious issues, and were limited to 90 mph. The GG1 got a second (or third) lease on life, and in the seventies and into the eighties, the GG1s again proudly and effortlessly hauled the goods on the corridor. It was finally put to pasture on mainline service when the Swedish-designed AEM-7 locomotives arrived in sufficient numbers.
Although a very popular Lionel O gauge locomotive (although not to true scale), Märklin offers this superb HO model for a mere $639.00. And here’s a nice Märklin E18 on ebay for $331.99. For just under a grand, I too can once again have the two greatest electric locomotives ever.
It would be interesting to find out about the electric feeds; how did they get enough electricity to run those motors out of the wires? In particular, how did they get it from the wires to through the pantographs?
I recall, in a city where I used to live, streetcars had been replaced with electric busses & it was a common sight to see the driver guiding the electric pickups back to the wires.
After a while, the electric busses were replaced with diesel busses. People complained of the noise + the smell. Cure was to ignore the noise complaints & put perfume into the diesel fuel. In about a month, the busses were all in the shop with engine problems.
The story was that the electric busses were sold & went to somewhere in South America, where I think they’re still running.
We were a military family & the Exchange would have beautiful Märklin trains & I lusted after them. I never got any, though. It did get me interested in German stuff, though.
By using high voltage (750 – 3000 V DC, and up to 25kV AC). The pantograph conducts the required current from the overhead wire to the locomotive.
Nice to see train nostalgia entirely devoid of steam, for a change. I, for example, can’t even think of old trains without running into whistles and cinders, such as the lady in the Penn ad was offered to be brushed off of. 🙂
The politics of railroading in America, as in other places, are very diverse and interesting to discuss, as are the trains themselves! So, when is the Trackside Classics site coming? My heart is always with steam, though.
If its old and mechanical Ill still be here. NZ doesnt have much of a train set and whats here is a fairly narrow gauge so no real high speed stuff the steamers have nearly all been retired and diesel electric rules the rails electrification is underway in Auckland and Wellingtons Kapiti line is now double tracked and electric but for railways we trail the rest of the world now.
Very nice! As far as I am concerned you can include these any time you like. I’ve always found trains and railroads in general to be intriguing, but my knowledge of them pales greatly compared to what I know about cars.
So keep them coming, I enjoy learning 🙂
The GG1 is one of the great American locomotives. Unfortunately I never saw them because I grew up in New York Central territory so my world was full of commuter EMUs and FL9s with the occasional ancient box cab electric for variety.
BTW if you want your GG1 a little more manageable Kato makes an N scale model in several color schemes http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/381-1372001
My first job was running a hobby shop a few days a week. I also moonlighted as a custom model railroad engine and car builder. I always liked the European stuff the most, but nobody else was into it.
The fate of your Märklin trains is a true tragedy.
Count me in as another train nut (and a huge fan of the late Pennsylvania Railroad, once the world’s largest corporation) – I’d be happy to write a Twckside Classic or a missive on the near-death of American railroads any time.
For those interested in an evenhanded account of what happened to railroads in America, read Merging Lines by Richard Saunders, Jr.
Paul,
And here I just thought you just loved cars.
Both of those are beautiful trains, but I think the Pioneer Zephyr is my favorite train of all time. Wikipedia has a nice write up on the Zephyrs.
Trains, ships, planes, farm equipment, trucks, buses, large machinery, antique equipment, interesting buildings….I could go on for a while. And yes, the early Zephyrs hold a very special place in my heart too.
> Trains, ships, planes, farm equipment, trucks, buses, large machinery, antique equipment, interesting buildings…
You, sir, are a man after my own heart. I’d just add motorcycles and electric motor/generators to your list.
The Zephyr, being diesel powered and all, is sorta `meh’ to me. The Hudson steam powered Hiawatha’s the real deal. I’m open to flames, but the British were way ahead of Americans in sheer beauty and speed of locomotives, especially with the Gresley A4 class. Pictured: Union of South Africa.
The best article I have read on the Burlington Zephyr is “An American Tragedy” by Mark Reutter in the Winter edition of the Wilson Quarterly in 1994.
Stan Grayson wrote the definitive account of Edward G. Budd in “The All-Steel World of Edward Budd”, Vol 16-4, Automobile Quarterly, the builder of the Burlington Zephyr.
I had been exprcting some rude comments when I put some plane and train shots on the cohort but I see now my interest is shared with yall
Paul, now you’re talking my language! I had the honor of riding behind GG1 4935 in September, 1979 on my way to NYC on the Broadway Limited on a business trip! The conductor noted my interest and gave me the train order for that portion of the trip. Unfortunately, I lost that train order many years ago to my horror. #4935 was the first GG1 to be refurbished into the classic Pennsy scheme of dark green with gold cat whisker pinstriping. Simply beautiful.
They were eventually replaced by the “toasters” – AEM7s, a Swedish design, as the E-60s never quite lived up to their potential. But you already stated those facts.
Now I just know you have a Lockheed Super Constellation up your sleeve, somewhere!
The Pennsylvania GG1 is perhaps one of the most elegant looking locomotives ever produced. I’ve had the opportunity to see and touch a cosmetically restored GG1 at the Illinois railway museum in Union, IL. In person they are massive.
The Lionel model of the GG1 has always fascinated me as well, mostly because I have had a fascination with Lionel Trains since I was 5 and my dad bought me a set. The original model first produced in 1947 was smaller than scale in length to negotiate the sharp curves of the day. It was still and imposing model as it had twin motors and was made of die-cast metal. In the past few years Lionel has offered a scale sized model, which is quite imposing. Still the original model has a charm to it.
I’m glad to see Paul come out of the closet as a fan of transportation devices in all of their forms (I sometimes think I’m the only guy who’s a fan of planes, trains, and automobiles simultaneously). I too would like to see a remembrance of classic planes like the Connies, but also the early jets such as 707’s, DC8’s, Caravelles, 727’s, and DC9’s. For anyone who’s a fan of old jets, hurry to the right city and you can see Delta flying DC-9-50’s dating as far back as 1976 – they’re due to be retired soon. I live under an approach pattern to Detroit Metro, and when I’m outside I can always tell when there’s a DC-9 on approach – they’re the noisy ones.
Now, back on topic, I’m not familiar with European locomotives, but GG1’s are the bomb – some of the most beautiful locomotives ever built.
I’m always on the lookout for the oldest planes still flying. When we lived in Los Gatos (1987 – 1993), United was still flying a DC-8 63 every morning from San Jose. I used to try to time my commute to see it take off. And the we took it once too. Which brought me full circle, since I flew on one of the very first of their stretch DC-8s in 1969 from Baltimore to Chicago (exactly 14 passengers that day!). Made me wonder if it might have been the same one.
And then there was the time we flew from LA to Baltimore on one of the last American Airlines’ 720s (707), in what must have been about 1978 or so.
I could go on…
DC-8 stretch? yeah, buddy! I flew on one from SFO to Sacramento on my way back to base off leave in January, 1971 – fog season. I was in front coach, against the bulkhead. Probably the same 14 passengers, too! Empty seats far as the eye could see.
Of course, Sacramento was fogged in, but after hitting an air pocket and dropping like a rock for what seemed forever, the pilot said we were going to land anyway. Okay…he came up short on the runway, applied full reverse thrusts and jammed on the brakes and everything not nailed down went crashing forward! What a ride! What a plane!
Sorry for the memory lane experiences, but you keep bringing it out of me – but isn’t that what CC is all about?
From my flying experience, I have flown on mostly Boeing 727, 737 and Douglas DC-9 aircraft. The only time I had a chance to fly on a Boeing 707 was after the original Braniff stopped flying, and Northwest Orient (as it was called at the time) took over Braniff’s route between DFW and Wichita, KS. I once flew home to Dallas from Wichita on Northwest in this ancient – and I mean ancient – Boeing 707. It was quite an experience to say the least! I just prayed all the way home that the old bird would get us there in one piece! I do remember that it was loud and noisy inside the cabin, due I suppose to the age of the aircraft. The old 707 was replaced sometime after that with 737-200 aircraft. Eventually American Airlines began flying between DFW and Wichita using their new Fokker 100 aircraft. Since they were the only airline that flew direct between the two cities, those Fokker’s carried a full load of PAX.
There are still a few Ford TriMotors flying and I was lucky enough to fly in a 1929 version over the Bay Area a few years ago. Wonderful experience – noisy, but surprisingly smooth and comfortable….
Please keep the ‘planes and trains coming….
I was lucky enough to fly on a few 727s and DC-9s as a kid in the 1980s. Often rode a DC-9 from Madison, WI to the Twin Cities, then a Northwest Airlines 727 out to Portland, OR.
I also got to meet the pilot and co-pilot of a brand new Northwest 757 on the Minneapolis-Portland route in those awesome pre-9/11 days after landing in Portland. The glass cockpit was pretty amazing to a 2nd grader in 1989.
I still think that the most beautiful locomotives ever produced are the ALCO PA1s built for the Santa Fe.
Few fans would disagree.
I only lately found out what specifically killed the PA & FA: crankshaft & turbo failures on the 244-series prime movers. This contributed to Alco’s market decline, just as the SD50 did later for EMD. GE benefited in both cases.
Fast electric trains? The French do them pretty well.
They’ve gotten one to 357 miles per hour. Start this video around 1:20 for the good stuff.
Actually, the US has slow trains largely due to a ridiculous law and poor passenger numbers. US trains were regularly running 100mph on steam, before the Naperville (or Napierville) accident caused a law for speed limit at 79mph. I think some safety device was mandated for speeds over that, but as the railroads were losing money on passenger rail anyway, they passed it up. Et voila! A de-facto speed limit.
I have no doubt GE would be able to come up with a competitive high speed train easily, if the rail infrastructure (straight paths, welded rails, enclosed/barricaded high speed corridors, etc) was in place. Amtrak’s new high-ish speed train on the NE corridor is only the beginning.
Unfortunately, rail travel is just not practical for a large country like USA. Distances too large for a car or bus are usually inconveniently large for a train too. The poor small countries of Europe (flames invited:-)) are different. Distances are too small for airplanes, and cars and fuel too expensive. Germany is the only semi-rich country, and there is a good highway network there, hence the lack of emphasis on trains, unlike France.
You’re wrong about German rail (and a couple of other points too, but let’s not start a pissing match just yet:-)). The German ICE is every bit as good as the French TGV (running every 30 minutes between major cities) and they reach 300 km/h (around 190 mph) in commercial service. Export customers for the latest generation ICE trains (Siemens Velaro) include other small countries such as Russia and China…
As for countries rich, semi-rich or otherwise, feel free to check out the latest OECD stats:
http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=PPPGDP
Whoa, not to denigrate Germain rail technology in any way. Siemens and others are surely technology powerhouses (current as well as future tech like maglev). In fact, I had put Germany as a counter-example to France. While the German high speed rail is of course excellent, I meant to say that Germany also has had an excellent highway system for a long time which bolstered the sales of cars and buses, unlike post-war France or Britain. That, (and a general downturn in spending, and unsuitability of products for export) was responsible for the collapse or near-collapse of the auto industry in those countries, unlike Germany.
However, putting across export data to Russia or China, or PPP ratings does nothing to address the fundamentally low distances domestic travellers need to cover in Europe, ergo the lack of viable domestic aviation and the success of high speed trains. Also note that I was referring to the *poor* small countries’ of Europe. Not all countries of Europe are rich, though all of them are small.:-) Europe is not the same as France+Germany.
PS: Russia is a part of Europe, sure, but it isn’t a European country. China, well…
PPS: I was wrong. European countries may be too small even for high speed rail. According to Wikipedia, the ICE covers no less than seven countries! Wow. Not bad for Government Rail.
Again, you are engaging in some excessive generalization. To wit:
The French auto industry is alive and kicking. PSA (Peugeot-Citroën) had a total output of 3.6 million in 2010 and Renault-Nissan, admittedly only part-French, was in excess of 7 million units.
The best performing high-speed train networks are found in France and Germany, both rich countries by OECD standards and both big enough to sustain domestic aviation.
Russia and China, although not (yet) rich countries are definitely large and their investment in high-speed trains shows that this technology is well suited even on 1000 km+ distances.
My guess as to why the US does not have a high-speed train network although it would probably be viable on the East and West Coast and a couple of other areas (DFW for example) is a lack of government involvement. The European high-speed rail exists because the government put the necessary funds on the table with no hopes of short-term profitability.
The French auto industry is sure alive and kicking, after a series of mergers and Government help, as a shadow of its former self. Peugeot and Citroen are one, while Renault is half Japanese. Full credit to auto managers and the French Government for ensuring the industry’s survival (unlike Britain), but that does not change the fact that Peugeot has nothing on VW, or Citroen on MB or BMW. They may make good cars, but sales, especially exports, are hardly competitive. I’m also not sure how the European tariff system works, as Japanese presence is lesser there.
I reiterate that Europe is not the same as France+Germany. The performance of high speed rail can hardly be judged when it is a Govt. monopoly, along with air travel. There are several other countries in Europe, many less fortunate than France+Germany. It is good their high speed rail is sponsored by Germany&co.
I don’t know why Russia or China have to be dragged into this discussion. They’re very different from Europe. Russia, in particular, would be served very well by aircraft, if the public can afford it. Chinese high speed rail is as much a political exercise as public utility, given the narrow area it serves. This model could be replicated in the US, with publicity generating high-speed rail corridors, and long-distance travel left to aeroplanes. Amtrak seems to be doing this right now.
As for the reasons for the US not having high speed rail, the immediate check on speed was placed by the Naperville disaster, while long-term decline was caused by the (taxpayer funded) highway system, and (taxpayer funded) airport infrastructure. The US Govt. simply did not bet on rail, unlike French+German Governments. The other European Governments took the smart way out, of course, and bet on France+Germany to do the needful (with notable exceptions like ABB and others).
The relative merits and demerits of rail vs road vs air are many, and it is no point rehashing them here. Cheers!
An irony is, since Pres. Carter signed the Staggers Rail Act in 1980, which deregulated the railroads, they have consolidated & become the most efficient in the world, according to The Economist. N. American builders are now exporting freight locomotives to Europe. But the public & politicians are obsessed with sexy passenger trains.
CarCounter: “Actually, the US has slow trains largely due to a ridiculous law and poor passenger numbers. US trains were regularly running 100mph on steam, before the Naperville accident caused a law for speed limit at 79mph. I think some safety device was mandated for speeds over that, but as the railroads were losing money on passenger rail anyway, they passed it up. Et voila! A de-facto speed limit.”
Automatic Train Stop. Some railroads did adopt it (Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Southern Pacific) and others such as the Pennsylvania adoped alternate train control systems. But as passenger traffic declined, only Santa Fe and Pennsylvania retained theirs. Santa Fe’s is still operational in places, phasing out as Positive Train Control is phased in. Santa Fe, now BNSF Railway, operates Amtrak passenger trains at 90mph. Pennsylvania’s was still in service also, at speeds up to 125 and later 135mph, on Penn Central, Conrail and eventually on most trackage on Amtrak, until Amtrak’s new PTC system was installed. But Amtrak disconnected it in some places. Tragically, if Amtrak had retained the PRR system north of Philadelphia at Frankford Junction, the deadly crash of Amtrak Train 188, would not have occurred because the old PRR system would have stopped the train before it could have entered a 50mph curve at 102mph. Eight died, over 200 were injured. Amtrak’s president at the time, on being asked why the system wasn’t in service at that location, said, “We didn’t think it was necessary.” Famous last words…
Paul, there is plenty of ÖBB 1018s on ebay.de at around EUR 300. Unfortunately they seem to all be new ones, not the old die-cast version.
BTW: Switzerland is a train nut’s paradise. Plenty of legendary engines, the Ce 6/8 II Crocodile, the Ae 8/14 with over 8000 kW in its latest version and the Gotthard workhorse Ae 6/6 to name a few, Best of all, several of these are still being kept in running condition.
I know; it’s like one giant model railroad layout, in full scale! I’m looking forward to me next re-acquaintance. The Crocodile loomed very large in my childhood imagination; was desperate for the Marklin model; never got it. 🙁 Maybe it’s for the best, given how they ended up.
“When I asked my mother some years back where my Märklin trains were, she told me she had thrown them all out! Beautiful diecast metal, as they all were! Life can be brutal.”
The moment I heard that about my Lionels would bring on my first heart attack!
Count me among the closeted Tracksiders here. Plenty of car and truck makers made trains of some kind, lots of stories to tell about cross-pollination of design and technology.
Like Paul, I am a fan of all sorts of useful machines, including trains. I am a big fan of the GG-1 in particular, though I have never seen one in person. I have lots of toy trains both for indoor and outdoor play.
These are tremendous machines. GG1 is the greatest of its era, if only because it has such style. It just keeps going and going.
I’ll never forget standing on a regional station platform in Japan as Shinkansen blazed through at 200 klicks, pantograph arcing wildly the whole way. Incredible huge speed so close!
Later took a smooth and speedy ride on one, ears popping at each tunnel. Sublime.
Yes, that is a very nice ride indeed; I won’t soon forget it. And those sweet hostesses that came around selling orange juice and such. And the views of Mt. Fuji…
Being in Pennsylvania the GG1s were probably coal and steam powered, albeit indirectly.
As with the others I’m more into steam engines, but hey I like sewing machines too.
Model trains weren’t really my thing either, I was more of a slot car guy. Maybe I should do a CC ode to the slotcar someday..
While not really a train guy myself, I do know that Milwaukee Road had an electrified line out of Tacoma to the east, and I also remember seeing some of the old electric engines with their orange and maroon color scheme sitting in a scrap yard on the Tacoma tideflats. I vaguely remember seeing them in use in the late 40’s and early 50’s.
That’s a tragic story, written up in the Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago,_Milwaukee,_St._Paul_and_Pacific_Railroad
Keeping steam engines watered in extreme cold weather is difficult, and they smoke out the crew in long tunnels. So MILW electrified through the mountains, a Montana-Idaho stretch in 1914, and Tacoma to eastern Washington in 1917, extended to Seattle 1927, 656 miles altogether. Worked great but cost too much, a series of bankruptcies followed, but the Milwaukee Road survived.
Then in 1973 the board, against all advice, dieselized, ripped it all up and sold the copper for scrap. Just in time for the energy crisis, which made diesels twice as expensive as electrics to run. They could have modernized and electrified the Idaho-Wash. gap for less money.
Just freakin tragic. Here’s an EP-4, called “Little Joe” because they were built by GE as part of a larger order from Stalin’s Russia.
I worked in the design department of Amtrak from 1974 through 1979. The GG1’s were fully operational at that point, not only on the North East Corridor (NEC), but on the line to Harrisburg as well. You knew that Loewy had nothing to do with the design of the GG1 because it was good looking. If you want to know how badly Loewy could butcher a design look at the 1948 Lincoln Continental and the 1950 Jag 150 that he had built for himself. He drove these things in Paris and engendered the same panic as did Godzilla in Tokyo.
The E18 obviously influenced the design/arrangement of the ASEA (now ABB) AEM-7. One day the head of Amtrak engineering came by my desk, dropped a pile of drawings on it, and told me to evaluate the control cab arrangement of the upcoming AEM-7 to be built by EMD (Electro Motive Division of GM). I looked in horror at EMD’s proposed control cab arrangement-they had simply transposed the arrangement of an E7 into a sophisticated European locomotive. The red ink flowed. EMD had the engineer sitting at a 45-degree angle to the direction of travel. Why? That’s the way EMD (and the GG1) had always done it.
When I travelled to LaGrange, IL to evaluate the cab mockup I was knocked out to find that EMD had built the thing out of .125″ tk steel! At Amtrak where we built a bunch of mockups, we used FomeCor, an easily cuttable paper/styrene foam composite. We called this a “soft mockup”. It could be changed to include customer/carbuilder comments very quickly. We compromised with EMD and eventually got a cab arrangement that approximated modern European designs. EMD accused me of trying to drag them, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century. Guilty as charged.
The French TGV is elegant in the same way the Citroen DS-19 was-brilliant design decisions executed in minimalistically elegant ways. The Siemens ICE train that Amtrak tested in 1994 had the best interior I have ever seen in a railcar, the choice of colors and textures outdone by the best lighting I’ve ever seen on a passenger railcar.
One of the benefits of working on the cab design of the AEM-7 was the fact that I got to ride “head end” (in the control cab) any time I travelled on Amtrak business, which was frequently. Let me tell you, it can be scary.
I have been accused of working on passenger railcar design, as I continue to do to this day, “in cold blood”. I do this because I like designing trains and it affords me a very nice paycheck, but not because I have any particular affinity for trains.
The “in cold blood” epithet was aimed at me by what we, at Amtrak, called an FRN, of “Fucking Rail Nut”, also known as “glazers” and “foamers”. Figure it out.
Thanks for the interesting comment. Yes, the battle of “the hood” has raged almost forever. The very first EMD diesel locomotives were “box cars”, with no hoods, as were the Zephyrs, but the engineers did not like riding out in front after having spent so much time behind those long steam locomotives.
The Europeans had some stub-hooded early electric locos too, as well as some box units. The E18’s rounded front was a bold new look, and mirrored Germany’s high-speed “Fliegender Hamburger” diesel trainset of 1932 (picture attached).
FWIW, the Europeans generally have profoundly fewer grade crossings, or more secure ones, so the rate of accidents with all the idiots who find themselves staring down a locomotive is undoubtedly much lower over there. But then the NE Corridor is mostly an exception to that, having very few grade crossings. Out here in the west, I can understand why the engineers want to ride in a battering ram: the accidents just don’t stop.
I hadn’t really though of it that way, but yes, the E18 may have ushered in the modern looking electric loco. I didn’t go into it, but the E18 was old fashioned in its lack of bogies for the driving wheels; the real template for the modern electric locomotive in that regard goes to the Swiss BLS Ae 4/4, the first electric locomotive with two four-wheel bogies, from 1944. All European locomotives after it copied its basic configuration.
Mr. Martin, you should start a blog! 🙂
An added benefit of Paul’s reposting of stuff from CC’s early days are the insightful comments of the late Kevin Martin. Until now I’d never known that he worked in the rail industry.
He makes a good point about the “foamer” minority of rail enthusiasts. I’ve heard that the major US railroads actually go out of their way not to hire people who “like” trains for positions that involve working around trains. They’re considered a safety risk.
I’ve never heard of aircraft or automobile companies being averse to employing fans of their products. You meet flying enthusiasts all the time in the aerospace biz. Mary Walton noted that some of the Ford engineers or managers she interviewed owned collectible cars (and not merely Fords).
Oddly, rail enthusiasts seem barely interested in the business itself, except when it deprives them of their favorite types. However, some railroads cultivate railfans; check out UP’s website.
That’s very true. If you go to an airline memorabilia show chances are good that the majority of the folks with tables or in attendance are current or retired airline employees. They travel to the various shows around the country on their pass benefits.
OTOH, go to a model train show. Few of the attendees have any connection to the rail industry. The only off the job rail-related activity where I’ve seen any significant number of railroaders participating are the volunteers at railroad museums.
Speaking of fans, I have to give props to Norfolk Southern who have gone from all but banning steam from the property to auctioning off a Mark Rothko painting and donating the proceeds to the full restoration of the N&W J class locomotive in Roanoke.
Wow. I think this was actually the very first appearance Kevin Martin made at CC.
No; that was back in July of 2011.
This was a nice diversion, more would be welcome. My folks took us to Disney World in June 1994, and we took Amtrak because my dad didn’t like flying. We had a double first-class cabin, and the cars looked to be late ’40s/early ’50s vintage. I remember the food and service were first-rate, even if the accommodations were a little dated. It was really a neat trip, we had layovers in Chicago and Washington D.C. and got to wander around for a while, also neat. The vintage big-city railroad terminals are some of the best architecture in the US. They were, and are, amazing!
Coming to this very late, first thanks for the article. I was never fortunate enough to travel behind ÖBB 1018 – I first came to Austria in 1994 and by then they were no longer (?) in service (I never saw one in Vienna – it is possible they were reserved for the western routes). They were quite a tour de force and I think only eclipsed, power wise, by the current Siemens/ÖBB TS Werk Linz Taurus (ÖBB 1116 – 6400Kw). I live 5 minutes away from the (now rejuvenated) Westbahnhof and hence can enjoy the never-ending ÖBB show… Here’s a Salzburg-bound Railjet Taurus I captured last year. Those are, on their own, fascinating locomotives with the strangest take-off sound ever – like someone tuning a violin (yes). No idea why – perhaps to ensure people are aware of them?
Since almost 20 years there’s this Dutch TV show, called Rail Away.
Very calm….relaxing….idyllic….romantic…..reassuring…..etc……etc…..
And, of course, lots of trains.
Anyway, here’s an episode about an Austrian railway line (Salzkammergut):
http://www.npo.nl/rail-away/15-05-2013/EO_101196580
Honorable mention to the Swiss Crocodiles, Virginian EL-2B, and the Milwaukee Bi-polars. Great article.
For pure Art Deco beauty I love the mid ’30s Twentieth Century Limited. I realize they’re just a re skin of an older locomotive model, but they’re still very attractive.
I know this sounds crazy but one of my longtime reoccurring dreams involves trains suddenly bearing down on me and they’re identical to the GG1. I never even saw or knew these trains existed until recently, and certainly didn’t know the details in that they’re electric, so I’ve convinced myself something bad happened to me in a past life involving one lol
Aside from my crazyness, they are quite beautiful. I miss the days of real industrial design. Very enjoyable read for me also since even though I’m a car guy through and through, I’ve always had a secondary fascination with rail.
Was there ever a more manificent sight than a GG1 hauling s string of silver passenger cars on the Hell Gate bridge in New York? I like them in Brunswick green, but the black Penn Central livery with the “interlocking worms” logo will do just fine.The superstar of electric locomotives.
My mother didn’t toss my trains out, but she managed to destroy about 1/3 of my pretty large N-Scale layout due to being in a hurry and not thinking about what she was doing. We were packing crap up to move, and put the boxes of stuff in the basement, next to my train layout, which I was about to take down and pack up for the move. She put a box that weighed about 100 pounds on top of two other boxes with hardly anything inside them, and the bottom boxes collapsed and the top box slid off and crushed my freight yard, which was full of cars and locos. About 100 cars (I had over 200 parked there), and about a half dozen locos were destroyed and many more were damaged to the point they were “parts”. It also flattened a bunch of buildings. I was so upset, I gave all my survivor cars and locos to a friend’s little brother, and tossed the layout to the curb, where some guys in a truck grabbed it up in about 15 minutes. Some of those cars and locos are still running 40 years later.
I was pretty angry at mom for that, but my ultimate anger was when she decided to toss out all my comics a couple of years before that. A couple of those comics were very old, like Action #1 and worth a lot of money, even back in 1973, let alone now. I came home from school, and my closet that had been full of boxes of them was totally cleaned out. I went off the deep end, and basically screamed at her until she ran into the bedroom and got into bed and cried. I didn’t feel guilty one bit. Later on, she would decide not to play a Keno ticket for me, and sure enough, she cost me about $15000. I wasn’t half as pissed as I was about the trains, let alone the comics.
Don`t feel bad. My mother tossed my Topps 1955 Brooklyn Doders,`61 Yankees, and `62 Mets baseball cards among others.
I’m reading this on my phone where the picture is smaller than the headline. I was expecting to see classic race cars with that title. Different kind of track.
Very interesting read Paul. Digressions into other noteworthy transportation devices are fine by me!
I knew there was something that looked familiar about the GG1 photo at the top. It’s 4877, which was repainted in Pennsy colors by New Jersey Transit in the early ’80s and pulled the last railfan excursion run of a GG1 in October, 1983.
Unfortunately the GGs will never run again. Their transformers were cooled by a fluid containing PCBs and the survivors on display have all had theirs removed and properly disposed of. The GGs also ran on 25-cycle power for which the PRR had dedicated substations along the NEC, The electrics on the corridor today run on standard 60Hz.
Ironically, I am riding in ICE-T right now from Erlangen to Munich while reading this aricle. I just passed by the Verkehrsmuseum Nürnberg on the way to train station in Nuremberg.
One of four red E19 locomotives is on display at this museum. However, the swastika was covered by two wood sticks in x-form screwed on. Very amateurish job of covering up the symbol. See the link:
https://c2.staticflickr.com/4/3769/12547739023_5f21a768dd_b.jpg
I saw other photograph of E19 with white disc covering the swastika, which seems more elegant solution.
http://karow900.startbilder.de/1024/eine-schnellsten-herausragensten-e-loks-ihrer-95107.jpg
That “Budd Metroliner” in the photo posted, really isn’t one…at least not any more.
The Budd Metroliner was correctly described as a high speed multiple-unit train. The Metroliner was part of a Federally-sponsored high speed upgrade of the Penn Central’s Northeast Corridor. The first production ones were delivered to the Penn Central, the later deliveries to Amtrak. They had reliability and cooling issues and after a few spotty years of service on the Corridor, some of them were parked, and others demoted to lower-speed service between Philadelphia and Harrisburg, PA., renamed Capitolliners. It didn’t help that when originally built, they came in groups with two different electrical systems: General Electric and Westinghouse.
Even in the less-demanding, lower-speed service, they were found wanting. They had their electric propulsion turned off and continued to operate, as nonpowered coaches pulled by diesel and electric locomotives. Pantographs were retained to provide electricity for heat, air conditioning, lighting, and the unique Trainfone on-board pay phones.
After a few more years, the Metroliners were parked. Since their carbodies were still perfectly good, and had been used as the basis for 492 locomotive-hauled Amfleet coaches, some were demotored, rehabilitated, and returned to service as coaches. Some had the work financed by the State of Michigan and were assigned to trains serving that state from Chicago. Others were rebuilt with an eye to the control cab that every one of them had, re-entering service as nonpowered cab control cars, from which the engineer (“train driver” in Europe) would operate the train, with a locomotive “pushing” the train from the rear. This arrangement, called “push-pull,” eliminated the need to turn tne entire train around at terminals, to go back whence it came. Several of the former Metroliners remain in this service today, primarily operating New York-Philadelphia-Harrisburg, a route where trains must reverse directions midroute at Philadelphia.
The car whose photo was posted above is the AMTK 9800 and is a System Unique. It retained its control cab when depowered, but was converted to a Conference Room car. Behind the cab is a single, large room with a conference table and chairs. In the center the original Cafe service counter remains (where there are no windows) and in tne other end, small private rooms were installed, for up to four passengers each. For several years this car was in regular service on a morning train from Washington to New York on weekdays, returning in the evening. Currently it is not in regular service, but can be chartered for VIP transport, or used for travel by Amtrak executives. The photo shows it on the rear end of a conventional, locomotive-hauled Amtrak train.
Thanks for that clarification. I found an image of an original PRR Metroliner and changed out the image.
Here is a minor correction to a statement made in one of the comments:
The AC electric power on the Northeast Corridor in the USA west and south of New York City was never converted to 60Hz. Voltage was increased from the old Pennsylvania Railroad days, from 11,000 volts to 12,000; but the frequency remains at 25hz. Plans had been made to convert to 60hz at a higher voltage, but with the advent of modern electronics, it has been less costly to incorporate multiple voltage/frequency switching in locomotives, and solid-state AC-to-AC converters in lineside substations. Increasing the voltage, which would have been necessary if frequency were converted to 60Hz, would have required replacement of every insulator and most wiring for hundreds of miles of track.
North of New York, Metro-North uses 60Hz to New Haven, and so does the 21st century electrification between New Haven and Boston.
I was rather sure of that too; that the frequency had never changed. That would have been quite a challenge to coordinate. Which means the GG1 and other vintage locomotives could still run on those systems, if it weren’t for the PCBs.
The GG1s were retired at a time (October 1983, by New Jersey Transit) when Amtrak was still planning to change over the PRR 25Hz electrification to 60Hz, and when the AEM-7 electric locomotive had proven itself since its debut in 1976. GG1s could have been retrofitted with electrical equipment that didn’t use PCBs as an insulating and cooling medium in the transformers but the prospective change in frequency, which ultimately never happened, doomed them because their traction motors operated on 25Hz AC and every one of them would have required replacement. Actually the PCBs were perfectly safe in use; it was what was done with them when the transformers were opened up and drained for servicing that was the problem. Pennsylvania Railroad dumped the PCBs on the ground, which is why their Paoli Shop complex became a Superfund cleanup site. The GG1 also had structural problems; many were set aside due to fatal cracking of their frames, and they were uncomfortable for the engineer, with a very cramped cab and poor visibility.
But what REALLY made the GG1 surplus is that Amtrak had no interest in a fleet of heavy-haul locomotives. The AEM-7 is a superlative passenger engine for trains with up to seven or eight cars, which is most of what Amtrak operates…the New York-Florida trains of the 1980s, with fifteen or sixteen cars, and the New York-Philadelphia Clockers with up to fourteen, were too heavy for a single AEM-7 to maintain speed. The GG1 could handle that kind of tonnage and also haul freight, which Amtrak, being essentially a passenger railroad, had no need for. Considered only as a passenger engine only, the AEM-7 will probably be looked upon in the future as equal or greater, but the GG-1 could not only handle fast express trains but heavy freight tonnage, and as a dual-purpose electric locomotive remains unsurpassed.
Ah, the GG-1. Just (barely) got to see them run on NJ Transit before they were finally retired. And sadly, because of PCB mitigation, none will run again, although you can get a nice close up view of a couple at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg.
The GG-1 and the Henry Dreyfuss streamlined J-3 Hudsons are my two favorite streamlined locomotives, but when it comes to the trainsets, Dreyfuss’s sophisticated grey on grey 20th Century Limited beat out Lowey (exteriors) and Paul Cret (interiors) overly fussy Broadway Limited. If I could go back in time, i’d be taking the Century to Chicago tomorrow evening in 1948.
I don’t begrudge Lowey for taking credit for his designers’ designs; all firm leads do that. But the man had a rare ability to appropriate – not just the shape of the GG-1, but also translating a design assignment for Coke fountain dispensers into the design of the Coke bottle itself!
Paul, I’m sure you spent plenty of time at the B&O Railroad Museum? Wanted to take my nephew there last weekend, but it was closed due to the current – and thankfully abated – unrest.
Lastly, the Congressional was arguably the smartest train the GG-1 pulled. I never got a chance to ride it, but did get to ride it’s French-Belgian-Dutch cousin, the Etoile du Nord, which was improbably still running when I lived in Amsterdam in the mid 90s. The first class seats had that same wonderfully enveloping yet supportive (Michelin?) foam as my ’74 DS23.
The Congressionals and their siblings, the Senators, were the pinnacle of the Pennsylvania Railroad’s operations in what would be called the Corridor. PRR saw to it that they were distinctive, ordering their cars in polished stainless steel instead of their traditional Tuscan Red paint. Lesser trains rumbled along with mostly prewar equipment, but the “Congos” and Senators gleamed and LOOKED like they were going faster…behind GG-1s, of course.
Their all-stainless construction paid off in longevity. Penn Central sold them to Amtrak, which ran them into nearly the 21st Century. They were converted from steam-powered heating and air conditioning to 480-volt electric, had their comfortable seating replaced by close-spaced commuter seats, got transferred to off-Corridor routes where their big windows were touted for scenic viewing (though the commuter-train seating remained) and were finally retired and sold off at around age 50. Some still operate in regular scheduled ocean-to-ocean service, though you need to go to Panama to ride them. The Panama Canal Railway, a subsidiary of the Kansas City Southern Ry., operates several in their meticulously maintained daily train between the Atlantic and Pacific, along with a rare former-Southern Pacific dome car, all pulled by ex-Amtrak diesel locomotives.
For a few years in the mid 70s, one of the observation cars turned up as a travel agency in McKeesport, PA. Not sure where it is now. One other thing I always liked about the Congressional/Senator were the cool bar glasses – which I first encountered in the kitchen of some old money Philadelphian’s summer house in Watch Hill Road Island. Reproduction here.
As can be seen by the number of comments I’ve made, I am a train guy, too!
Now for a note of sadness. The AEM-7, the true successor to the GG-1 in Northeast passenger service, is now in its twilight, having served for almost forty years. Although not all of its Siemens-built replacements, the ACS-64, have been delivered (the current operational electric locomotive fleet on Amtrak is about half-and-half of each), some AEM-7s, retired earlier for major failures, are already meeting the torch. This photo, from Trainorders.com, shows three of them.
Always late to the party… When I saw this post I thought of these two woebegone GG-1s that have lived the last twenty or so years on some tracks just east of Oneonta, NY. They are part of a small railroad museum that never got off the ground. Someone is trying to take care of them because they were moved from the last time I saw them to a more sheltered location. I’ll post a picture of the other one as a separate post below this one…
Here is its twin… The last I heard about these was that they were sold to a major mid-west museum, but they were having difficulties getting transport arranged because of the condition of the equipment. That was years ago, so I assume that their preservation is on hold.
A late but somewhat significant correction: There was no direct, electrified connection between Berlin and Munich until at least the 1980s (completion of electrification work between Berlin and Halle), so the E 19 could never have been used on this route. This was due to WWII, and the severe lack of funds (and, for a time, interest) in the GDR afterwards, not to mention that East German mainline electrification was removed, down to the last mile, as part of the extremely harsh Soviet war reparations policy; most of the material and rolling stock was shipped back to Germany some years afterward and restored to service with great effort.
I’m also pretty sure the E 19 never reached 180 km/h in service. They were restricted to 140 km/h post-war due to lack of demand for high-speed service, and entered service after the war had started, when fast, luxurious travel was already restricted.
I always loved the GG1. I have seen several up close but never ridden behind one. I did ride behind a number of the AEM-7 units back when they first came online when my father would take my brother and I into NYC for the day. May have ridden behind a e60 once too.
I’ve professed my love for the GG1 many times on this site. It is the pride of my model RR collection, based on the PRR/PC.
Hopefully my parents didn’t toss out my trains over the years. They’re probably in the attic at their house still, but maybe I should check on them after reading the fate of Paul’s beloved locomotive. My condolences, Paul.
My GG1 looks like this one… an AHM…