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yankeedog — GG-1 Electric
Published: 2004-07-22 17:29:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 11321; Favourites: 144; Downloads: 333
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Description
The train trip continues! This time with a GG-1 Electric locomotive. Pennsy crews called these elegant machines "Motors". The GG-1 was a powerful 4,620 horsepower high speed passenger locomotive, the overhead power lines are 132,000 Volts, then reduced to 11,000 and again reduced to 600 straight AC voltage in the locomotive. The GG-1 was capable of speeds in excess of 100 mph and this was in the 1930's! The beautifully streamlined car body was designed by the greatest industrial designer of our times, the world renowned Raymond Loewy. The first locomotive of the class was No. 4800 webcircle.com/users/cobrandt/G… , built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia. The car body was riveted together. When Loewy first saw 4800, he commented: "What are all those buttons?" All other GG-1 car bodies were welded. rrmuseumpa.org/about/roster/gg…My illustration features GG-1 No. 4857 heading out of Philadelphia Pennsylvania on the head end of the Broadway Limited.
Adobe Illustrator 8.0, Apple Macintosh G4 Power Mac and G3 iMac, OS 9.2.
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Comments: 106
Thanks, glad you like it. I think the GG-1 is everybody's favorite locomotive.
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I wanted to state an interesting fact, Apparently GG1 4918/Amtrak 4916 had its transformers drained of PCB contaminated oil compared to all others which had theirs removed (4800 rivets is the other exception) . 4916 has been tested twice for traces of PCBs in the oil and they both came back clean. If people wish to return one of these to operational status it could be 4800 or 4918/6 however 4918/6 needs asbestos mitigation. 4800 on the other hand needs Asbestos mitigation and a transformer overhaul (it was retired due to one breaking down)
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I guess it would take some deep pockets to this.
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That was more than a locomotive, Raymond Loewy created a rolling work of art and yours is a most fitting tribute to this magnificent beast of the rails. I've always regarded electric locomotives as unsung heroes, and she was one of the best if not the ultimate electric locomotive in the USA for half a century. If only I'd been of age to visit the USA to witness big red on her last journey (I was still in high school). I've also wished that the state of New South Wales where I live could have purchased our own GG1s but they would have been too heavy for our sub-standard tracks.
That's an outstanding illustration Yankeedog. I came across it while google searching and thought it was an actual official PRR poster. Marvelous!
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Thanks for the kind words about my illustration! I have seen some really interesting Australian locomotives that look like the were built by GM that have a cab on either end and I also remember seeing a Australian locomotive that was modeled after Raymond Loewy's PRR T-1.
-YD
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This vintage electric locomotive is so beautiful I wish I could see one in real life good job
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There are several of them on display. I know there is one in Harrisburg, PA at Harrisburg Station, one in Lancaster, PA, the original one with the rivets at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, one at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD, there's one in the Mid-West at the Illinois Central Museum. There are are several others scattered around the country.
-YD
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You really capture the drama of trains as well as the spirit of the times when these machines ruled the rails.
Coincidentally it warms my 16-bit heart to see someone still appreciates the power of earlier Power Macs. I've nothing against the newer machines, but my G3 all-in-one still makes great images (Illustrator 8, Photoshop 6) so I'll hang onto him a while longer.
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Thank you! I love the style of the 30's and the GG-1 really epitomized the streamline era, a true classic from the start.
It's nice to meet somebody who appreciates the older Macs as much as I do. For me just about any Mac will do the job. If it will run Illustrator 8, I can work with it! I have a Power Mac 6500, a couple G3 iMacs, 2 G4 Power Macs, a Power Book 1400 and a G4 Power Book at home, my kids have the newer iMacs. At work I have a new 27" intel iMac, but my favorite Mac of all was my G4 dual processor Power Mac, unfortunately the HD died in January so I'm using my daughter's old G4 iMac. I'm debating on getting a new HD for. I always liked the speed of OS 9.2. Maybe at income tax time I'll buy a new iMac.
-YD
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Dammit! I was going to say awesome, but I don't want to echo Lord-Shot. So, how about splendid! 
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That's a great word! "Splendid!" Thank you for the comment!
-YD
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awesome vector men, really nice lines nice job with the colors
very detailed
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I'm jealous of your absolute command of perspective. This is so gorgeous it makes me sigh *sigh*
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Awesome picture. Back when the US had the fastest trains! When there was pride in being "The Standard Railway of the World" Where did things go wrong? anyways, love the detail, the background skyline, and the catenary wires!
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Thanks Carlos! Somehow they lost their edge, it is amazing the decline in the passenger railroad business. Air travel and highways played a big part in the demise. Still, high speed rail travel works elsewhere. Maybe some day it will come back.
-YD
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I know. Germany and Italy have big car cultures too (think of the Autobahns and the Lamorghinis), yet they have their ICE and Pendolino systems (and Italy will soon have a TGV link to France)
i thought North America, ESPECIALLY the USA, was supposed to be about "choice"....if the only choices are "this Interstate, or that secondary highway"....not so good. And air companies could benefit....if shorter routes switched to rail, and rail connected to the airport, they could concentrate on the more lucrative and effictent longer distance routes! (fact....it is possible to fly from Montreal to Ottawa. Unless it's some kind of "connection", why bother? Way more time spent on the ground than in the air! I read somewhere there's even flights between one of Washington DC's airports and Baltimore. Does something seem wrong here?)
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It's a sad situation Carlos. You would appreciate Pittsburgh International Airport, it has a subway train that runs between terminals.
Passenger trains and airlines have always been competition rather than working together. It would make sense to have high speed rail working as a feeder network to airports, but that would take people of vision and that seems to be lacking in today's politicians. We can only dream.
-YD
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What "today's politicians" seem to neglect is that it's just "today's politicians in the USA" who are thinking that way....in places like France and Germany, you have airports that don't only have subway connections, but also HIGH SPEED connections. And airlines like Lufthansa and Air France, rather than moaning about it. are taking advantage, by trying to get the rail pax to also fly, and to allow for more connections. The closest thing to that in North America is Continental's partnership with Amtrak for the NEC.
The other problem is...Canada tends to follow the US in many things, and transportation policy is one of them. While it was good for things like standardizing our gauge (at one time Grand Trunk, now part of CN, insisted on using 5 foot 6), sometimes it backfires.
Up here, they're doing one thing right...the new terminal for flights to the US at Montreal's airport actually has a two-track train station in the basement, all that's needed is the track and a connecting tunnel! But having it dead-end is not the best idea.
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It makes you wonder what they are thinking. Here in Pittsburgh they built a new hockey area for the Penguins, the politicians are all hell bent on tearing down the old arena without exploring the possibilities of reusing or repurposing the building. Politicians can be so narrow minded. We have this unique building, there is nothing else like it in the world, they see no purpose in it, there is a total lack of vision. If it was up to me, I would offer it up to Google for their world headquarters. [link]
-YD
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Sadly, it's like that in Montreal. We once had a unique building that was a church belonging to "The Church of Christ, Scientist." Interesting Art Deco thing. They put it up for sale in the early 2000's...and it gets demolished and replaced by a large condo tower. Could have been used for something else, maybe turned into a museum or something. Or for offices for the hospital across the street. We also have a planetarium which may soon be demolished. And there's one building that keeps causing us problems...the Olympic Stadium.....rife with corruption, took roughly 30 years to pay it off....and now the politicians want to replace the roof, for 300 million dollars. The thing is, though, it's not used as much...our football team only uses it for final games (it became more popular when they moved their regular season to a different place, first time because of a U2 concert), concerts and shows are no longer there, and our baseball team moved to Washington. We also have Windsor Station, which isn't actually used as a train station anymore, because a large hockey arena was plunked onto miles 0.0 to 0.1 of the Westmount Subdivision, and wouldn't you know it, several years later there's a rebirth of commuter rail, but now it ends at something that resembles more a small-town airport than a train station, "Terminus Lucien-L'Allier." The only good thing is that it has a slightly more direct connection to our Metro now.
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I really don't understand the lack of vision with city planners and politicians.
-YD
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Oh, yes! The mighty GG-1. The 4,620 was long-term sustained horsepower, but for the short term, it could put out 8500 horsepower without the insulation on the motor windings melting.
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They could kick some ass. The Pennsy had a real winner with the GG-1.
-YD
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My three year old son is turning into quite a train buff. When I showed him your beautiful piece, his face lit up in a big smile. I asked him what train what train was in the piece and he shouted: "GG-1"!! I'd love to get a print for his bedroom. Thanks.
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That is so cool! It's really amazing how certain thing just appeal to the child in all of us, the GG-1 has that appeal, a classic in every way. If you ever get the chance take your son to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania to see the first GG-1. There are many GG-1s on display across the country, here is a list: [link]
Great song BTW "Take the A Train" by Duke Ellington, [link]
-YD
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Thanks for the reply. Yes, he started out with Thomas, but is moving on to bigger things. He's crazy about the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha, the Southern Pacific Daylight, the Santa Fe Super Chief, and of course the GG-1. I've learned a lot about trains in the last few months!
Thanks for the GG-1 Link. We live in Chicago, and The Illinois Railway Museum is about an hour's drive from our home. We were there for Thomas day last year, and saw some of the trains which were actually used for passenger and freight service. We are going back again soon, and will definitely be looking for the GG-1.
I'm a big jazz fan, and have always been an Ellington guy. I'd never seen the video before. It was great! Thanks for the link!
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You're welcome! The Hiawathas were beautiful machines as was the SP Daylight and the AT&SF Super Chief. Trains are a great hobby and a good one to share with your son.
That's cool! Not sure of the condition of the GG-1 at the ICR Museum. The posted photo was from 1995, I would hope it's been restored by now.
I've been listening to Jazz all my life, I'm a big fan of Swing and Big Band music.
I posted the GG-1 as a print.
-YD
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i know the one that is rivited is called "old rivets"
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I've heard it referred to as "Buttons" too. I have photos of 4800 somewhere in Conrail Blue, it looked pretty cool with the Surf's Up logos. Here's a illustration in Pennsy colors.
-YD
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Another great PRR illustration, Don. Great job. 
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Thanks! Buttons was painted CR Blue! I have photos of it in CR Blue with the Surfs Up logo at the railroad Museum of PA!
-YD
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Ah, I thought so. That's cool that you got those photos.
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