GG1 An American Classic 4of4
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.พ. 2009
- A 1983 Documentary that depicts the final operations of NJT's GG1 fleet focussing on Ol' Big Red 4877. Depicts the engine change at South Amboy, New Jersey and features many on locomotive views.
In short, if you wanted to know what an operating GG1 is like, this film shows it. - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
the camera man could never have imagined what would happen to those towers 18 years later.
When life on Earth is over, and Dad rides that Golden Rail, He'll have to sign a register--this time, he can't fail. When the Master tells him "Take your train and go ahead",
I know that he'll be right on time if his engine's Ol' Big Red.
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 was a student engineer on PC NJ Div. started in 1974. I worked with Cliff Underwood many times out of Waverley 5. Cliff died from throat or lung cancer not long after this was filmed. Funny guy, love working with him, great teacher. Cliff had a private pilot's license also. He came up from Tennessee with his brother, also an engineer, but for the life of me I can't remember his name.
I wonder if Altha Lynn Cook, the singer, really was Cliff's daughter.
I just stumbled across this added verse, not performed in this movie:
"Of all of the electrics, the Corridor has seen
From E60s to the Sprinters, back to the Haven's EP-3's
No matter strength or power, there's one important fact
For style, speed, and smoothness, GG1's had no real match."
@@RustBeltRailfanNot that I know of.
I've always had an obsession with what we call 'wirescrapers' in the UK.
Spent several years driving the wonderful British Rail Class 86, you had to work them hard, and know what they were up to.
86s actually outlasted GG1s in longevity, and several are still at work in Eastern Europe as well as two or three here.
I've always been mesmerised by the G, even though I've never seen one but what an absolutely fantastic machine.
I have a British layout but my model G gets a run from time to time...
I was there, 31 years ago. I was lucky enough to have a couple of cab rides too. Thanks for posting this.
0:12 the magnificent world trade center !
It happened on the return to Matawan, near Elmora Tower in Elizabeth. Whatever blew was bad enough to cause a "complete pantograph relay operation". That means: the pan, and thus the trolley wire, were grounded, kicking out the circuit breakers to kill the overhead, then the pan dropped - at nearly 100 mph! The train coasted to a stop in Linden; all attempts to revive Big Red failed, so 4879 hauled it back to Matawan. the railfan magazines of the day covered it extensively.
I really enjoyed this movie.
That shot at 0:12, priceless doesnt begin to describe! The World Trade Center and the GG-1 couldnt have been framed better no matter what! Love it! =-D
I didn't get a driver's license until 1983, in Connecticut. Missed the last run.
The memory I do have is of seeing one in New Haven , from the highway , going south. As we paralleled it, the low-angle morning sun made it shine. As memories go, not bad at all.
i like how it ends with the "light at the end of the tunnel" and a post script as though the engine died.
@rutaloot Partially true, the real issue is the GG1 was built for a 25hz power system. Most if not all the main lines are now 60hz, grid power. The other issue is the transformers were drained to remove the PCB coolant.
I would love to see a GG1 running today, however it could not be restored the power system would need replaced. But I would still love to see one running today.
As much as I love the GG1's, their time is gone. Newer technology gives faster, smoother, more comfortable, more efficient and safer trains. But the GG's record of safety, power and durability may never be matched. 50 years. Wow. America should upgrade the rails to match the Japanese system, at least on the Northeast Corridor.
Nice to see a mention of Frank Miklos, he was a great guy.
As part of its 40th anniversary celebrations this year, NJT has painted ALP-46A 4636 in Big Red's colors.
I've seen the ALP-46A No. 4636 when I go hang out with my Dad at work. He works for NJT and he has been behind the controls of 4636 a few times. 4636 is truly a beauty. I've gone to name her 'Big Red', but all of the guys my Dad works with call her 'Pennsy.'
I wish the 2 tall buildings in the background at 0:12 were stil standing.Also love the music in this program
Incredible ending shots here, would love to see footage from that vantage point today!
I was on that run - I can't say I remember 4877 getting bad ordered. And we *flew* northbound...
@macbomb One can not forget the cracked frames, the lack of modern electronics, the transformer issue, the visibility issues that would probably keep it away. The Engineer's view is *very* limited, similar to steam engines. Still for the time they were created, they were magnificent.
"production co-ordinator" andrew mercogliano, who ran the last GG1 is still working for NJ Transit. He's a Hoboken Division Trainmaster.
At 0:11, sad to know almost everything in that shot is gone, except for the rails...
+Willysmb44 And the 11kV AC Inclined Catenary which has at least until November 2017 when the Upgrade for the NEC NB-TRE section is done
Am7 was a good locomotive. About 40 years on the nec.
Bravo.
An electric locomotive is just a substation on wheels. Asbestos and PCBs are safely removed from industrial facilities all the time, it's not like it's plutonium. If someone were willing to spend a couple million or so, there's no reason you couldn't completely refit one with modern converters. transformers, motors, etc. Heck, the English built an entire steam engine from scratch recently (Tornado), a more daunting technical challenge. The problem is nobody here has the will to do it.
Nobody wants to do and, and nobody has the money or time. Also it's not a steam Locomotive, so of course nobody wants to invest into it.
Oh yeah sadly, you can't run it on the NEC anymore.
@@harrimanfox8961 just rebuild it to handle the modern voltages on the NEC. of course, to do such a rebuild and upgrade will probably cost about 20 million.
There is also one parked at the Harrisburg station. I don't remember the number though.
@macbomb
Do you think it would be possible to design a successor class to the GG1 that maintains the same look? (Maybe you could call it the "GG1a".)
The GG1's were classic! If only we could still have a few running in special events. Man, if only you could see a GG1 passing the World Trade Center today. Its sucks the Twin Towers are gone. Hopefully instead of the One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) being built. Hopefully they'll rebuild the Twin Towers nearly the same as before, just better, stronger, safer and one floor taller. That would make the north tower 1,776 feet! I have faith though that this will happen.
best trains ever
@tine214 that's what I was thinking I mean maybe not necessarily these same engines but get something like this out there again! There was a time when you could have seen such interesting and cool equipment used on the railroad all the way from Canada down to Mexico but now there is nothing! And I think that's a big part of why so many people nowadays think of trains as old and worthless
I know it would cost a lot of money but one of these engines should be restored to operating condition I mean this is why nobody in N. America cares about trains anymore because there isn't anything like this running out there anymore!
@rutaloot i care about trains. i like to make a train business that restores all the fallen railroads from the past and rebuilt old abandoned tracks and right of ways thats been turned into paths and i also would have GG1's rebuilt to top condition and have them flyin down the tracks, but your right, the love in the railroad has not been what it used to be.
@macbomb The PCB was a major problem back then as the stuff is toxic as hell. Id love to see one running but they are just obsolete.
@CONRAIL1991 I wish you all best and it is the same in Mexico where I am from trains built our country and now they are abandoned and nobody even cares to preserve them. We have Niagara class steam engines and Alco PA's and old Pullman and Hawker Siddeley passenger cars in operating condition just sitting rusting away. If I ever make decent money I will put it towards restoring what was once the great passenger rail system in Mexico
If they’re so great, why did they stop using them?
Maintenance costs?
You’d think a diesel would take more maintenance than an electric.
Or at least update them for modern use.
I doubt it very much, for several reasons:
- GG1s could run only on 11 kV 25 Hz, which may or may not be available
- The transformers of all preserved Gs were removed, because their cooling oil was loaded with cancer-causing PCBs.
- Big Red's transformer blew during her last run, October 29, 1983; 4879 rescued the train.
- Their running gear is so badly worn that Amtrak will probably never again allow them on the NE Corridor.
it could be built new,but the cost?? plus having to handle multiple voltages on the NEC... if they can build 5550, why not??
Wisconsin dell hotel 0:19
maybe someone will upload that song.
It's #4859.
#NEVERFORGET9/11
While newer units may be much better, I've always liked the GG1. Quite eerie to see the twin towers early on in this video.
You have a point, but, just as George Lucas recomposited the effects in the Star Wars films, I doubt the electrical engineers and industrial designers involved in the GG1 would be such purists if they were alive today.
This locomotive is part of American railroading history. So what if there are newer and better technologies today!!! That shouldn't take away from what it was capable of doing back in its heyday.
C'mon 80 to 100+ mph isn't exactly slow by any stretch of the imagination.
Damn Right!
A GG1 would almost certainly have headed the Chattanooga Choo-Choo from NYP to Washington. At the speeds they did with 20+ cars, you'd be lucky to finish half your magazine by Baltimore!
is it actually being restored to operating conditions or just being painted and such so it looks nice?
Possible yes but it would not make much sense - the ACS64 is superior to the GG1 in every aspect at half the weight. And the track visibility of the GG1 was more like that of a steam locomotive - requiring two people watching the two sides attentively at all times.
But many were GREEN!
Why????
Most of them, in fact, were Brunswick green, a dark shade easily mistaken for black. Only a few got Tuscan red in regular service, for the new Congressional equipment; 4877 was not one of them. That was a special restoration in 1981.
I really enjoyed this film; the interviews and shots of the locomotive were great. Awful music though, so corny, I was embarrassed to watch it where anyone could hear what I was watching.
Cliff Underwood, then NJ Transit's senior engineer and 4877's biggest fan, wrote the song, which I like. Note his hat, "Tennessee Rebel". He was in command of Big Red on its last day of service, only to have it fail humiliatingly, and forcing sister 4879 to rescue the train.
I'm not sure if I should like for the buildings or dislike because the music sucked...
STUPID
they cant completely restore one because they dont have the right dementions for a new motor, and the old motors were banned by the government
Decent videos, lousy songs.
Lousy songs, fuck no. Those songs were not lousy, they're just paying tribute to the 50 years of the GG1 service