Pennsylvania Railroad 4800
| Pennsylvania Railroad 4800 | |
|---|---|
GG1 | |
| Nicknames | "Old Rivets" |
| Retired | October 1979 |
| Restored | November 20, 1982 (cosmetically) |
| Current owner | Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission |
| Disposition | On static display |
Locomotive #4800
Pennsylvania Railroad 4800, nicknamed "Old Rivets", is a
Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark
in 1983.
Construction and testing
In 1933, the
R1
#4800, and General Electric submitted the GG1, then numbered 4899.
The
kW) that was transmitted to the 57-inch (1,400 mm) driving wheels by a quill drive.[5] Unlike other GG1s, access steps were installed at each end of the locomotive to ease maintenance of the pantographs; the pantographs were mechanically linked to a safety plate that blocked access to the steps when the pantographs were raised.[4] The finished locomotive was 79 feet 6 inches (24.23 m) long and 16 feet (4.88 m) tall, with both of its pantographs lowered.[1]
GG1 4899 was extensively tested against the R1 from August to November 1934; both locomotives were substituted on regular passenger service between
kW).[7] The GG1, however, did not exert as much lateral force on the rails as the R1, because it was articulated, which allowed for a smaller turning radius than the rigid R1. The Pennsylvania chose the GG1 over the R1 and immediately ordered another 57 locomotives.[7] As the number scheme used by the Pennsylvania prevented the first locomotive in the class from being 4899, the R1 and GG1 prototypes, essentially, swapped numbers.[8] The Pennsylvania also enlisted the assistance of Raymond Loewy to refine the aesthetics of the GG1s. Loewy recommended that all subsequent models of the class should have a welded body rather than the riveted body on the prototype. This led to the nickname "Old Rivets" being given to 4800.[4]
Operation and preservation
On January 28, 1935, 4800 inaugurated electric passenger service between
Conrail. In 1976, Conrail gave 4800 a red, white and blue paint scheme to commemorate the United States Bicentennial.[1] It was also the only GG1 to wear Conrail blue paint; all the other Conrail GG1s remained in black. 4800 was eventually retired by Conrail in October 1979 after the locomotive's main transformer failed, which was deemed too expensive to repair.[4]
4800 was sold by Conrail in 1980 to the Lancaster-chapter of the
Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) on April 23, 1983.[2]
In 2012, PRR 4800 was inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame for its contribution to the railway industry.[14]
See also
- List of Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks
- List of North America Railway Hall of Fame inductees
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Abendschein 1983, p. 5.
- ^ a b Abendschein 1983.
- ^ Bezilla 1980, p. 141.
- ^ a b c d e f g Abendschein 1983, p. 2.
- ^ Abendschein 1983, pp. 2, 5.
- ^ Bezilla 1980, pp. 143, 145.
- ^ a b Bezilla 1980, p. 145.
- ^ Bezilla 1980, p. 144.
- ^ Bezilla 1980, p. 153.
- ^ Bezilla 1980, p. 154.
- ^ Volkmer 1991, p. 24.
- ^ Volkmer 1991, p. 26.
- ^ Volkmer 1991, p. 101.
- ^ ""Old Rivets"". North America Railway Hall of Fame. 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
Sources
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pennsylvania Railroad 4800.
- Abendschein, Frederic H. (April 23, 1983). Grandia, Michael R.C. (ed.). "Pennsylvania Railroad Electric Locomotive GG1 4800". National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
- Bezilla, Michael (1980). Electric Traction on the Pennsylvania Railroad, 1895–1968. OCLC 5336721.
- Volkmer, William D. (1991). Pennsy Electric Years. Edison, New Jersey: Morning Sun Books, Inc. ISBN 978-1-878887-01-6.