GG1 questions

I got two questions for those hwo want to awnser: Did the pennsy GG1:s ever pull the Crecsent or the Silver Meteor and correct me if im wrong but those trains were not pennsys right?

Edit: Third qustion: got any pictures or knowledge of the consist of either train?

Have to hedge on that one. To the best of my recollection, the GG-1's pulled PRR trains. Now if several cars from other trains had to get to Penn station, etc. they would then be coupled to a GG-1 powered train as additional cars. I do remember seeing named PRR trains with an occasional "stranger" spliced in between the cars. As I remember it, GG-1's could handle trains with over 20 cars. Although, double headed GG-1's were not that uncommon.

Since those trains ran North of Washington over the PRR to Penn Station, N.Y., they were hauled by GG-1's after the the P-5a's were bannished to freight service.
Many of the through trains to the South carried no local passengers or cars while on the PRR.

Ok. But what i ment was that i heard on a documentary about them(GG1:s) that "Some of the trains they pulled were the Crescent and the Silver Meteor". Is that true? That they pulled the entire consists. And for the other question in my first post: i ment that i have learned that the Crescent is a Southern train and the Silver Meteor is an FEC train.

Might be a good idea to remind you that GG-1s are electric engines, and without a catenary with high voltage to power them, they are dead on the rails. So they were fine on the NEC, but south of that they would be useless.

I know that but like i said i heard that they pulled those trains. And im also aware of that coaches traveled from one RR to another. For example the Broadway Ltd. That train hade a Santa Fe sleeper in the consist. UP:s Cities trains had CNW, MILW, Wabash and NW cars.

The tram man wrote:I know that but like i said i heard that they pulled those trains. And im also aware of that coaches traveled from one RR to another. For example the Broadway Ltd. That train hade a Santa Fe sleeper in the consist. UP:s Cities trains had CNW, MILW, Wabash and NW cars.

What time period were these trains, that you are quoting, analyzed. Because what you are saying sounds like early Amtrak. The UP with CNW coaches would be possible because the UP had CNW run some of there passenger trains. But on most occasions the railroads would want to use their own cars. They may in the closing days of passenger rail or on small trains mix coach paint styles, but ussually not other RRs cars. And if they did have these cars, it would be a rare occurence.

The CNW cars were in the UP trains until 1955 and MILW cars until 1971 i guess, the Wabash and NW were on the City of St.Louis(dont know when) and the SF sleeper on PRR was on the Broadway until Amtrak took over i guess.

Sort of reminds me of a posting in another thread. It stated that a pig could travel from one coast to the other without changing cars, a person could not. That person would have to change trains. At one time a person could do just that, remain in his or her car, and it would eventually get to the other coast.

The tram man wrote:i heard on a documentary about them(GG1:s) that "Some of the trains they pulled were the Crescent and the Silver Meteor". Is that true? That they pulled the entire consists.

We can't guarantee they pulled "the entire consists"-- those trains would leave NY on the PRR with a GG1 pulling coaches, sleepers, a diner etc, but maybe they did add a car or two at Washington for all we know.

The tram man wrote:i have learned that the Crescent is a Southern train and the Silver Meteor is an FEC train.

The FEC carried ACL trains to Miami; the Silver Meteor was a SAL train and didn't use FEC.

Ok. Well thanks for the info.

Interesting that no one has asked the usual question. Where is the bell on a GG-1 ?

Between the boggies?

Nope; the bell is behind the forward skirt of the front of the engine, above the lead idlers, on the Engineer's side. Big brass bell. Found it by accident one day at the Sunnyside yard, when I was talking to an engineer named George, near the tracks, and this young hostler crept up alongside me with his Tuscan Red GG-1, at about half a mile an hour and brushed my pants leg. I reached up and punched the bell, as he yelled, "sorry", and I looked at him and yelled back, you could have shouted "Look out" .The hostler, by the way, was younger than the engine he was driving.

That sounds pretty funny. But it must have been scary to be surprised like that.