Weekend Update - The End Of The Month Operating Session - It's A Bust!

Greetings followers of the Atlantic Pacific Railroad!

Today was supposed to be the monthly operating session which was scheduled to take place at my layout. However, mother nature had other plans. The weather, which as supposed to give us anywhere from an inch to a foot of snow left us with maybe 1-2 inches by midnight and a lot of rain today. At 7AM today, the rain had stopped, the trusty shovel and I went out and cleared a wide path for the guys to walk or drive up to the house. However, it was not to be...

I arrived at the diner at 8:20AM as the roads were empty, all clear and very foggy. Only two other guys showed up, so we sat down for breakfast, talked about trains and more, then called it a wrap at 10:00AM heading out our separate ways...

One of the fellow gatherers, Norman,  had called to see what was going on. After giving him the disappointing news, he asked if I was up for running some trains as he just picked up 2 Bachmann GG-1 engines on a deal from Trainworld. Norman is the Official Photographer of the A.P.R.R. and one of the guys who knows my railroad very well. He's been part of my layout tour team and has qualified as Yardmaster and should be qualified as dispatcher this year. 

A little background on the Pennsylvania GG-1 engines: 

Beginning in the early 1910s, the Pennsylvania received the FF-1 but decided it was too slow for passenger trains and was relegated to heavy freight service. In the mid 1920s, they received the L5 electric which had third rail power supply at the time. When the Pennsylvania built the O1 and the P5, they chose the P5 over the O1 for its ability and power on the rails. After a grade crossing accident with the P5, the cab was moved to the center and was designated P5a. Pennsylvania still searched for the ultimate electric since the P5 did not track well at high speeds and were wondering if the P5a could be improved even further. Soon enough, the Pennsylvania was in luck and found two contacts as early as 1932. The mechanical design of the GG1 was based largely on the New Haven EP3, which had been borrowed earlier from the New Haven Railroad by the PRR to compare it to its current standard electric locomotive, the P5a. In 1933, the PRR decided to replace its P5a locomotives and told General Electric and Westinghouse to design prototype locomotives with the following specifications: a lighter axle load and more power than the P5a, a top speed of at least 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), a streamlined body design and a single (central) control cab.

Both companies delivered their prototypes to PRR in August 1934. General Electric submitted the GG1 and Westinghouse submitted the R1. The R1 was essentially "little more than an elongated and more powerful version of the P5a" with an AAR wheel arrangement of 2-D-2. Both locomotives were tested for ten weeks in regular service between New York and Philadelphia and on a test track in Claymont, Delaware. Because the R1's rigid wheelbase prevented it from negotiating sharp curves and some railroad switches, PRR chose the GG1 and ordered 57 additional locomotives on November 10, 1934. Of the 57, 14 were to be built by General Electric in Erie and 18 at the Altoona Works. The remaining 20 locomotives were to be assembled in Altoona with electrical components from Westinghouse in East Pittsburgh and chassis from the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone. An additional 81 locomotives were then built at Altoona between 1937 and 1943.


On January 28, 1935, to mark the completion of the electric line from Washington, D.C. to New York City, PRR ran a special train pulled by PRR 4800 before it opened the line for revenue service on February 10. It made a round trip from D.C. to Philadelphia and, on its return trip, set a speed record by arriving back in D.C. 1 hour and 50 minutes after its departure from Philadelphia.

In the mid-1950s, with declining demand for passenger train service, GG1s 4801–4857 were re-geared for a maximum speed of 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) and placed in freight service. They initially retained their train heating steam generator, and were recalled to passenger service for holiday season mail trains, and 'Passenger Extras' such as those run for the annual Army–Navy football game in Philadelphia.

Timetable speed limit for the GG1 was 75-80 mph until October 1967 when some were allowed 100 mph for a couple of years; when Metroliner cars were being overhauled in the late 1970s, GG1s were again allowed 100 mph for a short time when pulling Amfleet cars on trains scheduled to run 224.6 miles from New York to Washington in 3 hours, 20–25 minutes.

The Bachmann GG-1 engines are equipped with both DCC and Sound. For the money they are well worth what he paid for them. Norman grabbed one in Tuscan Red and one in Brunswick Green. 

Here's the Bachmann 4913...

And the Real PRR 4913...

Next is the Bachmann 4935

 And the Real PRR 4935

First video is the PRR train at the Amtrak Union Station. I broke out 10 PRR P85b Coaches with the Keystone Livery made by Centralia Car Shops, part of Intermountain Railway Trains. Also added to the end of the train was a Kato Amtrak business car 

Next up is a run thru heading west thru the Amtrak Station...

While Norman was running his train, I broke out the updated TTX train and gave it a run around the railroad...

The last video was a nice one as I caught both the PRR passenger train and APRR TTX train in the same area with lots of action...

While the operating session was a bust, a day of trains was not to be denied. There is always one person up for running trains, and Norman was up for the challenge.....