PRR 4859
Encyclopedia
PRR 4859 is a GG1
PRR GG1
The PRR GG1 is a class of electric locomotives that was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in the northeastern United States. A total of 140 GG1s were constructed by its designer General Electric and the Pennsylvania's Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943....

-class electric locomotive
Electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or an on-board energy storage device...

 located in the Transportation Center
Harrisburg Transportation Center
The Harrisburg Transportation Center is a large railway station and transportation hub in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It is located on the eastern edge of Downtown Harrisburg between the intersections of Aberdeen and Market Streets and 4th and Chestnut Streets...

 in Harrisburg
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...

, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It was operated by the Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

 and its successors, Penn Central and Conrail
Consolidated Rail Corporation
The Consolidated Rail Corporation, commonly known as Conrail , was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeast U.S. between 1976 and 1999. The federal government created it to take over the potentially profitable lines of bankrupt carriers, including the Penn Central Transportation Company and...

. 4859 pulled the first electrically powered train from Philadelphia to Harrisburg on January 15, 1938. It was used in various freight and passenger service until November 22, 1979, when it pulled the last GG1-powered freight train
Freight train
A freight train or goods train is a group of freight cars or goods wagons hauled by one or more locomotives on a railway, ultimately transporting cargo between two points as part of the logistics chain...

 on November 22, 1979. Originally located in Strasburg
Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It developed as a linear village along the Great Conestoga Road, stretching about two miles along path later known as the Strasburg Road...

, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in 1982 and was moved to its current location in 1986. It was designated the official Pennsylvania state electric locomotive in 1987 by the Pennsylvania General Assembly
Pennsylvania General Assembly
The Pennsylvania General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The legislature convenes in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. In colonial times , the legislature was known as the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. Since the Constitution of 1776, written by...

 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places again in 2004.

Background

The GG1 was developed in 1930s by General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 as the replacement for the Pennsylvania Railroad's then standard electric locomotive, the P5a
PRR P5
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class P5 comprised 92 mixed-traffic electric locomotives constructed 1931–1935 by the PRR, Westinghouse and General Electric....

, and was based largely on the New Haven EP3. The GG1 was capable of a top speed of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h), powered by its twelve 385 hp traction motor
Traction motor
Traction motor refers to an electric motor providing the primary rotational torque of a machine, usually for conversion into linear motion ....

s. The prototype GG1, PRR 4800
PRR 4800
PRR 4800, nicknamed "Old Rivets", is a GG1-class electric locomotive located at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, outside of Strasburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the prototype GG1 and was originally numbered 4899. Built by General Electric in 1934, the locomotive competed against...

, was tested against Westinghouse
Westinghouse Electric (1886)
Westinghouse Electric was an American manufacturing company. It was founded in 1886 as Westinghouse Electric Company and later renamed Westinghouse Electric Corporation by George Westinghouse. The company purchased CBS in 1995 and became CBS Corporation in 1997...

's submission, the R1
PRR R1
The Pennsylvania Railroad's class R1 comprised a single prototype electric locomotive constructed in 1934 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, with the electrical equipment by Westinghouse....

. The Pennsylvania selected the GG1 over the R1, as the R1 was not articulated
Articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive usually means a steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move independent of the main frame. This is done to allow a longer locomotive to negotiate tighter curves...

 and the GG1's traction motors were similar to ones already in use. An order for 57 GG1s was placed in November 1934 and the first locomotives were delivered in April 1935.

Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy
Raymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...

 was hired by the Pennsylvania to "enhance the GG1's aesthetics." Loewy had the production locomotives' bodies be welded together, instead of rivet
Rivet
A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the buck-tail. On installation the rivet is placed in a punched or pre-drilled hole, and the tail is upset, or bucked A rivet...

ed the way 4800 was, to give the GG1 a more streamlined appearance. Loewy also formulated the Brunswick green paint scheme and the gold pinstripes
Pin striping
Pin striping is the application of a very thin line of paint or other material called a pin stripe, and is generally used for decoration. Freehand pin stripers use a specialty brush known as a pinstriping brush...

, nicknamed "cat's whiskers", which was eventually applied by the Pennsylvania to all of its locomotives for the next 20 years.

History

4859 was built in December 1937 at the Pennsylvania Railroad's Altoona Works
Altoona Works
Altoona Works is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.-History:In 1849, PRR...

 in Altoona, Pennsylvania
Altoona, Pennsylvania
-History:A major railroad town, Altoona was founded by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1849 as the site for a shop complex. Altoona was incorporated as a borough on February 6, 1854, and as a city under legislation approved on April 3, 1867, and February 8, 1868...

. The Philadelphia–Harrisburg line was opened on January 15, 1938, with 4859 pulling the inaugural train, Train #25 The Metropolitan. Its departure from Philadelphia was accompanied by a cacophony of various train whistle
Train whistle
A train whistle or air whistle, , is an audible signaling device on a steam locomotive used to warn that the train is approaching, and to communicate with rail workers....

s and fire sirens
Siren (noisemaker)
A siren is a loud noise making device. Most modern ones are civil defense or air raid sirens, tornado sirens, or the sirens on emergency service vehicles such as ambulances, police cars and fire trucks. There are two general types: pneumatic and electronic....

 leading some residents, who were unaware of the event, to believe that Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 was invading.

4859 was regeared to have a top speed of 90 miles per hour (144.8 km/h) when it was shifted to freight duty in 1964. Although used primarily for freight, 4859 coninuned to pull "clockers", or short-haul passenger trains, from New York to Philadelphia and commuter trains on the New York and Long Branch Railroad
New York and Long Branch Railroad
The New York and Long Branch Railroad was a railroad in central New Jersey, running from Bay Head Junction in Bay Head to Perth Amboy, where it connected to the Central Railroad of New Jersey's Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad. The railroad was jointly owned and operated by the Pennsylvania...

. 4859, accompanied by PRR 4887, pulled the last freight train to be powered by a GG1 from the Enola Yard
Enola Yard
Enola Yard is a large rail yard located in East Pennsboro Township, Pennsylvania, along the western shore of the Susquehanna River at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was the world's largest freight yard through 1956. The yard continues to operate today at lower traffic levels.-History:The yard was...

 in Enola, Pennsylvania
Enola, Pennsylvania
Enola is a census-designated place located along the Susquehanna River in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,627 at the 2000 census. Norfolk Southern operates Enola Yard, a large rail yard and locomotive shop in Enola...

 to Edgemoor, Delaware
Edgemoor, Delaware
Edgemoor is a census-designated place in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 5,992 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Edgemoor is located at ....

, before being retired by Conrail on November 29, 1979.

Preservation

After its retirement, 4859 was purchased in for $13,000 by the Harrisburg chapter of the National Railroad Historical Society and donated to the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. It was sent to the Pennsylvania Railroad Museum in Strasburg
Strasburg, Pennsylvania
Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It developed as a linear village along the Great Conestoga Road, stretching about two miles along path later known as the Strasburg Road...

 in the early 1980s, where restoration of 4859 was carried by the workshops of the nearby Strasburg Rail Road
Strasburg Rail Road
The Strasburg Rail Road is a heritage railroad located near Strasburg, Pennsylvania. It operates excursion trains hauled by steam locomotives in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch Country.Across the street lies the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania...

. The body and chassis were sandblasted
Abrasive blasting
Abrasive blasting is the operation of forcibly propelling a stream of abrasive material against a surface under high pressure to smooth a rough surface, roughen a smooth surface, shape a surface, or remove surface contaminants. A pressurized fluid, typically air, or a centrifugal wheel is used to...

, primed
Primer (paint)
A primer is a preparatory coating put on materials before painting. Priming ensures better adhesion of paint to the surface, increases paint durability, and provides additional protection for the material being painted.-When primers are used:...

 and repainted back to its original 1938 appearance. The main transformer
Transformer
A transformer is a device that transfers electrical energy from one circuit to another through inductively coupled conductors—the transformer's coils. A varying current in the first or primary winding creates a varying magnetic flux in the transformer's core and thus a varying magnetic field...

 was removed and drained of the hazardous polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...

 (PCBs
Polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls are a class of organic compounds with 2 to 10 chlorine atoms attached to biphenyl, which is a molecule composed of two benzene rings. The chemical formula for PCBs is C12H10-xClx...

) used as coolant
Coolant
A coolant is a fluid which flows through a device to prevent its overheating, transferring the heat produced by the device to other devices that use or dissipate it. An ideal coolant has high thermal capacity, low viscosity, is low-cost, non-toxic, and chemically inert, neither causing nor...

.

4859 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 1982, while still in Strasburg. The deed to 4859 was transferred from Redevelopment Authority to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission is the governmental agency of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania responsible for the collection, conservation and interpretation of Pennsylvania's historic heritage...

 on November 13, 1986. Two days later, the engine was moved into the Transportation Center and rededicated. The Pennsylvania General Assembly designated 4859 the official state electric locomotive on December 18, 1987, while also designating two K4s
PRR K4s
The Pennsylvania Railroad's K4s 4-6-2 "Pacific" was their premier passenger-hauling steam locomotive from 1914 through the end of steam on the PRR in 1957....

 locomotives as the state steam locomotives in the same bill. 4859 was listed on National Register of Historic Places for a second time on May 5, 2004. "Soft" materials, like insulation, were removed from the cab in 2005 on orders from the Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

 to remove residual contamination from the PCBs. In 2010, 4859 received some cosmetic restoration of its truck assemblies which were re-painted black to eliminate a noticeable coating of rust.

See also

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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