Conrail inherited part of the former Pennsylvania Railroad electrified freight network. That was the problem. Amtrak put serious restrictions on the times Conrail could run freight on the Northeast Corridor mainline between New York and Washington and the Philadelphia to Harrisburg Main Line. In the wake of the disastrous Gunpowder wreck of 1979, where Conrail engines run by a stoned/drunk engineer ran a stop signal and cost the lives of several people, Conrail's access to the Corridor was all but cut off. As most freight was rerouted to former Reading, B & O, and Lehigh Valley lines, Conrail could not justify keeping the remaining electrified lines active. The sad end came in 1981 when all service started using diesel power.
GG1
The Pennsylvania Railroad's GG1 was probably the most successful class of locomotives ever built. The prototype GG1, 4800, was built in 1934. After winning a series of tests against another prototype locomotive, the R-1, 139 GG1's were built between 1935 and 1943. The GG1's service record is legend, they were worked to the limit during World War II, and served the PRR and successor Penn Central through the difficult 1960's and 1970's. Primarily designed as a high speed passenger engine, the re-geared GG1 was also well suited to hauling freight. At its formation in 1976, Conrail inherited 66 of Penn Central's 76 GG1's. The remaining 10 went to join the 28 others already at Amtrak. 13 more were owned by New Jersey Transit at the time. Conrail's GG1's were usually found in pairs, sometimes triplets, hauling freight east of Enola, Pa. Most of the GG1's served until the end of electrified freight service in 1981, including 4800 the original GG1 from 1934.
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Conrail GG1's 4840 and 4848 on the high line seen from the north side of Philadelphia's 30th Street Station on April 23, 1977. Industrial designer Raymond Loewy's styling of the GG1 still looks good, even under the dusty paint. Photo by Mike Szilagyi |
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The lead GG1, 4840, was the first production GG1 delivered to the PRR in April, 1935. It still wears the Pennsy broad yellow stripe introduced in the 1950's. Photo by Mike Szilagyi |