The Pennsylvania Railroad Class GG1 is a class of streamlined electric locomotives built for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), in the northeastern United States. The class was known for its striking art deco shell, its ability to pull trains at up to 100 mph, and its long operating career of almost 50 years.

Pennsylvania Railroad 4927 is a GG-1 electric locomotive, perhaps the most famous type of electric locomotive ever built. The PRR built more than 130 of these locomotives and they pulled both passenger and freight trains between Washington DC and New York City for nearly 50 years.

A GG1 is two 4-6-0's back-to-back, thus the "GG" and the one indicates the first design. Electric locomotives are classified by their motored and unmotored axels.

Feb 2, 2023 · The GG1’s body is built like a through-truss steel bridge, giving it great crash protection. In 1953, this was tested when the brakes on a GG1 hauled train from Boston failed on the approach to Washington Union Station, and the train ran away into the station.

Shown here is Pennsylvania Railroad engine #4811, a GG-1 (2-C-C-2) electric built by General Electric during July of 1935 and rated at 4,620 horsepower. Newark. Here is an original photo that I took of a Pennsylvania Railroad train near Newark, Delaware, during August of 1965.

The GG1’s, as a class, served longer in front-line duty than any other class of locomotives in history — steam, electric, or diesel — in the United States or overseas. In December 1934, soon after the PRR chose the GG1 to be its new electric locomotive, it ordered 57 GG1’s.

Nov 15, 2020 · The GG1 was unique in that it was a heavy-haul electric locomotive which could operate at high speed in passenger service. The Pennsylvania Railroad had “replacements” in their General Electric E44 electrics but they were heavy-haul freight locomotives, unsuited to passenger service.

Apr 24, 2021 · Designed to operate in either direction, the GG1 was mainly used to pull passenger trains. It handed all main line passenger service between New York City, New York; Washington, DC; and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in electrified zones.

The Westinghouse R-1 and GE GG-1 prototype electric locomotives were built and tested by the PRR in 1934. Famed designer Raymond Loewy, who would later design the iconic 1939 S-1 Passenger steam locomotive, was hired by the PRR to …

The GG-1, America’s most famous electric locomotive, was first built in 1932. Its streamlined body has been featured on U.S. postage stamps, as a Lionel toy train, and in dozens of paintings over the years.