Scale GG1 Comparison - GG1s live on!

No "new" GG1 pictures to post, but it's hard to believe this thread is in its third year. Time for some new relevant content to post!

quote:

Originally posted by J. S. Bach:
Well, insulators can be blue,too:

actually those are gray and are 10" in diameter

Looking at the pic's I would say that the insulators on the GG-1 were made by A.B. Chance or S&C they too look to be 10" disc insulators and most likley rated in to 20-30KV range so tracking wouldn't be a problem even when moveing in other words way over rated for the voltage used

The insulators you see in the pic are poured . A threaded stud with a head on it like a wagon bolt or mushroom is on the bottom a reverse cone shape is on the back side . they are held in the mold a couple inches apart
so the porcilain will will pour around the bolt head filling up the cone


With this design the insulator will insulate and be mechanicly strong as well

Some Insulators on our lines have to hold several thousand pounds

The brown glaze was used prior to 1960 but was inferior to later stuff

which just so happens to be a light gray as seen in the pic

David- 26 Years Appalachian Power

David,

Thanks for that bit of information. I feel better informed now!

G, three years? Great thread! And it looks as if the AEM7's will not last as long in service as the G's!

three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

are we there yet?

quote:

Originally posted by PRR Man:
three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

three years?.. feels like Ground Hog Day.

are we there yet?

I have a Sunset 2 rail one on the way. Does that count for something?

Pictures soon.

Photos of the new G in 2 rail. Love those scale wheels!

Gorgeous. Did you lower this model also?

I actually haven't done anything to this one yet other than install the supplied couplers and boxes ... yet.

Scale GG1's look beautiful but I measured up and they would look very odd on my 28' long layout. IMO, you would need a 35'-40' long layout for these scale engines to look in place. Until anything proves out differently I'll need to to keep running the stubby GG1's for now.

love the 4800's builder's plate: GE. We bring good things to life!

GG1........an American Classic

Regards,
Swafford

The caboose is stunning also!

Norm

quote:

Originally posted by Norm:
The caboose is stunning also!

Norm

Norm - that cabin is actually a Walthers kit circa 1950's that I picked up at a swap meet recently. It is the typical Walthers style Wood, cast, tin and brass kit.

It was built when I got it, and it needs some work, but I like the roughness of it. Feels like it's been shoved around the yard a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by davidbross:
I am so glad this thread is still around. I love GG1s. Somehow I have managed to accumulate four of them!

Ever since the day in 1974 when Ed Alexander showed me his two rail scale GG-1 at his barn in Yardley, PA, I wanted one. How happy I was when Williams announced their production of this classic loco at an affordable price. Since then, I have bought the MTH and Lionel models. A dream come true!

The Williams model is a superb runner. The MTH rendition is better, with more detail and the passenger station sounds. Lionel's model tops the list, with the best detail and a horn that cannot sound any more like the prototype than it does.

I have always loved the GG-1. I was raised in Philadelphia, a mile away from the Pennsy's New York-Washington Main Line, and one could hear the GG-1s within that distance. I saw them run so many times, I must have seen every one of the 139 in the fleet.

I welcome hearing from any GG-1 fans, whether it is the model or the prototype that interests you.

Joe Breitner

quote:

Originally posted by GG1 4877:

quote:

Originally posted by jaygee:
I had the JLC 4925 and had more than a little trouble with it. For one
thing it didn't like 072 curves and was reluctant to run properly on them.
I traded the piece off to a dealer who has had no apparent problems with
it in this regard, and I'm glad for him. There's no doubt that this
is the best overall looking "G" out there. Too bad mine was such a pain
in the backside.

Mine had a the front pantograph fail after only four hours of running time. I've had no problem with it on 072 so far, but it certainly did not run the 063 of my old layout very well at all.

I would agree that these are touchy to say the least and when I get the wire up someday, I will have problems running this one. Price is the main reason I only have the one.

Sorry to hear you had a bad experience with it.

I had problems with the pantographs, too, and within the first year I owned the loco had to return it to Lionel twice to correct whatever the problem was.

Joe Breitner

Well, comming to your local Hobby Store (September)

8 MTH HO GG-1s

I can't wait


JohnnyJT
South Philly

That is impressive. Curious to see where the price point falls for one of these. Conrail black and Penn Central schemes too!

Here are a couple of GG-1 shots I took I can add to the thread.

I can reiterate that these huge locomotives were very cramped inside. Whoever was sitting down had to get up so any one could go in or out of the door or down the passage way to the other end. Inside you walked side ways a lot and watched your head always.

Then again with those big noses you felt better about coming out on the winning end if you hit something.

Ghoulish GG-1

Blue Suit GG-1

Once you see a G as the real deal or model, you want one!

Dennis - thanks for the shots.

Incredible lighting on the forlorn 4876. It would be nice to see this one restored and displayed permanently at Union Station, DC.

The 4884 at South Amboy brings back childhood memories. That is how I mainly remember the G's. Wish I had a few more dollars for film and the gumption to buy a ticket to South Amboy from Little Silver when I was an early teen.

quote:

Originally posted by DominicMazoch:
Once you see a G as the real deal or model, you want one!

Yea I know what you mean .I didn't know what a GG-1 was till I got into O scale
Never saw one in N scale (Although there may have been one)
At first I thought man that thing is ugly but now I'd like to find a Scale one in the Green 5 stripe . funney how that thing grows on you.

David

Rode behind one HAR-WUS. Watched the change at Harrisgurg (PA)! Saw the two nicel repainted ones on TV for the Kennedy Funeral Train......

Joe - not familiar with the GG1 you copied above, but it is definitely not the version of the Alexander model that Ed Duddy got. It appears to be a fairly crude repro, even by prewar scale standards.

The Alexander body makes up to be a credible model, able to hold its own among the crop of new models from Lionel, Williams, MTH, and Sunset. It has to be built up, sanded, and painted/decaled, but it really is quite good.

The Alexander truck was quite realistic, if unsprung, and its flaws were related to wheelbase and the way the frame went forward to the lead trucks. Duddy corrected that with extremely accurate lost wax castings that were originally done by Bill Wolfer.

I have three Alexander, and two which I cannot identify, but which originally had the whisker stripes cast in. All are quite nice models.

Has anybody in O make a G which runs with REAL quill drives?

Not exactly, but Kohs offered an extremely limited edition version that used six small Swiss can motors on the axles to simulate the 12 quill drive motors of the real G. I hear that they are not stellar pullers, but in terms of value are quite collectible.

Someday, I'd like to afford the standard Kohs version and do the work necessary to make it into a good runner like Mike Pitigo has over on the two rail forum.

A few of my in-service shots of the 4876:

http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/njdot/njt4876arc.jpg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/njdot/njt4876brc.jpg

Bob

Bob,

I've always loved that second shot of the Amtrak motor at South Amboy. I never realized that Amtrak G's pulled NY&LB trains until you explained to me how they were dispatched out of Sunnyside.

Great photos from an era that I greatly miss.

I haven't been on here for a long time. Looks like this thread has served its time. It was fun while it lasted!

Jonathon:

You being our resident GG1 expert, I have a question. Here is some background. My Lionel JLC GG1 would not negotiate Lionel 0-72 switches. Do the GG1 offerings to date from 3rd Rail have the same issue, or is this condition unique to Lionel?

PTC, The JLC gg1 should run thru any O72 switch. Although if you are using the new O72 tubular switch then there is the problem. Those have been known for years not to be any good. Lionel knows it but have refused to correct the problems. I would change those out with the new O72 tubular switch from Ross that is made specifically for tubular track.


Dave

Dave:

I have too many to change them out, 30 installed. The GG1 is the only engine I have that will not negotiate the Lionel 0-72 tubular switches.

I had only seven of those Lionel 072 switches...got rid of them finally. I went to K Line Supersnap ones at the time.

I've posted this before - but here are four JLC GG1s on Lionel tubular with eight Lionel modern 072 switches from various production runs. If a switch gives me a problem I figure it out and fix it. That shouldn't be necessary but it unfortunately is.

And here's the Lionel JLC PC GG1 at the head of a passenger train "lashed up" with Lionel's PRR CC2s negotiating the same 072 switches and trackplan:

Oh dear, the infamous "L" word!

I fixed anything that made the switch unuseable before I moved them along, but in my case, engines didn't generally go smoothly thru them...they bumped over/thru them. The Supersnap ones were so much smoother. These Lionel 072 switches were the newest ones. I think the old prewar 072 switches were just fine and are still coveted.

The new O72's are a bunch of JUNK! Ross does have a O72 profile switch with tin track.

Considering the cabin car discussion, time to bring this back!