Tag Archives: #GG1 electric

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Square Mount—January 1, 1980

I made comparatively few color photos prior to 1980 and I have precious few ‘square mount’ Kodachrome slides.

On January 1, 1980, I traveled with my family from The Bronx, New York back to our home in Monson, Massachusetts. On the way, we stopped at New Haven, Connecticut to take a look at Amtrak GG1 4935 that had been repainted into the Raymond Loewy designed PRR scheme.

Using my old Leica 3A rangefinder I made this Kodachrome color slide of a Chevy pickup truck parked next to the antique electric locomotive.

I don’t know what became of the pickup but today the old GG1 is preserved and displayed at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, Pa. I’ve featured this locomotive in several recent Tracking the Light posts.

This Kodachrome slide was exposed 44 years ago!

Happy 2024 from Tracking the Light!

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Treasures in the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania at Strasburg is among America’s finest railway museums. Not only does the museum have one of the best collections of significant locomotives, rolling stock and artifacts, but their indoor display offers superb interpretation in a railroad themed environment.

During our visit on St. Patrick’s Day, I made these photos using my Nikon Z6 with 24-70mm Z-series lens.

Adobe Lightroom is an excellent tool for processing museum photos because it easily enables lightening of shadow, controlling highlights and contrast, while adjusting color temperature and color balance. This allows for significantly more pleasing images.

Statue of Pennsylvania Railroad’s Alexander Cassatt.
Pennsylvania Railroad baggage car.
Kris poses in front of Pennsylvania Railroad class D16sb 4-4-0. In 1981, I traveled behind this antique on the Strasburg Rail Road.
Pennsylvania Railroad 5901, the only surviving Electro-Motive Division E7A.
Detail of a statue of Baldwin Locomotive Works founder, Matthias Baldwin (1795-1866).
Pennsylvania Railroad class B1 electric 5690.
On January 1, 1980, I photographed this former PRR GG1 electric at New Haven, Connecticut. Today, it is one many locomotives displayed at the railroad museum of Pennsylvania.
This Union Switch & Signal color light once authorized train movements on the Reading Company.

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On this Day in 1953.

On January 15, 1953, Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 4876 leading The Federal from Boston, suffered an airbrake failure on approach to Washington Union Station and crashed spectacularly landing in the main concourse of the building. The floor collapsed under the weight of the heavy electric locomotive. Photographs of the disaster were printed on the front pages of newspapers around the country.

The locomotive was rebuilt and remained in service until 1983.

On June 27, 1983, my father, my brother Sean and I found the old electric resting at the motor storage in South Amboy, New Jersey.

At the time, the locomotive and South Amboy were a subjects of my model railroad interest.

I made this view on Kodachrome 64 with my Leica 3A with 50mm Summitar lens. The film had a red tint to it, that I’ve preserved in scanning. This can be easily color corrected.

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