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From: 2212msr@whuts.UUCP (ROBIN)
Newsgroups: net.railroad
Subject: Re: Green and Gold (and others) GG1
Message-ID: <501@whuts.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 22-Jan-86 13:38:17 EST
Article-I.D.: whuts.501
Posted: Wed Jan 22 13:38:17 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 23-Jan-86 21:59:07 EST
References: <1625@brl-tgr.ARPA> <2767@umcp-cs.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Lines: 32

> In article <1625@brl-tgr.ARPA> Chuck.Weinstock@a.sei.cmu.edu writes:
> 
> >I thought that, in addition to the hazards of the chemicals in their
> >transformers, that the GG1's were retired because the power for the NE
> >Corridor was being changed over to 60 cycle to be supplied by local power
> >companies, and that the GG1's couldn't be modified to run on the new power.
> >Is this true?  Has the power indeed been changed?
> 
> This was originally the reason, but (as someone else pointed out) the change
> was never made.  Both the E60's and the AEM7's are built to run on the new
> power, should the change ever be made.  Looking at the numbers I have, it's
> clear why they remain out of service:
> 
>    (a) The PCB problem-- which I suspect could be remedied, but for
> 
>    (b) Their age  and
> 
>    (c) They are too slow: on the corridor over-100 mph is a necessity to
>        maintain schedules.  (Ah, the day when 100 mph is too slow!)

In a word - bull. the gg-1s were retired due to high maintenance cost and
metal fatigue in the frames.  look at any g and you will see numerous
welds where the frame have crystalized, cracked and been repaired by welding.
yes - orginally they were supposed to change the voltage to 25KV and the
gg-1 was not changeable (?) due to fact that they used transformers and
AC motors, rather than rectification and dc mortors.  gg-1s maintained
100+ mph schedules for years and were capable of continueing to do so.

most gg-1s had been regeared w/'90'mph gears in the early sixties - 
which limied them to ~107. thos w/100mph gears could maintian the 100+ schedules, pro
probably up to 110-112 average.  but they were getting to be very 
unreliable mechanically and having structural deterioration as well.