GG-1 and E-60 operational preservation

In my opinion, most quiet and fastest acceleration trophy belongs to a GG1. I recall 30+ years ago riding the Broadway Ltd to New York. After the power change at Harrisburg to a single GG1, it literally YANKED the train out of the station. I was pushed back in my roomette seat as if I was in a high performance street drag racer (I had one several years prior). All I could think of was WOW! Not even todays' Acelas can lay me back in the seat like a GG1.

So, which billionaire do we hit up for the $5m to restore a GG1 to service? Seems that an E60’s guts would do a serviceable job at replacing the old PCB-laden transformers

Glad the Chargers are meeting expectations, at least with passengers.

The E-60's could run on the NEC today,they had the moveable taps to run on all 3 voltages and both hz,however the controls are likely outdated
and useless.
Be one heck of a restoration of that E-60 at RRMPA as a running motor

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2019 6:10 pm The E-60's could run on the NEC today,they had the moveable taps to run on all 3 voltages and both hz,however the controls are likely outdated
and useless.
Be one heck of a restoration of that E-60 at RRMPA as a running motor

I’d meant cannibalizing an E60 (one of the BM&LP units probably) to replace the utterly obsolescent parts in a GG1 resto, but may as well run an actual E60MA as well!

Admin Note
Topic split from the Charger impressions as a rider in Amtrak

Weren't the E-60's the ones that had trouble staying on the tracks at higher speeds? Now if you could marry the innards of an E-60 with the stability of a GG1 ...

The problem with GG-1's is that the motors were designed to run at 11kW/25hz AC. Main transmission lines run at higher voltage, but at 60 hz. You would need to either completely replace the motors with 60 hz compatible motors, or create a specialized overhead circuit running at 25 hz just for them. A 3rd option would be having a full-sized transformer station on a flatbed behind the locomotive, with extensive wiring between them.

While the main transformer killed off the GG-1's (The PCB Coolant),some of the frames stated cracking apart toward the end of the G's life
All the main transformers were pulled and destroyed at Haz-Mat landfill sites
The Quill motors were setup for 25hz power,not sure if they could run at 60 hz
The E-60 at RRMPA was fresh off a rebuild at Wilmington shop and could have been rigged for ACSES easy enough
While not speed demons,they worked the silver service trains and handled the Circus train on a regular basis.

Backshophoss wrote: ↑Sat Jun 29, 2019 6:04 pm The Quill motors were setup for 25hz power,not sure if they could run at 60 hz

As I understand it, the rationale for using low frequencies in early AC rail electrification systems was that locomotive-sized universal motors ran poorly (if at all) on 50/60 Hz. High-power rectifiers to feed DC traction motors didn't become practical until the 1950s, and AC induction motors of suitable size weren't practical for general-purpose rail use until high-power semiconductors became feasible.

In theory, the GG-1 traction motors could run on DC, given a suitable rectifier. Whether or not that would work in practice, I don't know, and it would probably require a rip-and-replace of most of the electrical system including compressors and other accessories. Not to mention, the rectifiers would have to go somewhere, and there probably wouldn't be room for them.