GG1 in local service - Trenton to Suburban Station

Does anyone have any information on or photos of Reading MU cars being hauled by GG1 locomotives in revenue local service between Trenton NJ and Suburban Station in Philadelphia PA? This was probably due to MU equipment shortages and occurred between 1976 and 1979. I believe the cars were dark green and limited to 60 MPH. Thanks in advance for any information.

Are you sure that the cars in question were former Reading cars? There
was a train of former New Haven MU's that were operated on the former
Pennsylvania in New Jersey or somewhere south or west of New York.
This equipment was operated between New York and Trenton for a while
but then it disappeared. Maybe it was operated out of Philadelphia for a
while too.
Noel Weaver

Mr. Weaver -
The cars that operated from Trenton to Philadelphia were Reading MU cars. In 1971 (IIRC) a GG1 (4865 permanently assigned whenever possible) with eight or ten heavyweight coaches were first used for PC Trains 3710 and 3735 (Jersey Avenue - New York) because of traction motor problems with MU equipment. Shortly afterwards, these trains operated with New Haven MU cars numbered 1350 to 1357 hauled by GG1 engines. Two other trainsets with GG1s and MP54 cars were operated between Trenton and New York on local schedules, one being 3816 and 3845. I can't recall exactly what the other schedule was but it may have been 3820 and 3849. To my knowledge, the NH MUs were never run past Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick NJ.

TSP5-TSP6 wrote:Mr. Weaver -
The cars that operated from Trenton to Philadelphia were Reading MU cars. In 1971 (IIRC) a GG1 (4865 permanently assigned whenever possible) with eight or ten heavyweight coaches were first used for PC Trains 3710 and 3735 (Jersey Avenue - New York) because of traction motor problems with MU equipment. Shortly afterwards, these trains operated with New Haven MU cars numbered 1350 to 1357 hauled by GG1 engines. Two other trainsets with GG1s and MP54 cars were operated between Trenton and New York on local schedules, one being 3816 and 3845. I can't recall exactly what the other schedule was but it may have been 3820 and 3849. To my knowledge, the NH MUs were never run past Jersey Avenue in New Brunswick NJ.

Thanks for clearing this up, I really wasn't sure about the other cars.
Noel Weaver

The GG-1 Reading MU deal would occur whenever SEPTA strikes were going down. I recall several occasions in the early 70's when a G and Reading m.u.s would turn up in Trenton station. Those de-motored ex New Haven m.u.s were known as " The Green Hornets." Original plans had them operating out of Trenton in the early morning to New York, lay over in Sunnyside all day and make the run back to Trenton in the evening rush.


After several weeks of this schedule they suddenly turned up at Jersey Avenue yard and were assigned to a morning rush 3700 series train operating from New Brunswick to New York. I recall Harold Smith, Chief Trainmaster say some big wheel Princeton junction commuters called up the President of the Penn Central and had the Green Hornets exiled to Jersey Avenue. The air conditioned 10 car Jersey Arrow set was then reassigned to the Trenton schedule. The Princeton Junction Brahmans were not going to sweat that summer, the lower caste Jersey Avenue crowd could fend for themselves!


When hauled by a GG-1 the Hornets had a pantograph raised in the middle of the consist that provided light and heating in winter, the rest of the cars in the consist had no pans at all having been removed when shopped. I made a few bucks off this train in the winter when the crew dispatcher would order a fireman off the NY extra list to perform babysitting duty ie; operate and monitor the GG-1s steam generator all night to prevent it from freezing up. Ahh life was good, sign up at 7pm in County yard after the train came in from New York set the steam on low and relax for ten hours till the morning road crew signed up. One time during the summer the Hornets were unexpectedly shopped and Harold Smith stole an entire Seaboard Coast Line consist out of Sunnyside at 4am and deadheaded it to County to cover the Hornets schedule. I wish I had a camera that morning when the Silver Star doubled as a Jersey Avenue local.

ConRail Bicentenial GG1 4800 (Old Rivets) pulled Reading MU cars from Suburban Station to Trenton during the S.E.P.T.A. strike in late April, 1976.
The New Haven set may have wound up on a storeage track West of Delaware Ave. just North of the Walt Whitman Bridge in South Philadelphia, or were those NYC MU cars?

Any instances of the GG1s operating with pan raised to RDG cat wire?

BlockLine_4111 wrote:Any instances of the GG1s operating with pan raised to RDG cat wire?

This has been speculated upon many times but the answer is...none that anyone knows of. The ONLY documented run of a GG1 anywhere on Reading rails that I've even seen was a detour run between Philly and Harrisburg....and that was pulled by a K4!