My wife and I made a trip from Pittsburgh to Philly on Monday. We eventually made our way back to home in Virginia, but the long leg of the trip was fun. We had to make a stop in Harrisburg, PA for a head-end swap out. While sitting there, I was surprised with a GG-1 to look at up close!
Amtrak travel is not as bad as people claim. I have had good experiences on Amtrak. Nice catch with the GG-1, a real classic.
Nice GG-1. But I agree it needs a bath, and a good polishing up. I see NS has found a way to make some SD50s useful - derating them to SD40-2 specs. 3500-3600 hp from a 16-645 is just too much for the poor beastie. No wonder EMD came out with the 710.
Funny, I was actually in Pittsburgh on Monday, and briefly considered the Amtrak option to go to and from NJ, but the departure times did not align with my schedule.
Yes, it was under the canopy over the platform. I'm not 100% sure why, but as we were waiting to leave I was monitoring the road channel and there was chatter that went something like this: Headend: "Headend to conductor." Conductor: "Go ahead." Headend: "I don't have any amps on this loco." Conductor: "OK, I'll get someone up there." Some time goes by... Headend: "Headend to conductor. We're ready to roll on your word." Conductor: "Very good. What was the story on that amp issue." Headend: "Ah, we're ok. I'm just not familiar with how to run this model loco." Hmm They swapped off the NS units, but I was back on the train before I could see what they put on in their place. I'm guessing another Amtrak P42 or similar unit.
We love taking Amtrak whenever we can. Usually when we have a ride at the other end to come get us. Lots of family in Pittsburgh. So that's usually not a problem there
Harrisburg is the western end of PRR electrification. The eastbound trains must swap from diesel to electric for the rest of the trip to PHL and NYP.
