I'm going to try and avoid the "will it run?" question and let that particular dead horse alone for just a few moments... :-)

I believe that thirdrail is correct and all GG-1's have roller bearings. This page suggests that they were built with them (note the pictures of the wheel-and-axle set). Also, the Henry Ford Museum is supposedly planning on moving PRR 4909 (later AMTK 4932, currently lettered AARX 4934) from Cooperstown NY to - I assume? - Dearborn in the near future, so the concept of moving these things must at least be plausible for the freight railroads.

All Gs were built with roller bearings. By the end of their service life in the 70s and early 80s, most (if not all) had the lead truck bearings upgraded to Timken AP-style (rotating end caps) rollers.

Probably the most significant item to deal with in moving one on its own wheels would be getting the brake system to work and pass a leakage test. It's still (as always) up to the railroads as to whether they'd move it in the first place, even if the RBs and air issues are taken care of.

And, one more comment (from someone who has actually run a few of these things, and had many cab rides in them)-- if any place can fit one out and make it run, and has the track to run it in an-almost appropriate manner (length of line and track geometry), well, let's just say there will be a long line of cars waiting at the Olson Road front gate, and the license plates on those vehicles will be from PA, NJ, NY, MD, etc. Some of the Red Keystone Crowd may even come back from the "beyond" for that.... It would look a bit like the Harrisburg Line west of Gap, sans curves. And I will find some B&W 4x5 sheet film for the Speed Graphic; if you're gonna photograph a moving G, do it the RIGHT way.

Actually, the railroad will move the thing without air. If these guys from York had bothered to talk to the railroad (or if the railroad had seen them as anything other than "crackpot railfans" as railroads are apt to do), they would discover that IF you're willing to shell out the money for such a move, it can be done with a "run-around" hose and several cars on the rear of the move. This prevents the G from running away with no air if the train comes uncoupled. The railroads do this occasionally if something goes wrong with a car's air system and it has to be moved to a home shop.

It seems to me that these guys (while well meaning) have no clue what they're up against in respect to logistics, and have not sought help from someone in the preservation community who's done this sort of thing before. The fact that they think that $50,000 will get the job done is further proof. I feel that while their efforts are commendable, they are their own biggest liability.

Just my 2 cents.
Russ

I've seen this done--and worked with the railroads and owners on two such movements--with lightweight passenger cars, and I think a box car somewhere along the line being moved to a museum. The last time I saw this being done was a bad-ordered coal hopper on BNSF in Arizona, where they were going as far as unloading the car before making the move to a yard. (Thankfully, it was a hopper car and not a "bathtub" solid bottom car!)

A GG1 weighs 230 tons. Lots of luck--and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

It is being reported on another forum that 4935, at the RRMPA, may be going to Washington DC for a anniversary at Union Station the first weekend of October, this motor will be joining other "special" units.

Believe what you will.

Joshua

What?! WHY?!

Who in their right mind would recreate a TRAIN CRASH for all people to see before they get on a train of their own? If someone were to say "let's recreate the twin towers to JUST before they fell.." as an exhibit to commemorate the event, you'd think they were out of their mind, no?

Trust me, when I approached Cliff Black about possibly placing a restored 4876 at the bumper of #16, it didn't go over too well, and that was about 15 years ago. One goal I had was to try and get it cosmetically restored to display temporarily there for the 100th anniversary of the opening of WUS in Oct. of '07. Obviously, didn't happen. The anniversary coming up mentioned must be 20 years since the grand re-opening of Union Station in it's current mixed use/festival marketplace incarnation. Glad it's made it that long. Quaker Square in Akron had a run of about 30 years, but really didn't have much more than novelty going for it. Having the passenger traffic coming through makes all the difference.

Just forget about it, dude. NO amount of common sense and reiteration of the obvious position of Amtrak, Union Station, etc., or exorcism, will ever dissuade the demonically possessed from their dreams of seeing 4876 at Track 16's buffer stop.

All we can do is keep those folks from taking their campaigns to Amtrak, where they will go over about as well as the demands made upon Norfolk Southern to reinstate the steam excursion program in the 1990s. *sigh*.............

Great trip to B&O today for Kidsfest. Really nice to find the newly painted Chessie GP38 pulling the hourly train. A trip past the restoration shop showed 4876 had some primer on the lower part of the side facing away from the platform and a PRR logo on the end doors.

Think what you want about the guys from York, but they appear to be making a difference.

Bob