Nostalgia & History > GG1 Restoration

4890 undergoing restoration and repainting at the B&O Museum, 1982.

4876 in need of it.

Bandob

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I did not know that a modification was made to air intakes. I assume this was done to forestall snow infiltration.

Paul Ramer
Cincinnati, OH

4876 is, of course, the G that crashed into WUS in the famous Federal Express runaway of January 1953.

pramer Wrote:
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> I did not know that a modification was made to air
> intakes. I assume this was done to forestall snow
> infiltration.

That's correct Paul. I forget the winter when they had a terrible snow storm but after that storm the air intakes were changed on many of the engines.

Enginecrew Wrote:
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> pramer Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I did not know that a modification was made to
> air
> > intakes. I assume this was done to forestall
> snow
> > infiltration.
>
> That's correct Paul. I forget the winter when they
> had a terrible snow storm but after that storm the
> air intakes were changed on many of the engines.

It was February of 1958.
Particularly fine snow crystals passed through the air intake flters to the traction motors, where they melted and shorted out the motors. 
Roughly 50% of the fleet was incapacitated as a result of the storm.
The P5as, which had air intakes near the roofline, did not suffer this fate. That is the reason that the PRR moved the air intakes on some but not all of the GG1s.
There were two styles, the one pictured on the 4876 and a larger, more boxy type. 
P5as were pressed into service to rescue GG1 hauled trains and to protect passenger assignments. The GG1s remained on the train to provide 
heat from their steam generators, as the most of the P5s had their generators removed earlier, when they were regeared for freight service.
In an ironic twist years later, GG1s had to rescue the original Metroliner MU sets which had become incapacited during a snow storm. 
Apart from the 1952 storm, GG1s never suffered such a catastrophic event.
Though done for practical reasons, the relocated intakes ruined the appearance of the GG1s so equipped, IMHO.