IRM: UP Gas Turbine Locomotive and GG-1

20150627 2088

A friend and I celebrated some great weather on a weekend by visiting the Illinois Railway Museum on June 27. The museum is just too big to try to document it. But it does make sense to document what was unique to the visit. The locomotive featured along their trolley and bus route was a UP gas turbine engine that was made by GE in 1960. (It is very difficult to photograph most of their locomotives because they are in barns or down by their diesel shop.) It arrived at the museum 1993. According to the IRM roster, it rode on GSC trucks with GE 752E4 traction motors. The engine for the A unit is listed as Coop-Bess and for the B unit as Turbine.

David Zeman Photography posted

Pennsylvania Railroad #4927 (GG-1) is posed next to Spaulding Tower at the Illinois Railway Museum during a night photo session. 

6/24/2023

[I don't think they switch that locomotive out of its display position very often.]

Dave Zeman shared

John Donat: Problems getting a GG-1 going again in the midwest. I think all the transformers were pulled due to issues with the cooling oil (PCB's). GG-1's ran 25k 25cycle electricity... modern AC is 60cycle. Could be done on the east coast, if they had the transformers modernized.

[I think the wires at IRM are just 600v DC for streetcars and trolleys.]