ABOVE LEFT: Pennsylvania Railroad GG1 No. 4859 and Pennsy “cabin car” N6b No. 980016 rest at their long-time display site in the Harrisburg (Penn.) Amtrak station during a night photo session hosted by the Pennsylvania Railroad Technical & Historical Society in May 2002. RIGHT TOP: The day of the big move saw the sun trying (and eventually failing) to break through the overcast on April 5, 2014. Harris Tower, like GG1 4859, is owned by the Harrisburg Chapter NRHS. RIGHT BOTTOM: No. 980016 was first out of the station, pushed by Amtrak B32-8 No. 514.
of Pennsylvania in 1987. The Harris- burg Chapter once again became own- ers of the locomotive in 2009 when it was deaccessioned by the Museum Commission.
The Big Move
The Harrisburg Transportation Cen- ter is slated to undergo a massive im- provement project, including new trackwork, signals and platforms, and No. 4859 was in the way. Amtrak and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation devised a plan to move the GG1 and cabin car 1000 feet west of
the station, where they would be “co- cooned” for a three-year period; the co- cooning will protect the equipment from the elements while still allowing air to circulate.
April 5, 2014, marked the day of the
move. The sun was trying to peek through the clouds as rail photogra- phers gathered at Harris Tower (also owned by
the Harrisburg Chapter
NRHS). On the radio scanner, the crew of Amtrak B32-8 No. 514 could be heard switching to get ready for the move. Amtrak greased the rails on some curves and switches so the long
wheelbase of the GG1 could slide on through. First, No. 514 tacked onto the east end of the caboose and pulled it away from No. 4859, clearing the throat of the station’s platform tracks. It then re- versed direction and pushed the car back through the station on the Market Street Running Track. This stub track clears the west throat of the station platform tracks by about 15 car lengths and is used by Amtrak trains to back out of their arrival tracks and reposi- tion on departure tracks. Since the av- erage Keystone Service train is only six
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