GG1

The Pennsylvania Railroad GG1: Juniata Locomotive Shops

As the Pennsylvania Railroad pushed west in 1850, it established an engine house at the base of the Allegheny Mountains where trains could be broken up or additional locomotives added to climb the heavy grades westward. This location now in the City of Altoona, PA. and the engine house with its small shop buildings grew into the largest complex of railroad shops in the world.

In 1866, locomotives were being built new in the Altoona Works in a shop known as the Altoona Machine Shop. The PRR built a total of 2,289 steam locomotives in this shop before it was converted into a locomotive repair shop in January, 1904.

A new locomotive erecting facility was opened in July, 1891 at the Altoona Works and for a while it was operated simultaneously with the Altoona Machine Shop. The new facility, known as the Juniata Shops, built a total of 4,584 new steam and electric locomotives until it ceased building locomotives in June, 1946. The last locomotive outshopped was a T-1, number 5524. The name Juniata was dropped in 1928, in favor of referring to the entire complex as the Altoona Works.

The first locomotive testing facility was designed by the PRR and operated as an exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in Forest Park, St Louis, Mo. This unique plant consisted of a test stand that let a locomotive run on rotating drums whose rotation could be regulated through braking to simulate the load of a train under various operating conditions. After the Fair was over, the testing facility was dismantled and reassembled at the Altoona Works in 1905.

At its high point, the Altoona Works consisted of four units: the 12th Street Car Shop, the Altoona Car Shop, the Juniata Shops and the South Altoona Foundries. These four units were comprised of 122 buildings containing 37 acres of floor space, 4,500 machine tools, and 94 overhead cranes. The complex employed 13,000 people and the rail yard alone covered 218 acres.

Between April,1935 and June,1943, the Juniata Shops built a total of 124 GG1 locomotives. The following is a list of the GG1s built with the construction number and the date built.

Roster of Juniata Shops Built GG1s

Road NumbersDate BuiltConstruction Numbers
4815 & 4840 - 48424/19354285 & 4282 - 4284
4816-4821 & 4843-48505/1935see note #1
4822 - 48336/1935see note #2
4851 - 48576/1935see note #3
4834 - 48397/19354319-4324
4858 - 486212/19374325-4329
4863 - 48671/19384330-4334
48682/19384336
4869 - 487112/19384337 - 4339
4872 - 48771/19394340 & 4342 - 4346
4878 - 48832/19394347 - 4352
4884 - 48863/19394353 - 4355
4887 & 48884/19394356 & 4357
4889 - 48923/19404358 - 4361
4893 - 49974/19404362 - 4366
4898 - 49045/19404367 - 4373
49057/19404376
49066/19404374
4907 & 49088/19404377 & 4375
4909 & 491012/19414378 & 4379
4911 - 49131/19424380 - 4382
4914 - 49186/19424384 - 4388
4919 - 49217/19424389 - 4391
4922 - 49268/19424392 - 4396
4927 & 49289/19424397 & 4398
4929 - 49322/19434418, 4421, 4426 & 4427
4933-49353/19434428, 4431 & 4434
4936 & 49374/19434439 & 4445
49386/19434462

Notes:

  1. 4289, 4293, 4295, 4296, 4298, 4299, 4286 - 4288, 4290 - 4292, 4294 & 4297.
  2. 4302, 4303, 4305, 4307 - 4309, 4311 - 4314, 4317 & 4318.
  3. 4300, 4301, 4304, 4306, 4310, 4315 & 4316.

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Much thanks to Richard Duley who has helped to provide a great deal of the information found on this page
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Wes Barris