The very FIRST Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1!
This model was created
in the early 1930's to demonstrate what the locomotive was going to look like.
I have been in possession of this rarest of artifacts for forty years and have
decided to part with it.
This is its story.
When I was a youngster, my father worked as a volunteer on a tourist steam
railroad and I was absolutely crazy about trains. (Truth be told, I still am.)
We went to a church where I attended Sunday School with a friend who's father
was involved with the formation of Penn Central. They were closing down an
office building in Philadelphia and he was instructed to throw a bunch of
stuff out. Including this locomotive model! At some risk, he snuck it into his
trunk and presented it to me after church the next Sunday. To say I was
thrilled would be quite the understatement!
He told me the story
about how this was made to show the Pennsy "Brass" exactly what the locomotive
was going to look like, before they would approve the project. I was 8 years
old at the time, and did not fully appreciate the historic significance, but I
do now. The story was repeated to me over the years by my father. I have no
documentation at all to prove this.
This is a
non-operational model constructed mostly of wood. It does have working
panographs and some other metal details. Considering its age, and it's brush
with the bon fire, it's in excellent condition. (I always took great care of
my trains, even as a youngster.) It is approximately 1/2 inch scale. The
dimensions are 40" long, 5.5" wide and 7" high. (Not counting the panographs.)
I never weighed it, but my guess would be about 25-30 pounds.
Because of its
historic value, shipping would be tricky and we would have to discuss that. I
would charge exactly what the freight would be with no charge for packing.
Perhaps I could make a pine crate.
The reason I've
decided to sell this is because I've spent quite a bit on trains over the
years, and enough is enough. Except, I really want a diesel for our live steam
railroad. If this can generate the funds for that, I'll let it go. Otherwise,
it looks great on display right where it is!
Asking price is $9999
and I would consider a trade for a 7 ½” gauge diesel. It is located in Western
Pennsylvania if you want to pick it up.
SOLD
