New Jersey Transit GG1 4875 at Wilmington, Delaware on an unknown day in May 1979, Ektachrome by Chuck Zeiler. Two stories go with this photo. Story one: I was the Audio-Visual guy at a company in Chicago, and was assigned to spy on the competition's new stores on the east coast. The assignment involved my flying to Massachusetts, renting a car, driving to the location, and photographing the new store, then, get on a plane, fly to the next location, repeat. There were about a dozen locations ending in Washington DC. The purpose was to produce a slide presentation for my employer's Board of Directors. I determined that the flying was a hassle and phoned my boss and suggested that I keep the rental car and drive to the rest of the locations. Once that plan was approved, I plotted the railroad photo opportunities nearest to my primary objectives. The route took me to Wilmington, and while passing through town, I noticed a lot of cantenary wire on my left. I took the nearest exit and found my way to the Wilmington Shops. Upon arrival, I shot everything I saw with flanged wheels, and even managed a cab ride in a GP7 that was switching dead GG1's. I was preparing to leave when I stumbled on this scene. Story two: Number 4875 had derailed the front axle. The gentleman on the ground with hand raised rounded up the other two gentlemen, and with a carefully placed rock (seen just below the pilot) walked the GG1 back onto the rails. At this point, the flanges are riding the top of the rail, and a moment after I pressed the shutter button, the wheels droped back into running position. Number 4875 moved back to the shop for a quick inspection, the three gentlemen went back to their respective jobs, I departed for more corporate espionage, and the rock stayed in position for the next incident. All in all, one of the friendliest railroad locations I ever visited. |