GG-1 locomotive No. 4935 leading the Murray Hill, 1977.

The GG-1 electric locomotives were manufactured for the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) in the 1930s and 1940s for use between Washington-New York and Philadelphia-Harrisburg. Amtrak continued to use the GG-1s until there were sufficient E-60 and AEM-7 locomotives so that the GG-1 fleet could be retired. In the mid-1970s, a group of rail fans known as the “Friends of the GG-1" raised funds to restore Amtrak-owned GG-1 #4935 to the original PRR paint scheme of dark, rich Brunswick Green with gold pinstripes. Refurbishment was undertaken at the Amtrak maintenance facility in Wilmington, Del. The locomotive went into revenue service on May 15, 1977 when it led the Murray Hill between Washington and New York. On hand for the inaugural run were Amtrak President and CEO Paul Reistrup and Raymond Loewy, the famed industrial designer who had finessed the prototype GG-1 to produce a sleek, streamlined railroad icon. For the locomotive's inaugural run, the Murray Hill also pulled two private railroad cars--the Lionel-Ives and Pennsylvania--for invited guests. Built in 1928, the Pennsylvania served as the PRR's presidential car until the 1960s. Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy rode aboard the historic car, and in 1968 it carried the body of slain Senator Robert F. Kennedy from New York City to Washington for burial in Arlington National Cemetery.