The W-1 was a class of

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a Battery (electricity), battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime mover (locomotive), ...

used by the Great Northern Railway. They were constructed to haul trains on the electrified portion of the railroad across the

Cascade Mountains The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as many of those in the ...

from

Wenatchee, Washington Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and most populous city of Chelan County, Washington, Chelan County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and has increased to 35,508 as of 2020. ...

to Skykomish, Washington, including the

Cascade Tunnel The Cascade Tunnel refers to two railroad tunnels, its original tunnel and its replacement, in the northwest United States, east of the Seattle metropolitan area in the Cascade Range of Washington, at Stevens Pass. It is approximately east of ...

. Only two locomotives were built, and they had an AAR B-D+D-B wheel arrangements. The locomotives were built at

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

's Erie works in 1947, and were numbered 5018 and 5019. They were powered by two W-1 motor-generators, with a total , and at that time were the largest single-unit electric locomotives used in North America. The engines share a great resemblance to the Virginian EL-2B locomotives. Both locomotives were retired in August 1956 when the electrification system was switched off and diesel locomotives started operating. Unit 5019 was scrapped in 1959. Unit 5018 was sold to the

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

, who used its body and running gear as part of the unsuccessful experimental coal burning turbine-electric locomotive #80. It was eventually scrapped in 1968.

References

* * * * * {{GE electrics Great Northern Railway (U.S.) 11 kV AC locomotives W-1 General Electric locomotives Scrapped locomotives B-D+D-B Locomotives Electric locomotives of the United States Railway locomotives introduced in 1947 Streamlined_electric_locomotives