New York Central Hudson

The New York Central Hudson was a popular 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO), Baldwin Locomotive Works and the Lima Locomotive Works in three series from 1927 to 1938 for the New York Central Railroad. Named after the Hudson River, the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement came to be known as the "Hudson" type in the United States, as these locomotives were the first examples built and used in North America. Built for high-speed passenger train work, the Hudson locomotives were famously known for hauling the New York Central's crack passenger trains, such as the 20th Century Limited and the Empire State Express.

New York Central Hudson
Promotional image of a New York Central streamlined Dreyfuss Hudson locomotive
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder Alco-Schenectady (ALCO) (265); Lima Locomotive Works (10) Build date 1927–1931 (J-1); 1928–1931 (J-2); 1937–1938 (J-3) Total produced 275
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-6-4  • UIC 2’C2’h2s Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Leading dia. 36 in (914 mm) Driver dia. 79 in (2,007 mm) Trailing dia. 36 in (914 mm) (front) 51 in (1,295 mm) (rear) Wheelbase 83 ft 7+1⁄2 in (25.489 m) Length 97 ft 2+3⁄8 in (29.626 m) Width 10 ft 6 in (3.20 m) Height 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m) Axle load 67,267 lb (30,511.8 kg; 30.5 t) Adhesive weight 201,800 lb (91,534.9 kg; 91.5 t) Loco weight 365,500 lb (165,788.0 kg; 165.8 t) Tender weight 316,400 lb (143,500 kg; 143.5 t) Total weight 681,900 lb (309,300 kg; 309.3 t) Tender type 8-wheel; 12-wheel; 14-wheel Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 56,000 lb (25,400 kg; 25.40 t) Water cap. 13,600 US gal (51,000 L; 11,300 imp gal) Firebox: ​  • Grate area 82 sq ft (7.6 m2) Boiler 91.5 in (2,324 mm) Boiler pressure 265 lbf/in2 (1.83 MPa) Feedwater heater Elesco bundle; Worthington SA; Coffin Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 360 sq ft (33.4 m2)  • Tubes 657 sq ft (61.0 m2)  • Flues 3,170 sq ft (295 m2)  • Tubes and flues 3,827 sq ft (355.5 m2)  • Total surface 5,572 sq ft (517.7 m2) Superheater: ​  • Heating area 1,745 sq ft (162.1 m2) Cylinders Two Cylinder size 22.5 in × 29 in (572 mm × 737 mm) Valve gear Baker Valve type Piston valves
Performance figures Maximum speed 123.6 mph 198 km/h Tractive effort 41,860 lbf (186.20 kN) Factor of adh. 4.82
Career Operators New York Central Railroad, Boston and Albany Railroad, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, Michigan Central Railroad, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway Class J-1, J-2 and J-3 Number in class 205 (J-1), 20 (J-2), 50 (J-3) Retired 1953 - 1957 Disposition All scrapped by the late 1950s (steam heat car converted from the tender of J-1d 5313 preserved at Steamtown National Historic Site), none preserved

With the onset of diesel locomotives by the mid-20th Century, all Hudson locomotives were retired and subsequently scrapped by 1957, except for the tender from J-1d 5313, which is preserved at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

History

Background

The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) was the first to design a 4-6-4 locomotive (naming them Baltics); however, they were not built until after the New York Central's Hudsons. NYC President Patrick E. Crowley named the units Hudsons after the Hudson River, which divides New York State's Hudson Valley and streams broadly past New York City.

Builder's photograph of J-1b class Hudson #5249

The Hudson came into being because the existing 4-6-2 Pacific power was not able to keep up with the demands of longer, heavier trains and higher speeds. Given NYC's axle load limits, Pacifics could not be made any larger; a new locomotive type would be required to carry the larger boilers. Lima Locomotive Works' conception of superpower steam as realized in the 2-8-4 Berkshire type was the predecessor to the Hudson. The 2-8-4's 4-wheel trailing truck permitted a huge firebox to be located after the boiler. The resulting greater steaming rate ensured that such a locomotive would never run out of power at speed, a common failing of older locomotives. Applying the ideas of the freight-minded Berkshire type to the Pacific resulted in a 4-6-4 locomotive.

NYC ordered prototype No. 5200 from Alco, and subjected it to intensive testing. A fleet of 205 J-1 class Hudsons were eventually built, including 30 each for the Michigan Central Railroad (MC road numbers 8200-8229) and the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway ("Big Four" - road numbers 6600-6629). In addition, NYC subsidiary Boston & Albany Railroad ordered 20 J-2 class (B&A road numbers 600-619), the latter 10 from Lima Locomotive Works (all other NYC Hudsons were built by Alco's Schenectady works). A later development were 50 J-3a class Super Hudsons in 1937–1938, with many modern appliances and innovations. After the MC, Big 4, and B&A locomotives were incorporated into the NYC numbering, the NYC Hudson locomotives had road numbers ranging from 5200 to 5474. The NYC J-1 road numbers were 5200-5344, the MC J-1s became NYC 5345-5374, the Big 4 J-1s became NYC 5375-5404, the J-2s (all from B&A) became NYC road numbers 5455-5474, and the J-3 road numbers were 5405-5454. The J-2 numbers are last because they were transferred to the NYC after the J-3 deliveries.

Streamlining

Streamlined J-3a Hudson at the 1939 New York World's Fair

The Hudsons were of excellent quality. In response to the styling sensation of the new diesel-powered Zephyr streamliner, Locomotive No. 5344 (the last J-1e) was fitted with an Art Deco streamlined shroud designed by Carl F. Kantola and was named Commodore Vanderbilt on December 27, 1934. The streamlining was later replaced to match the last ten J-3a Super Hudson locomotives (5445-5454) that had been built with streamlining designed by Henry Dreyfuss. J-1e Hudson #5344 stuck out from the rest of the roster, as it was the only J-1 to be streamlined, and was one of two locomotives ever to be streamlined twice (the other being a Baltimore and Ohio P-7, number 5304). Two more J-3a locomotives (5426 & 5429) had a 3rd streamlining style fitted in 1941 for Empire State Express service. The streamlined locomotives featured prominently in NYC advertising.

The forte of all Hudsons was power at top speed. They were poor performers at low speed and the presence of a booster engine on the trailing truck was an absolute necessity for starting. For this reason, they were generally favored by railroads with flat terrain and straight routes. After the NYC, the Milwaukee Road was also fond of the Hudsons, acquiring 22 class F6 and six streamlined class F7s. The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway also had 16, while the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad had 10 (#1400-1409) streamlined I-5 4-6-4s built by Baldwin in 1937 (nicknamed "Shoreliners"). Few railroads with hilly terrain acquired any.

A booster was prone to troubles, however, and gradually fell out of favor. Instead of a complicated booster, it was deemed preferential to have an extra pair of driving wheels, and thus better traction.

On September 7, 1943, No. 5450 suffered a boiler explosion in Canastota, New York, killing three enginemen and putting it out of service until the end of World War II due to a steel shortage.

Trials of later, dual-purpose 4-8-2 Mohawks sealed the Hudson's fate. The L-3 and L-4 Mohawks were excellent, but they were still more suited to lower-speed hauling than high-speed power. In 1944, NYC received permission from the War Production Board to build a new, high-speed locomotive of the 4-8-4 type, combining all the advantages of the Hudson with those of the Mohawk. Many other railroads had taken to the 4-8-4 in the 1930s, generally calling them Northerns after the Northern Pacific Railway, which had first adopted them. By being a late adopter, the NYC had the chance to build on everyone else's experience. That locomotive proved to be exceptional, and the type on the NYC was named the Niagara. Since only 27 were built, however, they only took over the heaviest and most-prestigious trains, and the last Niagara (No. 6015) was retired in July, 1956. Many Hudsons soldiered-on until the end of steam on NYC in 1957.

Fate

When the railroad dieselized, all of the Hudsons were scrapped; none were preserved. This was caused by the direct order of then-NYC president Alfred E. Perlman, who was completely opposed to historic preservation. Two J-1d class Hudsons, numbers 5311 and 5313, were sold to the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway in 1948 and were renumbered 501 and 502 respectively. Both locomotives were retired and scrapped in 1954 when the TH&B dieselized. The tender from the 502 (formerly the 5313) was retained by the TH&B and converted to a steam generator car for use on passenger trains. The generator car still survives today and is part of the Steamtown National Historic Site collection.

Popular culture

#5344 Commodore Vanderbilt (the last J-1e) featured Art Deco streamlining designed by Carl F. Kantola when introduced in 1934 (here in 1935, Chicago Board of Trade Building in background). By no later than 1939, it had been re-shrouded with the Art Deco streamlining designed by Henry Dreyfuss for the J-3 Super Hudsons.

• The character Connor from the Thomas & Friends television series is stylized after a streamlined NYC Hudson.
• NYC Hudsons are featured on the covers of Van Halen's 2012 album A Different Kind of Truth, the Commodores 1975 album Movin' On, Three Dog Night's 1975 album Coming Down Your Way, and the 2020 Dennis DeYoung album ‘’26 East : Volume 1’’.
• In Pocket Trains, there is a steam locomotive called the Century Limited. It resembles a streamlined Dreyfuss J-3 4-6-4 locomotive but is a 2-6-4 locomotive in the game. It is also the only steam locomotive in the game with side rods.
• In the Courage the Cowardly Dog episode "The Mask", a steam locomotive loosely based on a streamlined NYC J-3a Hudson was seen pulling an Amtrak passenger train which destroyed Mad Dog's car near the end of the episode.
• In the movie The Iron Giant, a steam locomotive resembling a NYC J-3a Hudson was pulling a coal train that crashed into the Giant while he was trying to fix the train tracks he ate at the railroad crossing.
• In season 5 episode 6 of The Big Bang Theory, "The Rhinitis Revelation", a "New Empire State Express" poster can be briefly seen on the back of Sheldon Cooper's door at the very end of the episode when Leonard interrupts Mary Cooper singing Soft Kitty.
• In The Grand Tour, the J-3 Hudson can be seen in the opening part of the show. Its valve gear is incorrectly animated.
• In How I Met Your Mother a poster of the New York Central Hudson can be seen in Ted Mosby's apartment, above the fireplace.
• The icon for the app Transport Tycoon, a version of Chris Sawyer's Locomotion for mobile devices, depicts a locomotive that closely resembles the New York Central Hudson.
• In Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, a J-3a Dreyfuss appears in a vintage photo that was kept by Seymour Simmons in which the Hudson is confirmed as a Seeker by Autobot Wheelie.
• In the Rugrats episode "Murmur on the Ornery Express", there is a steam locomotive called "Biendeltown Express", which resembles a NYC streamlined NYC J-3a Hudson.
• In the movie Everyone's Hero, there is a steam locomotive that resembles a NYC J-1e Hudson. A streamlined J-3a Dreyfuss Super Hudson can be seen on a poster in a train station.
• The exact same above photo of the Streamlined Hudson at the 1939 New York World's Fair appears, framed, on the wall of Sam Lowry's apartment in Terry Gilliam's Brazil (1985 film) in the scene where Archibald Tuttle (played by Robert De Niro) is fixing Sam Lowry's faulty air conditioning system. Sam Lowry is played by Jonathan Pryce.
• In the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "The Great Patty Caper'', there is a steam locomotive called the "Oceanic Express", which loosely resembles a NYC J-1a Hudson.
• In the short film Lorenzo, there is a silhouette that resembles a NYC J-1e Hudson.
• The Hudsons have been featured in train games like Trainz and Train Simulator Classic(third-party only for the latter).
• The Red Ball Raceway logo in NASCAR 2005: Chase For The Cup and NASCAR 07 feature a NYC Hudson.
• Several models have been made of the NYC Hudsons, starting with a scale model by the Lionel Corporation. This has been reissued a few times, the most recent by Lionel, LLC.

See also

• Delaware, Lackawanna and Western 1151 class

Bibliography

• Drury, George H. (1993). Guide to North American Steam Locomotives. Waukesha, Wisconsin: Kalmbach Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89024-206-2.

Further reading

• Staufer, Alvin F.; May, Edward L. (1974). Thoroughbreds: New York Central's 4-6-4 Hudson, the most Famous Class of Steam Locomotive in the World. Medina, Ohio: A. F. Staufer. ISBN 978-0944513033.
• Westing, Frederick (November 1957). "The Hudson". Trains. Vol. 18, no. 1. Kalmbach Publishing. pp. 44–59. Retrieved November 9, 2024.