Nos. 1290 and 1291 | |||||||||
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The New York Central Railroad's #1290 and #1291 were a pair of Canadian F-82 4-6-0 "Ten-Wheelers". They were built in July and November 1900 by the Canada Southern Railway in the company's St. Thomas, Ontario, shops. [1] Costing $18,537.82 each, [2] they originally received the numbers 449 and 454. Four years later, the railroad was leased to the Michigan Central Railroad for 99 years, and the two locomotives were soon renumbered to 8152 and 8153. In 1929, the railroad was subleased to the New York Central, where it became its St. Clair Subdivision. [1] [3] During this time, the two steam engines were principally used on the St. Clair Subdivision, along with the Fort Erie and Niagara Falls branch lines. [2] The locomotives were renumbered again in 1936, to 880 and 881. This lasted 12 years before they were renumbered a final time, to 1290 and 1291. [1] [3]
Despite the great purging of steam-powered engines on the Central in the 1950s, 1290 and 1291 were not immediately replaced. They ran on the Courtright branch line for the last part of their lives, as its track and bridges—running for 62 miles (100 km) between Courtright and St. Clair Junction, near St. Thomas—had deteriorated by the end of the 40s and could no longer handle newer (and heavier) motive power. By 1955, they were two of only 44 steam locomotives left running on the entire New York Central system. At some point in their later careers, water towers were removed from along the line; for all runs after, 1290 and 1291 ran with an auxiliary water tender behind the normal tender. [1]
In 1955 and 1956, employees of Trains visited the line. On the latter trip, Jim Shaughnessy accompanied photographers Philip Hastings and John Krause and commented that the engines were virtually still in their 1900 form:
It was like entering a time warp to see old locomotives still in steam. Hardly anything had changed on the two 4-6-0's in their 56-year lifetime—no stoker or power reverse, just hand-fired, 73-ton machines with slide valves, 64-inch driving wheels, and 501⁄2-inch-tall smokestacks. [1]
Both locomotives lasted well into the diesel age. 1291 ran until 1956, while 1290 ran until April 27, 1957. The reason that neither of the two locomotives survive in preservation is due to the total anti-preservation philosophy of then-NYC President Alfred E. Perlman, who similarly ordered that every NYC Hudson and Niagara be scrapped. [4] Having an estimated $4,928.57 in scrap value, [2] 1290 was broken up in St. Thomas, while 1291 was taken to Buffalo, New York. The branch line lasted only three years beyond that. [1] [3]
The two locomotives were inducted into the North America Railway Hall of Fame in 2006. [2]
The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midwest, along with the intermediate cities of Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Rochester and Syracuse. The New York Central was headquartered in the New York Central Building, adjacent to its largest station, Grand Central Terminal.
A tender or coal-car is a special rail vehicle hauled by a steam locomotive containing its fuel and water. Steam locomotives consume large quantities of water compared to the quantity of fuel, so their tenders are necessary to keep them running over long distances. A locomotive that pulls a tender is called a tender locomotive. Locomotives that do not have tenders and carry all their fuel and water on board are called tank locomotives or tank engines.
0-6-0 is the Whyte notation designation for steam locomotives with a wheel arrangement of no leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and no trailing wheels. Historically, this was the most common wheel arrangement used on both tender and tank locomotives in versions with both inside and outside cylinders.
The New York Central Railroad (NYC) called the 4-8-2 type of steam locomotive the Mohawk type. It was known as the Mountain type on other roads, but the New York Central did not see the name as fitting on its famous Water Level Route. Instead, it picked the name of one of those rivers its rails followed, the Mohawk River, to name its newest type of locomotive.
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.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type was first used by the Northern Pacific Railway, and initially named the Northern Pacific, but railfans and railroad employees have shortened the name since its introduction. It is most-commonly known as a Northern.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation, after the Lehigh and Mahanoy Railroad’s Consolidation, the name of the first 2-8-0.
The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad has been under CN's subsidiary holding company, the Grand Trunk Corporation. Grand Trunk Western's routes are part of CN's Michigan Division. Its primary mainline between Chicago and Port Huron, Michigan serves as a connection between railroad interchanges in Chicago and rail lines in eastern Canada and the Northeastern United States. The railroad's extensive trackage in Detroit and across southern Michigan has made it an essential link for the automotive industry as a hauler of parts and automobiles from manufacturing plants.
A camelback locomotive is a type of steam locomotive with the driving cab placed in the middle, astride the boiler. Camelbacks were fitted with wide fireboxes which would have severely restricted driver visibility from the normal cab location at the rear.
The Michigan Central Railroad was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in the United States and the province of Ontario in Canada. After about 1867 the railroad was controlled by the New York Central Railroad, which later became part of Penn Central and then Conrail. After the 1998 Conrail breakup, Norfolk Southern Railway now owns much of the former Michigan Central trackage.
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a 2-6-6-2 is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheels. The wheel arrangement was principally used on Mallet-type articulated locomotives, although some tank locomotive examples were also built. A Garratt locomotive or Golwé locomotive with the same wheel arrangement is designated 2-6-0+0-6-2 since both engine units are pivoting.
The Canada Southern Railway, also known as CSR, was a railway in southwestern Ontario, Canada, founded on February 28, 1868 as the Erie and Niagara Extension Railway. Its name was changed to Canada Southern Railway on December 24, 1869. The 1868 Act specified that it was to be constructed at a broad gauge of 5 ft 6 in, but that requirement was repealed in the 1869 Act, thus allowing construction at the standard gauge of 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in.
The New York Central Railroad's Niagara was a class of 27 4-8-4 steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company for the New York Central Railroad. Like many railroads that adopted different names for their 4-8-4s rather than “Northerns”, the New York Central named them “Niagaras”, after the Niagara River and Falls. It is considered as one of the most efficient 4-8-4 locomotives ever built.
On the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, locomotives were always considered of great importance, and the railroad was involved in many experiments and innovations.
New York Central 3001 is a 4-8-2 Mohawk (Mountain)-type steam locomotive built in October 1940 by American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Schenectady, New York as a member of the L-3a class for the New York Central Railroad (NYC). Normally known as Mountain types, the NYC 4-8-2 steam locomotives were dubbed as Mohawk types after the Mohawk River, which ran alongside NYC's famed Water Level Route. Built for dual-service work, No. 3001 was used to haul both freight and passenger trains on the NYC system until being retired in February 1957.
S-Motor was the class designation given by the New York Central to its ALCO-GE built S-1, S-2, S-2a and S-3 electric locomotives. The S-Motors hold the distinction of being the world's first mass-produced main line electric locomotives with the prototype #6000 being constructed in 1904. The S-Motors would serve alone until the more powerful T-motors began to arrive in 1913, eventually displacing them from main line passenger duties. From that point the class was assigned to shorter commuter trains and deadhead rolling stock between Grand Central Terminal and Mott Haven coach yard. Some examples, including the prototype later renumbered #100, would serve in this capacity through the Penn Central merger in 1968, only being retired in the 1970s as long distance passenger traffic to Grand Central dried up.
The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society (FWRHS) is a non-profit group in New Haven, Indiana that is dedicated to the restoration and operation of the ex-Nickel Plate Railroad's steam locomotive no. 765 and other vintage railroad equipment. Since restoration, the 765 was added to the National Register of Historic Places as no. 96001010 on September 12, 1996 and has operated excursion trains across the Eastern United States. In 2012, the FWRHS's steam locomotive no. 765 was added to the Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program.
New York Central 2933 is a 4-8-2 "Mohawk" (Mountain) type steam locomotive built in 1929 by the American Locomotive Company for the New York Central Railroad. The wheel arrangement is known as the Mountain type on other railroads, but the New York Central dubbed them "Mohawks" after the Mohawk River, which the railroad followed. It pulled freight trains until being retired in 1957. As of 2024, the locomotive is on display at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri.
Union Pacific 618 is a C-2 class 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type steam locomotive previously owned by the Union Pacific Railroad. The engine is now located in Heber City, Utah and owned by the Heber Valley Railroad. Built in July 1907 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) of Eddystone, Pennsylvania, No. 618 is one of 2 surviving Oregon Short Line C-2 locomotives. The locomotive operated in revenue service until 1958. It was then donated to the State of Utah, where it sat on display for many years. In the mid 1960s, a full restoration effort began on the locomotive with the promise of heading up Utah's first tourist railroad in Heber City after the state donated the engine to the National Railway Historical Society. Today, it is one of UP's oldest locomotives and the first steam locomotive to be removed from a Public Park, and put back into operational condition in excursion service. The engine currently is out of service in Heber City, Utah undergoing its FRA inspection and some major restoration work back to operating condition.
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1290 underway Note the additional canteen behind the regular tender. | |
1290 near Courtright |