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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, albeit not completely due to opposing preservation. The financial situation of the New York Central was critical when Perlman became the chairman, and the scrap value of all the steam locomotives was enough to bring the railroad back from the brink. His decision to scrap the entirety of the NYC's steam fleet (and later those of the Denver & Rio Grande Western's standard gauge) has earned him an infamous reputation as a steam hater and anti-preservationist. This was not entirely true, however, as later on he did personally donate Mohawk-type #2933 and 4-4-0 #999.
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.