NYC Niagara
Encyclopedia
The New York Central Railroad Niagara was a type of steam locomotive
named after the Niagara River
and Falls
.They were express mixed traffic locomotives with a wheel arrangement
of 4-8-4
in the Whyte notation
.
The first New York Central Railroad
Northern (or 4-8-4
) was ordered in 1931: #800, an experimental locomotive that had its boiler divided into three sections of different pressure. This was another failed experiment in high pressure steam locomotive
s.
By the 1940s, it was obvious that the loads being hauled along the New York Central main line from New York to Chicago were as much as the famous J-class NYC Hudson
4-6-4
's could handle. The Chief of Motive Power for the railroad, Paul W. Kiefer, decided to order some 4-8-4's which could sustain 6000 hp on the run between the two cities, day after day without respite.
The American Locomotive Company ALCO proposed these locomotives, and although the design owes something to the Union Pacific 4-8-4
's, of which Union Pacific 844
is the best-known, the design was actually quite new. Some steam experts have claimed the Niagara to be the ultimate locomotive, as it had the speed of an FEF (the Union Pacific's nickname for their 'four eight fours' was FEF) and the power of Northerns with smaller driver wheels.
regulations prohibited the building of passenger engines in 1945. The NYC's last steam locomotive was a Class S-2 Niagara: #5500; it had poppet valves. One notable trait of the Niagaras was that they did not have steam domes, as most other steam locomotives did, which resulted in a very smooth contour across the top of the boiler. A perforated pipe was used to collect steam instead. This was necessary because of the lower loading gauge of the New York Central (15 ft 2 in versus 16 in 2 in (4.93 m) for the other American railroads).
These locomotives had quite a small water capacity (18,000 US gallons 68,000 litres) in the tender, because the New York Central was one of the few in North America which used track pans (or water troughs). This allowed for a larger coal capacity, which enabled the New York to Chicago run to be done with only one intermediate fueling: usually at Wayneport, New York (a few miles east of Rochester). Fuel capacity was an enormous 92000 pounds (41.7 t).
On test, these locomotives achieved 6700 hp, and ran an average of 26,000 miles per month.
All bearings were either roller bearings or needle rollers.
This type of intensive maintenance was studied by steam locomotive designers such as Andre Chapelon
, Livio Dante Porta
, and David Wardale. These designers based their modern steam locomotives on the experience gained in these Niagara-class locomotives: reliability; and a close attention to details leading to a reduction in maintenance costs.
The above is based on a table in
. Kiefer only claimed 5050 drawbar horsepower from a 79-inch 4-8-4, and the last line (dollars/power) has been added.
The results were much closer than the diesel salesmen were comfortable with, but these steam locomotives were hampered by several factors: a series of coal miners' strikes; aggressive dieselization sales efforts; and a failure of the highly-expensive firebox-wrapper metallurgy to withstand the conditions of actual operation. (reference: pages 172 ~ 173 The Great Book of Trains, Brian Hollingsworth and Arthur Cook (Bedford Editions, Salamander Books, 1987) )
Diesel fuel now costs about USD 3 per US gallon: a 3,750% increase since 1946, and coal US$70 per short ton
($77/t) (at the time of writing): a 1,555% increase since 1946.
http://madisonrails.railfan.net/lewman31_niagaras_retired.html
May 1955 - Niagaras 6000-6025 (26 engines) still on roster. (5500 had been retired 1951).
August 1955: 19 Niagaras retired, leaving 6000, 6007, 6015, 6019, 6020, 6023, 6024.
November 1955: 6007 retired.
March 1956: 6000, 6019, 6020, 6023, 6024 retired, leaving only 6015.
June 30, 1956: Last run of 6015 in passenger service, Train No. 416, Indianapolis to Cincinnati on account of a diesel failure. Departed Indianapolis 34 minutes late, arrived Cincinnati 6 minutes late.
July 2, 1956, Returned to Indianapolis in freight service, train CC-3. Final run.
The dates of scrapping are unknown at this stage, but this was believed to have occurred at Granite City, Illinois (just east of St. Louis, Missouri).
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
named after the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
and Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
.They were express mixed traffic locomotives with a wheel arrangement
Wheel arrangement
In rail transport, a wheel arrangement is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed beneath a locomotive.. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and connections, with the adopted notations varying by country...
of 4-8-4
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation 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 .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
in the Whyte notation
Whyte notation
The Whyte notation for classifying steam locomotives by wheel arrangement was devised by Frederick Methvan Whyte and came into use in the early twentieth century encouraged by an editorial in American Engineer and Railroad Journal...
.
The first New York Central Railroad
New York Central Railroad
The New York Central Railroad , known simply as the New York Central in its publicity, was a railroad operating in the Northeastern United States...
Northern (or 4-8-4
4-8-4
Under the Whyte notation 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 .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification: 2D2...
) was ordered in 1931: #800, an experimental locomotive that had its boiler divided into three sections of different pressure. This was another failed experiment in high pressure steam locomotive
High pressure steam locomotive
A high-pressure steam locomotive is a steam locomotive with a boiler that operates at pressures well above what would be considered normal. In the later years of steam, boiler pressures were typically...
s.
By the 1940s, it was obvious that the loads being hauled along the New York Central main line from New York to Chicago were as much as the famous J-class NYC Hudson
NYC Hudson
Hudson was the name given to the 4-6-4 steam locomotive wheel arrangement by the New York Central Railroad which was the first to use locomotives of this type in North America.-History:...
4-6-4
4-6-4
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and four trailing wheels on two axles .Other equivalent classifications are:UIC classification:...
's could handle. The Chief of Motive Power for the railroad, Paul W. Kiefer, decided to order some 4-8-4's which could sustain 6000 hp on the run between the two cities, day after day without respite.
The American Locomotive Company ALCO proposed these locomotives, and although the design owes something to the Union Pacific 4-8-4
Union Pacific FEF Series
The FEF was a series of three types of 4-8-4 steam locomotives owned and operated by the Union Pacific Railway. The classes were: FEF-1; FEF-2; FEF-3. "FEF" was an acronym for the wheel arrangement, "four-eight-four."-Origins:...
's, of which Union Pacific 844
Union Pacific 844
Union Pacific 844 is a 4-8-4 steam locomotive owned by Union Pacific Railroad. It was the last steam locomotive delivered to Union Pacific and is unique in that it is the only steam locomotive never retired by a North American Class I railroad....
is the best-known, the design was actually quite new. Some steam experts have claimed the Niagara to be the ultimate locomotive, as it had the speed of an FEF (the Union Pacific's nickname for their 'four eight fours' was FEF) and the power of Northerns with smaller driver wheels.
Locomotive details
The first actual Niagara ordered by the NYC was Class S-1a #6000 in 1945. The S-1b (6001-6025) were delivered in 1945-46. These were built as mixed-purpose locomotives. The 4-8-4 traditionally is a passenger locomotive, which the NYC used its Niagaras for after World War II, but War Production BoardWar Production Board
The War Production Board was established as a government agency on January 16, 1942 by executive order of Franklin D. Roosevelt.The purpose of the board was to regulate the production and allocation of materials and fuel during World War II in the United States...
regulations prohibited the building of passenger engines in 1945. The NYC's last steam locomotive was a Class S-2 Niagara: #5500; it had poppet valves. One notable trait of the Niagaras was that they did not have steam domes, as most other steam locomotives did, which resulted in a very smooth contour across the top of the boiler. A perforated pipe was used to collect steam instead. This was necessary because of the lower loading gauge of the New York Central (15 ft 2 in versus 16 in 2 in (4.93 m) for the other American railroads).
These locomotives had quite a small water capacity (18,000 US gallons 68,000 litres) in the tender, because the New York Central was one of the few in North America which used track pans (or water troughs). This allowed for a larger coal capacity, which enabled the New York to Chicago run to be done with only one intermediate fueling: usually at Wayneport, New York (a few miles east of Rochester). Fuel capacity was an enormous 92000 pounds (41.7 t).
On test, these locomotives achieved 6700 hp, and ran an average of 26,000 miles per month.
- Cylinders:
- Bore and stroke: 25½×32 inches (648×813 mm)
- Driving wheel diameter: 79 inches (2.007 m)
- Boiler pressure: 275 lbf/in² (1.90 MPa)
- Tractive effort: 61,570 pounds-force (273.9 kN)
- Axle load: 32 long tonLong tonLong ton is the name for the unit called the "ton" in the avoirdupois or Imperial system of measurements, as used in the United Kingdom and several other Commonwealth countries. It has been mostly replaced by the tonne, and in the United States by the short ton...
s (32.5 t) - Valve gear: Baker valve gearBaker valve gearBaker valve gear was the main competitor to Walschaerts valve gear for steam locomotives in the United States. Strictly speaking it was not a valve gear but a variable expansion mechanism adapted to the Walschaerts layout replacing the expansion link and sliding die block...
- Total length: 115 feet 5½ inches (35.19 m)
- Total weight: 405 long tons (411 t)
All bearings were either roller bearings or needle rollers.
Maintenance
The six days per week running schedule of these locomotives meant that all of the maintenance work normally done over the course of that week would have to be done on one day. This meant a specialized system was developed, where men in "hot suits" (asbestos heat-resistant coveralls) entered the firebox while the locomotive was still in steam and cleared all of the tubes, repaired the brick arch, etc. As the temperature inside the firebox itself would have been well over 100 degrees Celsius (212 F), and the working area these maintenance workers would have been standing on was the still-hot firebars of the grate, all references describe these workers as 'heroic' (reference: pages 172 ~ 173 The Great Book of Trains, Brian Hollingsworth and Arthur Cook (Bedford Editions, Salamander Books, 1987) )This type of intensive maintenance was studied by steam locomotive designers such as Andre Chapelon
André Chapelon
André Chapelon was a noted French mechanical engineer and designer of advanced steam locomotives. Engineer of Ecole Centrale Paris, he was one of very few locomotive designers who brought a rigorous scientific method to their design, and he sought to apply up-to-date knowledge and theories in...
, Livio Dante Porta
Livio Dante Porta
Livio Dante Porta was an Argentine steam locomotive engineer. He is particularly remembered for his innovative modifications to existing locomotive systems in order to obtain higher performance, energy efficiency and reduced pollution. He developed the Kylpor and Lempor exhaust systems...
, and David Wardale. These designers based their modern steam locomotives on the experience gained in these Niagara-class locomotives: reliability; and a close attention to details leading to a reduction in maintenance costs.
The 1946 steam-versus-diesel trials
Six of these locomotives were chosen by their designer, Paul W. Kiefer, to participate in the famous 1946 Steam Versus Diesel road trials, where the 6000 hp Niagaras were put up against some 4000 hp diesels (E7's). The locomotives were run along the 928.1 miles (1,493.6 km) from New York (Harmon) to Chicago, via Albany, Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Cleveland, Toledo and Elkhart, and return. The results were actually very close, as the table below shows:| Cost comparison Steam versus diesel, 1946 NYC road trials Running from New York (Harmon) to Chicago (928.1 miles or 1,493.6 km) and return Note: dollar figures quoted in 1946 US dollars. To get 2007 US dollar figures, multiply by 10.66 |
||||||
| Steam S-1 'Niagara' (six locomotives) |
Diesel E7 4,000 bhp two unit (six locomotives) |
Diesel E7 6,000 bhp Three Unit (estimated by New York Central) |
||||
| Approximate relative first costs (as at December, 1946) |
100% | 147% | 214% | |||
| Total drawbar horsepower | 6,000 hp | 3,320 dbhp | 4,980 dbhp | |||
| Relative first cost, in dollars per horsepower |
100% | 265% | 258% | |||
| Total annual mileage per locomotive | 288,000 (310 trips per annum) |
324,000 (349 trips per annum) |
324,000 (349 trips per annum) |
|||
| COST PER LOCOMOTIVE | Actual | As percentage of total |
Actual | As percentage of total |
Estimated (by New York Central) |
As percentage of total |
| Repairs | $102,528 | 31.48% | $114,048 | 35.6% | $162,000 | 38.4% |
| Fuel | $118,080 | 36.26% | $90,720 | 28.3% | $136,080 | 32.3% |
| Water | $8,928 | 2.74% | $1,296 | 0.4% | $1,620 | 0.4% |
| Lubrication | $3,168 | 0.97% | $9,720 | 3.0% | $14,580 | 3.5% |
| Other Supplies | $1,440 | 0.44% | $648 | 0.2% | $648 | 0.2% |
| Enginehouse Expense | $28,800 | 8.84% | $32,400 | 10.1% | $32,400 | 7.7% |
| Crew Wages (Two men) | $55,987 | 17.19% | $64,120 | 20.0% | $66,290 | 15.7% |
| Vacation Allowance (3%) | $1,670 | 0.51% | $1,912 | 0.6% | $1,976 | 0.5% |
| Social Security & Unemployment Tax (8.75%) | $5,040 | 1.55% | $5,767 | 1.8% | $5,962 | 1.4% |
| Total Cost Per Mile (Operating) | $1.1307 | $0.9896 | $1.3011 | |||
| Total Annual Operating Cost | $325,642 | $320,630 | $421,556 | |||
| Fixed Charges (Interest, depreciation, insurance) |
$24,453 | $38,841 | $56,640 | |||
| Total Annual Cost Per Locomotive | $350,095 | $359,471 | $478,196 | |||
| Total Annual Cost Per Mile Per Locomotive | $1.22 | $1.11 | $1.48 | |||
| Total Annual Cost Per Locomotive Drawbar Horsepower | $58.35 | $108.27 | $96.02 | |||
The above is based on a table in
. Kiefer only claimed 5050 drawbar horsepower from a 79-inch 4-8-4, and the last line (dollars/power) has been added.
The results were much closer than the diesel salesmen were comfortable with, but these steam locomotives were hampered by several factors: a series of coal miners' strikes; aggressive dieselization sales efforts; and a failure of the highly-expensive firebox-wrapper metallurgy to withstand the conditions of actual operation. (reference: pages 172 ~ 173 The Great Book of Trains, Brian Hollingsworth and Arthur Cook (Bedford Editions, Salamander Books, 1987) )
Diesel fuel now costs about USD 3 per US gallon: a 3,750% increase since 1946, and coal US$70 per short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
($77/t) (at the time of writing): a 1,555% increase since 1946.
The last days of the Niagaras
As the firebox wrappers failed, the locomotives were withdrawn, and eventually all were scrapped. According to the following, the retirement dates are below:http://madisonrails.railfan.net/lewman31_niagaras_retired.html
May 1955 - Niagaras 6000-6025 (26 engines) still on roster. (5500 had been retired 1951).
August 1955: 19 Niagaras retired, leaving 6000, 6007, 6015, 6019, 6020, 6023, 6024.
November 1955: 6007 retired.
March 1956: 6000, 6019, 6020, 6023, 6024 retired, leaving only 6015.
June 30, 1956: Last run of 6015 in passenger service, Train No. 416, Indianapolis to Cincinnati on account of a diesel failure. Departed Indianapolis 34 minutes late, arrived Cincinnati 6 minutes late.
July 2, 1956, Returned to Indianapolis in freight service, train CC-3. Final run.
The dates of scrapping are unknown at this stage, but this was believed to have occurred at Granite City, Illinois (just east of St. Louis, Missouri).
Replicas
- Completed in 1998 after 25 years construction, the accurate live steam replica 1/5 scale 10 1/4" gauge of 6019 is the largest known example of this extinct class in the world and works along side a 1/5 scale NKP Berkshire at the private Stapleford Miniature RailwayStapleford Miniature RailwayStapleford Miniature Railway is a historic steam locomotive-hauled gauge railway at Stapleford Park, Stapleford near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England....
in the UK