National New York Central Railroad Museum
Encyclopedia
The National New York Central Railroad Museum is a railroad museum
located in Elkhart, Indiana
that preserves the history of the New York Central Railroad
.
The museum is opposite the Elkhart Amtrak station
and includes several outdoor equipment displays, indoor model railroads, relics from the NYC and other railroad related exhibits including educational displays pertaining to the history of railroading. The museum is expanding its dedication to the preservation of both local and national railroad heritage.
and West
during the growth of railroading in the United States. In 1833 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
was established and built a line through the town. The LS&MS was acquired by the NYC in 1914.
Steam locomotives
Diesel locomotives
Electric locomotives
Cabooses
Other equipment
Train set and a 100 year old freight house. One enters the museum through the front lobby and passes through a 1915 passenger car to reach the main display area inside a 100 year old freight depot
. At the rear of the train you will find an authentic observation car.
. The Norfolk Southern mainline provides ample live entertainment outside the building. A train rolls by on the main line about every 15 minutes.
Railway museum
A railway museum is a museum that explores the history of all aspects of rail related transportation, including: locomotives , railway cars, trams, and railway signalling equipment.See List of railway museums...
located in Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart, Indiana
Elkhart is a city in Elkhart County, Indiana, United States. The city is located east of South Bend, northwest of Fort Wayne, east of Chicago, and north of Indianapolis...
that preserves the history of the 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...
.
The museum is opposite the Elkhart Amtrak station
Elkhart (Amtrak station)
Elkhart is a train station in Elkhart, Indiana served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. Elkhart is the second station on both the eastbound Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited toward New York City and Washington DC...
and includes several outdoor equipment displays, indoor model railroads, relics from the NYC and other railroad related exhibits including educational displays pertaining to the history of railroading. The museum is expanding its dedication to the preservation of both local and national railroad heritage.
History
Elkhart was a vital link between EastEast
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
and West
West
West is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.West is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of east and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the left side of a map is west....
during the growth of railroading in the United States. In 1833 the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway
The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, primarily along the south shore of Lake Erie and across northern Indiana...
was established and built a line through the town. The LS&MS was acquired by the NYC in 1914.
Equipment collection
- New York Central 3001New York Central 3001New York Central Railroad Mohawk #3001 is a preserved 4-8-2 "Mountain" type steam locomotive.-History:In the late 1930's, when looking for heavier steam power to move freight and passenger trains swiftly, the New York Central looked at a dual service steam locomotive. The modern 1940 L3a from ALCo...
(AlcoAmerican Locomotive CompanyThe American Locomotive Company, often shortened to ALCO or Alco , was a builder of railroad locomotives in the United States.-Early history:...
#69338 of 1940): The largest surviving example of NYC modern steam power technology and the only surviving L-3a class MohawkNYC MohawkThe New York Central Railroad called the 4-8-2 type of steam locomotive the Mohawk type. It was known as the Mountain type on other roads, but the mighty New York Central didn't see the name to be fitting on its famous Water Level Route, so it instead picked the name of one of those rivers its...
. It is one of two surviving NYC 4-8-24-8-2Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 4-8-2 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle...
engines. This steam-powered locomotive was one of the fastest locomotives of its time; primarily designed for use in the mountains, it often hauled passengers at speeds up to 79 mi/h along New York Central's "Water Level Route."
Diesel locomotives
- 1953 EMD E8EMD E8The EMD E8 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E8A, was manufactured from August, 1949 to December, 1953, and 449 were produced – 446 for U.S., and 3 for Canada...
- NYC #4085, was the lead locomotiveLocomotiveA locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
of the eastbound 20th Century Limited20th Century LimitedThe 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
when it left Chicago, Illinois bound for New York City for the last time on December 2, 1967. With the help of Plexiglas side panels, the visitor can view the inside of the engine compartment of this locomotive. Parts are painted in multiple colors and a wall chart explains what each part is and its function. Visitors can tour the cab and sit in the engineer's seat.
Electric locomotives
- Penn Central 4882 (Altoona WorksAltoona WorksAltoona Works is a large railroad industrial complex in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad to supply the railroad with locomotives, railroad cars and related equipment. For many years it was the largest railroad shop complex in the world.-History:In 1849, PRR...
, 1939): A Pennsylvania RailroadPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
GG1PRR GG1The PRR GG1 is a class of electric locomotives that was built for the Pennsylvania Railroad for use in the northeastern United States. A total of 140 GG1s were constructed by its designer General Electric and the Pennsylvania's Altoona Works from 1934 to 1943....
painted in Penn Central liveryLiveryA livery is a uniform, insignia or symbol adorning, in a non-military context, a person, an object or a vehicle that denotes a relationship between the wearer of the livery and an individual or corporate body. Often, elements of the heraldry relating to the individual or corporate body feature in...
. A legend in its own time. One of the fastest locomotives of its day, reaching speeds up to 100 mi/h. Designed with the assistance of the famed industrial designer Raymond LoewyRaymond LoewyRaymond Loewy was an industrial designer, and the first to be featured on the cover of Time Magazine, on October 31, 1949. Born in France, he spent most of his professional career in the United States...
.* A South Shore line car from 1926.
Cabooses
- 1974 Conrail bay window cabooseCabooseA caboose is a manned North American rail transport vehicle coupled at the end of a freight train. Although cabooses were once used on nearly every freight train, their use has declined and they are seldom seen on trains, except on locals and smaller railroads.-Function:The caboose provided the...
#21230. This caboose's exterior has been fully restored. Interior restoration has just begun. This is one of the many cabooses which the museum owns. Several more of various designs are slated to be restored.
Other equipment
- The museum displays several Pullman CompanyPullman CompanyThe Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...
railcars, a 150 tonTonThe ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
(165 TonneTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
s) CraneCrane (railroad)A railroad crane, is a type of crane used on a railroad for one of three primary uses: freight handling in goods yards, permanent way maintenance, and accident recovery work...
, 2 Steel B&OBaltimore and Ohio RailroadThe Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
freight cars, A 250 ton (275 Tonnes) Self-propelledSelf-propelledSelf-propelled often refers to some form of self-propelled travel. It can refer to* Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapon* Self-propelled anti-tank gun* Self-propelled artillery* Self-propelled barge T-36* Self-propelled gun* Self-propelled mortar...
crane, a Railroad Post OfficePost officeA post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
, and a PRRPennsylvania RailroadThe Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
DinerDinerA diner, also spelled dinor in western Pennsylvania is a prefabricated restaurant building characteristic of North America, especially in the Midwest, in New York City, in Pennsylvania and in New Jersey, and in other areas of the Northeastern United States, although examples can be found throughout...
.
Building and grounds
The building of the museum consists of a modified New York Central 20th Century Limited20th Century Limited
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
Train set and a 100 year old freight house. One enters the museum through the front lobby and passes through a 1915 passenger car to reach the main display area inside a 100 year old freight depot
Transportation hub
A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include train stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stop, airports and ferry slips. Freight hubs include classification yards, seaports and truck...
. At the rear of the train you will find an authentic observation car.
Live entertainment
The museum sits directly aside of one of the busiest railroad lines in the Midwestern United StatesMidwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. The Norfolk Southern mainline provides ample live entertainment outside the building. A train rolls by on the main line about every 15 minutes.
See also
- NYC MohawkNYC MohawkThe New York Central Railroad called the 4-8-2 type of steam locomotive the Mohawk type. It was known as the Mountain type on other roads, but the mighty New York Central didn't see the name to be fitting on its famous Water Level Route, so it instead picked the name of one of those rivers its...
- 20th Century Limited20th Century LimitedThe 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
- List of heritage railroads in the United States
External links
- National New York Central Railroad Museum The Official Website