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...

 Mohawk #3001 is a preserved 4-8-2

4-8-2

Under 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...

 "Mountain" type steam locomotive

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...

.

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 was able to move both heavy passenger trains and freights with relative ease. So, the NYC acquired both the L-3 and L-4 classes of Mohawks from ALCo from 1940 to 1943.

Service Life

New York Central #3001 is a member of the class L-3a Mohawks. Based in Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

 after the NYC dieselized east of Cleveland on August 7, 1953, the mighty Mohawk powered many general freight and passenger trains, such as the 20th Century Limited

20th 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...

. Until dieselization of that division in 1949, she was often seen hauling passenger trains on the Boston & Albany. #3001 was often used to haul freight trains due to many 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:...

s being available for passenger trains; in later years, diesel-electric locomotives hauled the passenger trains. In the later years of steam on the New York Central, the 3001 and other modern Mohawks were demoted to lighter trains, due to Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad

Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad

The Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad , also known as the "Little Giant", was formed on May 11, 1875. Company headquarters were located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The line connected Pittsburgh in the east with Youngstown, Ohio at nearby Haselton, Ohio in the west and Connellsville, ...

 (NYC subsidiary) 2-8-4

2-8-4

In the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a railroad steam locomotive that has one unpowered leading axle followed by four powered driving axles and two unpowered trailing axles. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, though the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway used the name Kanawha for...

 "Berkshires" and NYC 4-8-4 Niagaras handling increasingly heavier freight and passenger trains on the system. As diesels flooded the NYC, the 3001 and her sisters saw the end coming nearer and nearer.

Retirement

The NYC sold L3a #3001 to the City of Dallas, Texas in 1957, to replace heavily vandalized Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 #638 on display at the Texas State Fairgrounds there. This is the only reason why she was not scrapped in 1957. Much later, #3001 was traded by the Museum of the American Railroad in Dallas to the National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, IN, for former PRR GG1 electric locomotive #4903. She remains the only modern NYC steam locomotive (built in 1940) in existence.

See also

PRR M1

PRR M1

M1 is a class of steam locomotive of the Pennsylvania Railroad . It was a class of heavy mixed-traffic locomotives of the 4-8-2 "Mountain" arrangement, which uses four pairs of driving wheels with a four-wheel guiding truck in front for stability at speed and a two-wheel trailing truck to support...

- This is the Pennsylvania Railroad

Pennsylvania Railroad

The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....

's version of the Mohawks. Just like the Mohawk, the M1 was a dual service locomotive.