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The New York Central Hudson was a popular 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotive built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) 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 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, with none preserved today except for a converted tender from J-1d 5313, which is preserved at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
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 the American Locomotive Company (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 was 50 J-3a class Super Hudsons in 1937–1938, with many modern appliances and innovations.
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 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.
Unfortunately, none of the NYC Hudson units survived; all were scrapped when the railroad dieselized, all were replaced by EMD E8.
Model trains
The Lionel Corporation has issued the Hudson in 1937, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1964, 1984, 1990, 2001, 2011 and 2019. The first model issued, in 1937, was made for a special 'T-Rail' track and numbered 5344. It was also the first mass-produced scale model train, numbered '700e' by Lionel, with 'e' designating it as having an electronic reversing unit, or 'e unit'.
The Hudson from 1946 and 1947, numbered 221 and made with Dreyfuss streamlining, was made in a grey paint scheme for the NYC railroad. It was the only grey steam locomotive produced by Lionel during the postwar years.
The 1950 and 1964 version were for O-Gauge Tubular track and numbered 773. The 1987 Hudson was released for O-Gauge Tubular track and numbered 783. The 2011 'legacy' Hudson was numbered 5344 like the 1937 Hudson but made for O Gauge FasTrack, Tubular, or Atlas O Gauge track.
MTH (Mike’s Train House) has also issued the Hudson since the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Broadway Limited Imports built an HO scale version of the Dreyfuss Hudson in a brass-hybrid material for their Paragon 2 lineup. Complete with Scullin wheels and prototype whistle, these models were sold alongside the NYC Niagara of the same model railroad scale. While MTH Dreyfuss Hudson HO scale models are somewhat abundant, BLI models are now a rarity, as BLI has discontinued the model.
The A.C. Gilbert Company produced the Hudson in their American Flyer S Gauge line from 1946 to 1964. This represented the standard J-3a configuration rather than any of the streamlined versions.
The Marx Toy Company produced a non-streamlined 1898 Hudson in their 027 style line from 1954 to 1963. In 1935 Marx released tinplate toy trains in windup and electric named the Commodore Vanderbilt.
Bachmann Trains released its accurately scaled version of the J-3a Super Hudson in N scale early in 2021. It features a diecast metal boiler and its trademarked Econami SoundTraxx sound package.
Three model streamliners are displayed in the 1885 Train Depot Museum. They were given to the depot by John Fox.
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