New York Central Railroad - Hudson J3a 4-6-4 "Thoroughbreds"
The New York Central developed the Hudson Class of locomotives in 1926 to serve as the motive power for its premier named trains such as the 20th Century Limited, Empire State Express, Commodore Vanderbilt, Lake Shore Limited, New England States, etc... These locomotives with 79" driving wheels and 4,725 HP at speeds of 75 MPH were the "Thoroughbreds" of the passenger operations for the New York Central. The New York Central and its associated subsidiaries had 275 Hudson J1, J2, and J3 class locomotives built for its system, but sadly none exist today.
The Hudsons were developed in the age of Art Deco [Link] and its associated Streamline Moderne [Link] industrial design movement which was incorporating streamlining to many buildings, automobiles, ships, locomotives, and even every day consumer products. Things had to look like they were moving even if they were stationary! The railroads were aware of these trends in the streamlining aesthetic, and began efforts to bring the utilitarian steam locomotive out of its sheer mechanical form to a more modern "swift" looking machine. They enlisted designers such as Raymond Lowey [Link] (Pennsylvania RR) and Henry Dreyfuss [Link] (NYC RR) to bring streamlined designs to the locomotives and passenger car consists of their premier limited and express passenger trains. In 1936 the New York Central embarked on its first streamlining of a Hudson locomotive #5344 with the Commodore Vanderbilt which was shrouded in sheet metal in a less than aesthetically pleasing treatment which gave the locomotive an appearance of an upside down bathtub on rails. The prominent industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss was then hired by the New York Central to come up with a better design for the ten locomotives (#5445 - #5454) and passenger car consists for the New York to Chicago 20th Century Limited. What Dreyfus came up with brought a sleek new look to the locomotive which became an iconic symbol to the NYC and was used in promotional posters, timetables, and documents of the era. The Dreyfus design was further used in a facelift to the Empire State Express passenger service by shrouding the locomotives (#5426 & #5429) in a shiny exterior to match the stainless steel Budd passenger consist for this named train. Unfortunately, the coming out party for this new look and service was overshadowed by other events on December 7th 1941. With the realities of wartime and heavy use the cosmetic shrouding of these locomotives finally met their match and were eventually removed. The streamlining of the New York Hudson J3a's is illustrated in the rendered drawings below.
The Hudsons were developed in the age of Art Deco [Link] and its associated Streamline Moderne [Link] industrial design movement which was incorporating streamlining to many buildings, automobiles, ships, locomotives, and even every day consumer products. Things had to look like they were moving even if they were stationary! The railroads were aware of these trends in the streamlining aesthetic, and began efforts to bring the utilitarian steam locomotive out of its sheer mechanical form to a more modern "swift" looking machine. They enlisted designers such as Raymond Lowey [Link] (Pennsylvania RR) and Henry Dreyfuss [Link] (NYC RR) to bring streamlined designs to the locomotives and passenger car consists of their premier limited and express passenger trains. In 1936 the New York Central embarked on its first streamlining of a Hudson locomotive #5344 with the Commodore Vanderbilt which was shrouded in sheet metal in a less than aesthetically pleasing treatment which gave the locomotive an appearance of an upside down bathtub on rails. The prominent industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss was then hired by the New York Central to come up with a better design for the ten locomotives (#5445 - #5454) and passenger car consists for the New York to Chicago 20th Century Limited. What Dreyfus came up with brought a sleek new look to the locomotive which became an iconic symbol to the NYC and was used in promotional posters, timetables, and documents of the era. The Dreyfus design was further used in a facelift to the Empire State Express passenger service by shrouding the locomotives (#5426 & #5429) in a shiny exterior to match the stainless steel Budd passenger consist for this named train. Unfortunately, the coming out party for this new look and service was overshadowed by other events on December 7th 1941. With the realities of wartime and heavy use the cosmetic shrouding of these locomotives finally met their match and were eventually removed. The streamlining of the New York Hudson J3a's is illustrated in the rendered drawings below.
My reinterpretation of the David Miller CAD line drawings in which I rendered various mechanical elements of the locomotives using vector based graphics. For the Empire State Express locomotive I had to edit elements of the original CAD drawing in the front end treatment, scullen disk driving wheels, and stainless steel elements near the cab and on the tender.
