New York Central Hudson

what is it?

The New York Central Hudson was a popular 4-6-4 "Hudson" type steam locomotive built for the New York Central Railroad (NYC). 275 of them were built in three different classes between 1927 and 1938 by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) and the Lima Locomotive Works (LLW). 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.

who runs it

New York Central RailroadBoston and Albany RailroadTHToronto, Hamilton and Buffalo RailwayMCMichigan Central RailroadCCCleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

base stats

• speed 199 km/htop speed
• weight 166 tin working order
• built 275made in total

Bars compare against all trains: 600 km/h (maglev), 1,700 seats; power, weight and number built on a log scale up to 20 MW, 1,000 t and 20,000 built.

fun facts

• 🎂First built 99 years ago, in 1927.
• 🏎️Top speed is 1.5× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• ⏱️At full speed it would cover Amsterdam–Utrecht (≈ 40 km) in 12 minutes.
• 🐘Weighs about as much as 28 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 📏29.6 m long: about 7 cars parked nose to tail.

steam locomotive: Burns coal, wood or oil to boil water; the steam drives pistons that turn the wheels.

spec sheet

built

1927–1938

retired

1957

status

preserved

number built

275

kind

Steam

traction

steam

origin

🇺🇸 United States

builders

American Locomotive Company, Lima Locomotive Works

designer

Paul W. Kiefer

operators

New York Central Railroad, Boston and Albany Railroad, Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway, Michigan Central Railroad, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis Railway

top speed

199 km/h

power

—

gauge

1,435 mm standard gauge

wheel arrangement

4-6-4

length

29.6 m

weight

166 t

From the Wikipedia infobox and Wikidata. Blank means the sources don't say.