New York Central Railroad 'J3a' class 4-6-4

Designed by NYC Chief of Motive Power Paul W. Kiefer
Built by the American Locomotive Company 1937-1938.

CYLINDERS (2) 22½ x 29 ins (572mmx737mm)
COUPLED WHEEL DIAMETER 79 ins (2,006.6mm)
TOTAL HEATING SURFACE 5,932 square feet (551m2)
(including superheater)
GRATE AREA 82 square feet (7.6m2)
BOILER PRESSURE 265 PSI (1,827 kpa)
TRACTIVE EFFORT (INCLUDING BOOSTER) 53,860 lbs (24,431kg)
TOTAL WEIGHT 350 tons (355.6 tonnes)
LENGTH OVERALL 106 feet (32,308.8mm)

The name 'Hudson' was not only given to the famous river that flows through New York State, it also described a group of steam locomotives incorporating the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement. As the need for more powerful locomotives to help the hard working 'Pacifics', handle increasing traffic on the NYC's principal routes became evident, it was decided to take advantage of the new concept of increasing steaming capacity by having a larger firebox carried over a four wheel trailing truck. This situation heralded the birth of the 'Hudson' type locomotive in 1927.

The 4-6-4 wheel arrangement had already been experimented with in Europe. Two 'Baltic' locomotives designed by Gaston du Bousquet being operated for some time in Northern France. It was the New York Central however, that provided the definitive example. They were literally built in their hundreds and progressed through various modifications until the final batch of ten classically streamlined J3a's were delivered in 1938.

Perhaps the best way to describe one of these magnificent machines is to picture for a brief moment, the crack '20th Century Limited' racing alongside the Hudson River on the famous Water Level Route, its 900 ton load of streamlined coaches headed by a matching bullet nosed J3a, Boxpok drivers, Baker valve gear and flashing rods a spinning blur, charging towards it's final destination of Chicago and contemplate that this journey of 928 miles will be completed in 16 hours at an end to end average speed of nearly 60 mph including stops.