KnowThyNiagaras

Know Thy Niagaras

by
Thomas R. Gerbracht

PHOTO HERE?

Dedication

Dedication to comeThis book is dedicated to the memory of my father, Reynolds T. Gerbracht,
who worked for the New York Central for forty-three years.
Dad loved the railroad and understood what a great institution it was.
He loved Hudsons, and understood their value to the success of the enterprise.

2017 by Thomas R. Gerbracht.
All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in part or whole,
in any form or means whatsoever, including electronic media, without express
written permission from the publisher, except for brief quotations used in reviews.

Published by
T. R. Gerbracht

ISBN to come4883Thoroughbred Loop
Erie, PA. 16506
ISBN:
Printed in the USA by Jostens Book Manufacturing by
Seaber Turner Associates, www.seaberturner.com
Book Design by mjlipkin.com

Acknowledgements

This book is the direct result of a team effort. I would like to acknowledge the support of my fellow Directors of the NewYork
Central System Historical Society (NYCSHS) in helping me bring the book to fruition. Our common goal is to make NYCSHS
the principal source of all information relating to the New York Central Railroad, and I am confident that this book supports
that goal.

I would like to acknowledge the photographic and informational contributions made by several Directors. Dick Barrett was
kind enough to share several images and one critical and informative internal NYC report from his collection. Joe Epperson
provided a quantity of Niagara images from the NYCSHS archives, providing me with the pleasurable task of reviewing hun-
dreds of Niagara images for publication. My thanks also to Darwin Simonaitis for providing a train sheet that documented the
last run of a Niagara in passenger service. Jim Suhs provided a number of images from his personal collection. Rich Stoving
loaned negatives from the Jeremy Taylor Collection, which was donated to the Society. My thanks to those Directors who pro-
vided advertising copy and other documentation for Niagaras. And a thank you to NYCSHS member Jeremy Taylor for his ex-
cellent and descriptive captions, and for clarifying one trip of Niagara 6015! I would also like to acknowledge the work done
by Director Noel Widdifield in making Society images available, and for the advertising program for the book. The NYCSHS
drawing collection was an important source of the information identified, and the figures in parenthesis that follow text are
the reference drawing numbers for that information.

I want to specifically acknowledge NYCSHS member and headquarters volunteer Dave Nethery for his yeoman work in pro-
viding high quality scans of a large quantity of images that appear in this book. Dave’s high-quality work and his ability to meet
a demanding schedule were the principal factors in my ability to include the Niagara images that I believe are very important
to enjoyment of the book.

Peter Fullam of Alco Historic Photos was an early and staunch advocate in support of the book, insisting that the Niagara story
be adequately documented. Thank you, Peter!

The principal contributors of the color images in Know Thy Niagaras deserve special recognition. I would like to recognize
Art Peterson of the Krambles-Peterson Archive, and John Szwajkart and friends Harold Edmondson and Jim Niebauer for their
important contribution of high quality and interesting images in the color section of the book. I would like to thank John
Szwajkart for the use of his cover image of Niagara 6006.

The principal reason that I was able to reproduce the history of the Niagara through photographs is that so many fine photog-
raphers were able to document this fleet of fine locomotives. I would like to express my thanks to those who shared images
from their personal collections, and a salute to those no longer with us who left such a gratifying and enjoyable legacy.

A special thank you to our President Dave Mackay for his active support of this project and for the Board of Directors for their
vote of confidence to expend Society funds to underwrite the cost of publication. As with“Know Thy Hudsons”, all proceeds
from the sale of this book are being donated to NYCSHS in support of their goals.

I have been a Niagara fan since I first received a builder’s photo of Niagara 6000 at the age of six, and that photo is still in my
collection. NYC officials fostered my interest. F.K.Mitchell (Asst.Vice President-Equipment) and W.F.Kascal (Chief Mechanical
Officer) responded with builder’s photographs of New York Central steam as a result of a second grader’s printed letters to
them,to the extent that I was File 23.2.P in the railroad’s Lexington Avenue filing system. While I like Hudsons,I love Niagaras.
My wife Gloria completely understands this, and her unwavering support of my effort in writing this book is acknowledged
and appreciated. I hope those of you who supported this effort will find the same degree of enjoyment in reading the book
as I have had in writing it. My thanks to you all for your support of NYCSHS!

Sincerely,
Tom Gerbracht
Erie, PA
December, 2017

PHOTO CREDIT KEY

AH Arnold Haas
AHS Alco Historic Photos
AP Arthur Peterson (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
BP Bob’s Photo
CF Charles Felstead
DS Don Shaw
DTH Donald T. Hayward
GB Gerrit Bruins
HC Harold Crouch
HE Harold Edmondson
HV Harold Vollrath
JW Jay Williams Collection
JWS Jack Swanberg
LB L. Broomfield
LMK Lamar M. Kelley
JCC James C. Caldwell
JCS James C. Suhs
MC Max Cohn
JAN James Niebauer
JK John Krause
JS John Szwajkart
JT Jeremy Taylor
MN Milton Nafus
NYC New York Central Railroad
NYCSHS New York Central System Historical Society
PP Paul Prescott
PS Paul Slager
RC Robert Caflish
RJB Richard J. Barrett
TRG Author’s Collection
TM Thorin Marty
WFP W. F. Pruce
WK W. Krawiec
WC W. M. Curtis
WMC W. M. Curns
WR William Raia
WSK William S. Kuba



The most powerful two cylinder steam locomotive ever built, S-1A 6000 is ready
for a westbound assignment at Harmon, New York on November 6, 1947 (TRG)

Introduction

The New York Central’s Niagara type steam locomotives came at the end of the steam era, and it is important to
understand that era to form an understanding of the reasons for the introduction of this engine. Paul Kiefer,Chief
Mechanical Officer of the railroad, assumed his position prior to the advent of the Central’s Hudson type in 1927.
History regards Paul Kiefer as a steam man, but during his career he was willing to investigate and accept the
attractiveness of other forms of motive power, both diesel-electric and electric.

The Niagara type steam locomotive evidently began to take shape under Kiefer’s direction in 1941. The war
impeded the railroad’s plans for new designs, so the first Niagara did not arrive until March 10, 1945. Kiefer’s
original design goal was for a Mohawk type dual service locomotive with additional capability over the L-4B class
Mohawk of 1942. However, there were developments in steam locomotives for passenger service that signaled
a locomotive with a new and different mechanical design might be required. In the late 1930’s, motive power
development resumed after the Depression, and countries like Germany and England were vying for the title of
maximum speed, and both fielded steam designs with this goal in mind. The U.S. railroad industry took up the
cudgel,and the Association of American Railroads set a goal for a single motive power unit that could haul a 1000-
ton passenger train at 100 mph. on level track. That meant a steam design, as no contemporary diesel-electric,
even running as a multiple unit set, could even approach this level of performance. The AAR ran over-the-road
tests on the Pennsylvania Railroad,The Chicago and North Western, and the Union Pacific in order to confirm
the drawbar horsepower required, and to determine what a steam locomotive capable of this performance level
might look like. The Pennsy testing utilized two of their famous K4 Pacifics with 80-inch driving wheels,and were
able to touch 94 mph. The C&NW released one of their large Hudson type locomotives for this testing, and this
engine with seven-foot driving wheels and was able to reach 95 mph. Union Pacific delivered one of their early
4-8-4’s with 77-inch wheels, and this engine reached 102.8 mph on a downgrade. Previous to this testing, a NYC
super Hudson was able to run to 98.9 mph with 1000 trailing tons, also on a slight downgrade.

On the New York Central, a locomotive’s ability to accelerate a train after a speed restriction or a station stop
was more important than absolute top speed, due to the large number of trains running at close intervals. The
railroad placed a high priority on both reliability and “excess” horsepower to rapidly attain track speed, and to
provide that over-the-road performance. Passenger traffic density on the eastern end of the railroad was very
high. Just before the advent of the J-1 Hudson of 1927, there were thirty passenger trains arriving at Grand Cen-
tral Terminal each day between 6:30 and 9:00 AM, and many of these operated in multiple sections. Kiefer must
have been knowledgeable of this traffic density, and the forecast that it would continue to increase after the war.
And this, in turn, would have prompted the need for increased locomotive reliability and the higher horsepower
required to haul longer trains at higher speeds, and for schedule recovery. Based on his writing and publishing,
we believe that Kiefer preferred electrification.

By 1941, the New York Central’s chief competitor, the Pennsylvania railroad, had fielded two large prototype
steam locomotives having 80-inch driving wheels and a 4-4-4-4 divided drive wheel arrangement. The perfor-
mance of these two locomotives made industry news and also excited the general public as reports surfaced of
high speeds with heavy loads. One of these two engines hauled a fifteen-car train at an average speed of 102
mph over generally descending grades. With lighter trains, there were reports of 130 mph speeds in Fortune and
other magazines.

On the Central, Kiefer was faced with a smaller physical plant with low vertical clearances, especially east of Buffalo. Turntables
at most major division points were either 90 ft. or 100 feet, making a longer divided drive engine not a preferred choice. The two
major shops on the railroad, East Albany and Collinwood, were familiar with and could handle Hudsons with ease and Mohawks
with some difficulty. Beginning in late 1937,the Central took delivery of fifty new Super Hudson steam locomotives,and they were
providing excellent service on the almost flat NYC mainline. The NYC was a passenger railroad,and the thinking was that after the
war the growth in passenger traffic would resume. The railroad’s belief in this forecast was bolstered with orders for almost 700
new passenger cars. And the industry thought that a motive power unit would be required to accelerate and hold a speed of 100
mph with a 1000-ton train on level track. Nothing then on the Central could reach this performance level, but the reports of the
Pennsylvania Railroad’s two T1 prototypes might have led the Central to believe that the PRR had something that worked.

So, Kiefer, intending to design a super Mohawk, realized that he would need an engine with a much larger furnace volume to meet
the performance target. At that time,there was no 4-8-4 in the country that could reach this performance level while running high
annual mileage and keeping maintenance costs under control. The N&W railway had a modern design that dated from 1941, but
this engine had only 70-inch driving wheels and high axle loads, and there might have been concern regarding wear rates, and
steam and coal consumption. Both UP and ATSF operated 4-8-4 Northern type locomotives. The UP was a great design but much
taller and wider than the Central could use. The oil burning ATSF engine was huge and had high axle loads,and large cylinders that
implied increased steam consumption. Kiefer realized that any steam design must compete and win against the rapidly evolving
diesel electric.

On March 10, 1945,American Locomotive Company delivered a prototype 4-8-4 to the New York Central. The publicity release
for the engine said that it would be exhaustively tested and any changes made would be incorporated in an additional twenty-six
that had been ordered “of the same general design”. The original engine had 75” drivers, supposedly driven by a government
requirement during the war that all new steam designs be capable of dual freight and passenger service. The initial choice of 75-
inch driving wheels was made to extend the successful performance of the Central’s late Mohawks, which were very successful
in a dual service role during the war and were one reason for the high utilization of these locomotives. With the new locomotive,
Kiefer hedged his bet by increasing the driving axle centerlines that would permit the installation of 79-inch driving wheels with
no change required to the cast engine bed.

The initial assignment for this engine was one side of the Commodore Vanderbilt, the heaviest passenger train on the railroad
with a schedule similar to that of the 20TH Century Limited. In this service the engine performed admirably, with monthly mileage
exceeding 25,000 miles per month. Nevertheless,in July,1945 the set of 79”drivers were applied,and the locomotive entered rev-
enue service after clearance checks at Cleveland Union Terminal. The spare driver set was delivered with the engine. The engine
was withdrawn from service in October of 1945 for stationary boiler testing at the Selkirk, NY roundhouse.

During the same month that the first Niagara rolled out of the Alco plant at Schenectady, New York, the Central released a prelim-
inary diagram of a Niagara look alike, but with four cylinders and a divided drive, resulting in a 4-4-4-4 wheel arrangement. That
locomotive design in the NYC nomenclature would be classified “C-1A”. The Central was at a decision point, not only regarding
the type of motive power to be ordered, but also the exact configuration of that motive power. Ultimately, the railroad decided to
proceed with a large conventional steam design having two cylinders. Additionally, the decision was made to equip one of these
locomotives with a new type of steam distribution system known as a poppet valve system.

In a Confidential report issued in July 1943 titled “Report on Diesel-Electric & Straight Electric vs. Steam Locomotives for Road
service on the NewYork Central R.R.”,the identification of the business-related issues relating to the choice of motive power were
identified. The report favored electrification of the Harmon to Chicago main line, and recommended that a separate study be initi-
ated to develop recommendations. It also recommended that orders be placed for“preferably four,but not less than two nor more

than six, 4000 B.H.P. diesel-electric passenger and 2, 5400 B.H.P. Diesel-electric freight road locomotives for experimental main
line service.” The report stated that either complete dieselization or electrification of the main line would result in a reduction in
bituminous coal consumption for locomotive fuel of almost 3,000,000 tons annually, or about 32% of the 9,466,000 tons used by
the NYC for locomotive fuel in 1941. The report states that this reduction in coal use could be serious if it occurred in a relatively
short period of time, approximately 10-15 years, as it would place in jeopardy a large volume of commercial coal business that
originated off line and was highly competitive.

Of the bituminous coal handled by the NYC in 1941,only about 12,000,000 tons originated on the NYC. The balance of the traffic,
about 49,416,000 tons or 79.3%, originated on connecting lines and this business was identified as susceptible to movement via
competing railroads. The NYC could to a large extent be short hauled. Other coal carrying lines originated considerably more
of their bituminous coal tonnage on their own rails. In 1941, the PRR originated 48.7%, the B&O 65.2%, the C&O 79.5%, and the
N&W 95.0%.

The coal industry was concerned over the adverse effect on their output during the post war years due to the possibility of again
losing coal tonnage to oil and natural gas competition, as had occurred previously in the northeastern section of the United States.
Over a long span of time, coal traffic had contributed about 20% of the gross revenue of the railroad, and it was of more value in
lean years because it is not reduced in the same volume as other traffic. In 1937, NYC and its leased lines handled 54,724,000
tons of coal, which was 41.6% of the freight tonnage and provided 22.1% of the total freight revenue of $59,912,000. In 1941
the railroad handled 62,317,000 tons or 38.5% of the total freight tonnage which produced 20.3% of the total freight revenue of
$71,704,000.

The decision to proceed with the Niagara was based on not only the anticipated performance requirements required to maintain
and improve its premium passenger service after the war, but on the potential near term loss in coal traffic and revenue if a de-
cision for diesel-electrics had been made at the time the Niagaras were ordered. The production order for Niagaras was for only
twenty-five locomotives. Kiefer probably understood that motive power policy was at an inflection point. A steam locomotive of
an entirely new configuration might be desirable for passenger service,and he was aware of the potential impact that a competitive
diesel locomotive might have on the railroad’s future requirements for locomotives. He was also aware of the electrification study
conducted by the railroad, and the possible future of mainline electrification. An order placed with online customer American Lo-
comotive Company for a steam locomotive would allow Alco to buy some time while they made the conversion to diesel-electrics
in order to field an acceptable product that could compete with EMD.

NYC took delivery of the final“pure”diesel-electric passenger locomotives, an order for thirty-four EMD E8’s, the final seven being
delivered in September, 1953. Orders after that date were for quantities of EMD GP7’s and GP9’s, with the final “passenger” GP9’s,
Class DRSP-9C, road numbers 5928-5948, received in December, 1955. The delivery of these twenty-one locomotives slightly pre-
ceded the retirement of the remaining Niagaras and Hudsons, the last of which, with one exception, were retired by March, 1956.

The Niagaras served approximately ten years on the NewYork Central,but in those ten years they established records for availabil-
ity, economy, and performance that have not been equaled by any other steam locomotive in the world.

They were the greatest steam locomotive ever built. This book is their due……

Tom Gerbracht
Erie, PA.
December, 2017



Know Thy Niagaras

Table of Contents

The First Niagara HS-1A #800............................... 1
The Prototype Niagara......................................... 11
The Production Engines 6001-25......................... 43
Niagaras in Color.................................................. 153
Changes and Modifications.................................. 187
The 5500.............................................................. 197
The PT-5 and PT-6 Tenders.................................... 219
Testing the Niagara............................................... 235
The Divided Drive C-1A........................................ 263
Locomotive and Tender Record Cards.................. 267
The Final Miles..................................................... 287
A Niagara Retrospective....................................... 309
Bibliography......................................................... 323

The New York Central’s first 4-8-4, No. 800 is new at Alco in September, 1931. The locomotive had three
cylinders, two in the normal location and a high pressure cylinder on the centerline of the locomotive. The
piston rod extension is visible for the angled third cylinder immediately above the coupler. Also prominent
is the massive “conjugating lever” that timed the valve events for all three cylinders. (NYCSHS)

The First Niagara
HS-1A #800

Overview The new locomotive will have compound engines, but
which are essential to the steam pressures to be used. The
The New York Central Lines magazine of June 1929 steam generating system is divided into three parts. The
contained an article titled “New Locomotive of Enormous first of these parts are the water tubes around the sides
Steam Pressure to be Built for N.Y. Central”. The new and the top of the firebox. These tubes are filled with
locomotive “represents an attempt to improve the present distilled water and are sealed so that the distilled water
freight engines…” circulates within them only. These water tubes extend
upward into the second part, which is a forged nickel
The New York Central Railroad named their new proto- steel drum outside of and on top of the boiler. Steam in
type “fast freight locomotive” a “Niagara” type when it was the tubes at a pressure of 1,300 and 1,400 pounds, gives
introduced in October, 1931. American Locomotive up part of its heat to water in the drum, which has no
Company completed order S-1663 for a single locomotive, other connection with the firebox, thus generating steam
construction number 58055, and gave it the classification at a pressure of 800 to 900 pounds in the drum, while
“HS-1A”. This locomotive was different in several respects the partly condensed steam in the upper part of the wa-
than traditional locomotives being built at that time and ter tubes returns to the part in the firebox to be heated
operated by the New York Central. again and circulate once more to the drum. Saturated
steam from this high-pressure drum circulates through
It had a multi pressure boiler superheater coils in the flues of the boiler in the usual
way and is then delivered to the high-pressure cylinder.
It had a water tube firebox The third part of the steam generating system consists of
the barrel of the familiar locomotive boiler. Steam from
It had three cylinders this low-pressure boiler is superheated, then mixed with
exhaust from the high-pressure cylinder. The arrange-
The Boiler ment of supply pipes and a mixing chamber for steam
at different pressures obviates the common trouble in
The locomotive was known as an “Elesco multi-pressure” compound engines of unequal output of high and
locomotive, and the lineage of the boiler design concept low-pressure cylinders.
was Henschel of Germany. The design of the locomotive
included several features and systems that were not stan- A feature of importance is the utilization of the low-
dard on the Central at the time the locomotive was built, pressure boiler as a feed-water purifier for the high-
and at least one feature was unique in that only one other pressure generator, which will supply about 60% of the
locomotive in North America used it, a Canadian Pacific steam used by high and low-pressure cylinders. If this
2-10-4. The most significant of these features was a multi high-pressure generator produces too much steam a
pressure boiler that generated steam in three circuits, at valve controlled by the engineman will allow the gener-
1350, 850, and 250 psi. ator to blow off below the water line in the low-pressure
boiler, instead of escaping into the atmosphere through
The October 1931 edition of the magazine provided a the safety valve, thus saving heat instead of wasting it.
detailed summary of the steam flow generated by the boil- In the item of fuel, the locomotive is expected to save 20
er, including all three steam circuits: per cent, if not more, as compared with heavy freight
engines now in service.

1

NYC “Niagara type Fast Freight Locomotive” No. 800 is new at Alco. The NYC
“look” belied several new and innovative features for the railroad, including
a multi pressure boiler and a water tube firebox. (NYCSHS)

Running Gear A 3-Cylinder Advantage

The locomotive had three cylinders, two in the normal Either before or shortly after the locomotive entered ser-
location and a third middle cylinder that used steam at 850 vice, it was tested by the railroad at the Selkirk Test Plant.
psi to drive the second set of driving wheels using a crank Unfortunately, no record of this testing survives. The more
axle. In order to use a crank axle, the distance between even power pulses generated by a three-cylinder locomo-
the first and second driving wheel sets increased, and the tive when compared with a two-cylinder locomotive of the
driving wheelbase increased from the 18-foot wheelbase same general capacity permitted a factor of adhesion of
of an L-2 Mohawk with 69-inch diameter driving wheels, 3.82. The factor of adhesion, which defines a tendency of
to a 19’-2” wheelbase on the 800. The exhaust from this a locomotive to slip under less than ideal rail conditions, is
high pressure middle cylinder was mixed with the steam normally 4.0 or more. The locomotive was equipped with
generated by the boiler at 250 psi, and this steam mixture a trailing truck booster, and the main engine and boost-
fed the two, 23” x 30” outside cylinders. The outside cyl- er combined to generate a calculated maximum tractive
inders were connected to main rods, each of which drove effort of 79,750 lb.
the third set of driving wheels in the traditional manner.
Comparisons Service History

The engine incorporated several novel features that were The locomotive had such a brief service life in mainline
not common on the railroad at that time. There was no service that no known photographs of it in mainline freight
room on the pilot deck for air compressors in the tradi- service are known to exist. In-service experience evident-
tional location favored by the railroad for its contemporary ly was less than stellar, and a few months after entering ser-
J-1 Hudsons and L-2 Mohawks, so one air compressor was vice, a water tube in the closed circuit of the firebox failed
located in a recess on each side of the smokebox. The on 11/27/31. The locomotive did survive in service until
boiler, which was heavy compared with contemporary lo- at least September of 1936, where it was renumbered to
comotives due to the need for high strength with steam #80 in the railroad’s systemwide locomotive renumbering
pressures of 1350 and 850 psi, required the use of a four- program. During its final time in service, it was relegated
wheel trailing truck at the cab end of the locomotive. The to service at the Selkirk, New York hump yard. The loco-
weight of the engine in working order was 435,000 lb. In motive was withdrawn from service in 1938 and scrapped
comparison, a contemporary NYC L-2 Mohawk 4-8-2 type at the railroad’s reclamation plant in Ashtabula, Ohio on
freight locomotive, a highly successful design, had an en- August 25, 1939. It may have been the first 4-8-4 type lo-
gine weight of 367,000 lb. Due to the boiler design in the comotive to be scrapped, excluding wrecks and accidents.
firebox area, the inside width of the firebox was only 78 The 800 was unique in several ways. It was the only 4-8-4
inches, and the grate area was only 65 square feet. At the with more than two cylinders, it was the only 4-8-4 with
front of the locomotive, there was a vertical Elesco feedwa- Gresley valve motion, and it was the only compound or
ter heater, which was also applied to three J-1 Hudson type semi compound on five continents with Gresley gear.
passenger locomotives. Due to the need to actuate the In Retrospect…
valves for the middle cylinder, Walschaerts valve gear was
used. A very large rocker arm was used to tie the valve gear The reason for the construction of this locomotive was an
for all three cylinders together. This rocker arm was locat- anticipated savings in fuel consumption. The NYC was al-
ed on the front deck where the air compressors would ways pursuing greater efficiency, and the thought was that
normally be located. This rocker arm and the 13-1/4” x 30” thermal efficiency and coal consumption would be great-
middle cylinder, mounted at an angle and featuring an ex- ly improved with an innovative boiler and firebox design.
tended piston rod, are easily visible in photographs. The railroad must have experienced a much higher level

3

NYC No. 800 new at ALCO. This builders photograph shows the jacketing over the stainless pressure
vessel, mounted externally on top of the firebox, and the firebox water legs. This locomotive generated
steam at 1350 psi, 850 psi, and 250 psi. A failure and maintenance issues forced an early retirement,
and none of its novel features were adopted by the railroad industry. (NYCSHS)

and frequency of maintenance compared with a two-cyl- This locomotive is not a direct lineal descendent of the
inder locomotive of conventional design. One probable Niagara 4-8-4 introduced in 1945. It does share the name
drawback might have been accessibility to the inside third “Niagara”and also the involvement of Paul Kiefer, who was
cylinder and its crank axle for lubrication. The New York a highly regarded locomotive designer. It is an important
Central always valued speed in both passenger and freight part of the motive power history of the railroad, and an
locomotives. While the HS-1A had 69-inch driving wheels important part of the story of the 4-8-4-wheel arrangement
like the road’s contemporary L-2 Mohawk type, the use of on the railroad. Technically it was a dead end with regard
three sets of machinery, including long and heavy main to adoption of its major design features as motive power
rods to the third driving wheel set, probably made the HS- development progressed in the United States. None of its
1A slower than its newest and best two-cylinder freight three major features were ever adopted for use on modern
power, the L-2D Mohawk. locomotives. It is, however, a fascinating piece of motive
power history, and it set the stage for what would be an
unexcelled 4-8-4 fourteen years later.

The front cylinder saddle for No. 800 was photographed prior to assembly. This separate casting
indicates that No. 800 had a bolted frame, and not a one piece locomotive bed assembly. The canted
middle cylinder had a 13-1/4 inch diameter and a 30 inch stroke, and drove the second driving
axle using a crank axle. That cylinder used steam at 850 psi, and that exhaust steam was mixed
with 250 psi steam and routed to the two outside cylinders. The two outside cylinders drove the
third driving axle. (NYCSHS)

5



Left Page Photo - NYC No. 800 new at ALCO. This builders photograph shows the jacketing
over the stainless pressure vessel, mounted externally on top of the firebox, and the firebox
water legs. This locomotive generated steam at 1350 psi, 850 psi, and 250 psi. A failure and
maintenance issues forced an early retirement, and none of its novel features were adopted
by the railroad industry. (NYCSHS)

The massive Walschaert valve gear yoke is shown while No. 800 was under construction.
At this time, the railroad’s most modern power had adopted Baker gear as standard.
In the history of steam, most three cylinder locomotives used Walschaert gear. (NYCSHS)

7

This view of the firebox and cab area of No. 800 shows the application of boiler jacketing
to cover the multitude of pipes required with this multi-pressure design. (NYCSHS)

The jacketing on the fireman’s side of No. 800 was probably also used to provide rudimentary
protection to the high pressure piping. Noteworthy in this photograph but not in the litera-
ture, the system class designation directly under the cab road number is “H S-1A”, and not
“HS-1A”. The existence of the “space” between the “H” and the “S” could be interpreted as a
“high pressure S-1A”. (NYCSHS)

8

9

9

The Prototype Niagara

Background New Type Locomotive

The second 4-8-4 type steam locomotive on the New York The Alco booklet states that in April, 1944,Alco was autho-
Central, and its first modern 4-8-4, Niagara road number rized to undertake construction of a new type locomotive,
6000 was delivered on March 10, 1945. NYC literature in- to incorporate what had been learned in 40 years of expe-
dicates that the design work on this locomotive began as rience with the Pacifics, Hudsons, and Mohawks. It was to
early as 1941. represent the ultimate expression, in the light of present
day knowledge, of the two-cylinder, single expansion, coal
In 1942, Lima Locomotive Works delivered the last of the burning, reciprocating steam locomotive and was to be
Mohawk type, the L-4B. Paul Kiefer and his design team equally suitable for high-speed passenger and freight ser-
were already working on a Mohawk with more capacity vice. To meet the present and anticipated traffic demands
before the last of the L-4B Mohawks were delivered. His of the System, it was required to deliver not less than 6,000
design goal was a Mohawk for both passenger and freight cylinder horsepower in the higher speed ranges.
service, with additional horsepower and a higher operat-
ing speed capability. Lessons Learned

The American Locomotive Company (Alco) released a As a partner with the railroad in the new design, the Alco
small booklet in 1945 that provides background informa- booklet described locomotive milestones in the Central’s
tion that led to the development of the first Niagara. It motive power development. Alco stated that the New York
stated that “freight train speeds had increased materially Central’s K-5 Pacific of 1925 demonstrated something im-
in the past few years, and the ideal road locomotive is portant. “The greatly increased horsepower of the K-5
one adapted to both freight and passenger service.” It re- compared with its K-3 predecessor was the provision of
ferred to “holiday periods when freight traffic fell off and a larger grate area relative to the size of the boiler heat-
passenger traffic peaks, the operating man’s headache ing surface. This stepped-up steam capacity, because the
is considerably eased if he has a number of all-purpose capacity to burn more coal per hour means that energy
locomotives which he can switch from hauling freight to is being released in greater amounts-energy which will
hauling the holiday passenger specials. To the extent that be expressed in greater horsepower at the cylinders. The
he can do so, he cuts down the number of locomotives rate at which coal was burned in the K-5 was increased
which stand idle waiting for freight traffic to pick up, to the point where a mechanical stoker was required.
thousands of passengers get home in time for Christmas, However, increasing the size of the grate area and boiler
or the week-end - and in the long run the railroad gets brought another problem, weight at the rear of the loco-
along with a smaller number of locomotives.” The New motive, with consequent stress on axles and track.”. The
York Central and Alco both referred to a dual service lo- booklet indicates that Alco identified this problem with
comotive as a “combination locomotive”.. the Class L-3 Mohawks it manufactured for the railroad in
1940. The L-3 Mohawk used a longer engine bed casting

Left Page Photo - Front view of prototype Niagara No. 6000 new at Alco in March, 1945. Photo session
must have been rushed. The deflector welded to the drop coupler pilot on the engineer’s side is missing.
There were several changes made that changed the appearance of the prototype locomotive as well
as the twenty-five production locomotives. (AHP)

11

Prototype Niagara No. 6000 new at Alco in March, 1945. This locomotive was delivered
with 75 inch driving wheels, and was advertised as a dual service design. (AHP)

than was required with the use of 69-inch driving wheels. service. For example, in 1944 the L-4’s made 4,874,678
That bed casting permitted the application of 72-inch di- miles in passenger service and 1,099,315 miles in freight
ameter driving wheels if desired. service. Maximum mileage in any one month was 15,204
for the L-3 and 24,181 for the L-4, a very credible show-
The L-3 and L-4 Advantage ing. With 72-inch driving wheels, the L-4 did not have the
raw speed capability possessed by the road’s Hudson type.
But there was another advantage of far greater signifi- They were ideal, however, for heavy war traffic and espe-
cance than just the potential to use a larger driving wheel cially heavy passenger trains that made numerous stops.
size. The longer engine bed permitted a longer combus- Mohawk Successor Design Goals
tion chamber, while minimizing the weight on the single
axle trailing truck to less than the 60,000-lb. limit that the These operational and performance parameters were no
railroad found desirable. The driving wheel base of the doubt considered by Paul Kiefer when he developed his
earlier L-2 Mohawks was 18 ft. The driving wheelbase of 4-8-4. Driving wheel diameter of the new locomotive
the L-3 and L-4 Mohawks was increased to 19 ft. The ear- would be larger than the late Mohawks but might be small-
lier L-2 Mohawks had a combustion chamber that was 51 er than that used on Hudsons. With four sets of 75-inch
inches long. The L-3 and L-4 Mohawks had a 63-inch com- driving wheels, the new engine could be used in both pas-
bustion chamber, which enhanced steam production and senger and freight service. The application of a complete
improved boiler efficiency, even though this solution was set of roller bearings to all axles, main and side rods, and
not as desirable as placement of the furnace area direct- valve gear was forecasted to reduce road failures, minimize
ly over a larger grate, where furnace temperatures were lubrication requirements and maintenance, and extend the
higher and maximum steam generation occurred. Kiefer overhaul interval. The initial design target was 5900 cyl-
had previously used the same approach when he designed inder horsepower in the speed range of 75-90 mph and
the J-3 Hudson. The addition of a combustion chamber to 4550 drawbar horsepower at 55-70 mph when boiler pres-
the J-3 had increased the direct heating surface by 60 per- sure was set at 275 psi. If a decision was made to equip
cent over that of the J-1 class Hudson. For the J-3 Hudson, the locomotive with 79-inch driving wheels and operate
the increase in furnace volume resulted in a 21 percent in- at 290 psi., the estimated cylinder horsepower was 6300
crease in cylinder horsepower and a 20 percent increase in in the speed range from 80 to 100 mph and 4850 drawbar
drawbar horsepower compared with the J-1. Some of the horsepower between 60 and 75 mph. With 75-inch driv-
increased weight due to the longer combustion chamber ers, the total weight was 471,000 lb. With 79-inch drivers,
on the L-3 and L-4 Mohawks was borne by the fourth driv- the total weight would be 472,500, no doubt reflecting
ing wheel set, and the equalization system of the locomo- the additional weight of the larger driving wheels. With
tive was adjusted so that the weight on individual driving the larger driving wheels, total weight on drivers was es-
axles was uniform. The much larger grate and furnace area timated to be 276,500 lb. The total evaporating surface of
required for an even more capable Mohawk than an L-3 the first Niagara was 4632 sq. ft. With 290 psi, and 79-inch
and L-4 resulted in even more weight at the cab end of the drivers, the evaporative heating surface of the production
locomotive, and resulted in the requirement for a two-axle engines was 4827 square feet. The difference in evaporat-
trailing truck, and a locomotive that came to be known as ing heating surface between the original S-1A and the pro-
a Niagara. duction S-1B’s was due to a one-foot shorter combustion
chamber, and a corresponding lengthening of the tubes
Late Mohawk Performance and flues. This design change was most likely made to ad-
just the weight balance of the locomotive’s boiler, and to
During the war, the late Mohawks were used in a dual ser- limit weight on drivers to no more than 275,000 lb. This,
vice role,assigned to either passenger or freight. The L-4B’s in turn,required a redesigned trailing truck with a different
were equipped with overflow control tenders that permit- wheelbase, a change in trailing truck wheel diameters, and
ted scooping water at 80 mph, which made them the most an adjustment in the location for the trailing truck under
suitable for passenger assignments. Based on mileages the locomotive. Cylinder diameter for the original Niagara
accumulated, the L-4B’s accumulated over four times the was 25 inches, and the Alco booklet published a cylinder
mileage in passenger service that they achieved in freight diameter of the production Niagaras at 25 inches also.

13

Fireman’s side of prototype Niagara at Alco in March, 1945. (AHP)

Final Design Details to be Based on Testing The announcement for the prototype Niagara indicated
that twenty-five additional locomotives “of the same gen-
“The first S-1A is designed to use either 75-inch or 79- eral design” had been ordered, and that changes as a result
inch drivers. Performance and capacity tests will be of testing would be made. A spare set of 79-inch driving
made with both sizes, with interpolation of results for wheels were delivered with the locomotive, and these
77-inch wheels. Data will thus be made available on were applied in July, 1945. Clearance checks were made
which the selections of subsequent 4-8-4 locomotives for after delivery, and the locomotive was assigned to one side
freight, passenger, or combination service may be based.” of the Commodore Vanderbilt, where it excelled. When
the locomotive was withdrawn for stationary boiler tests,
“A new firetube boiler of new design is used from which it had been averaging approximately 27,000 miles per
the steam dome has been omitted. This change has per- month since placed in service. The engine was withdrawn
mitted increase in barrel diameter, and makes possible for stationary boiler tests at Selkirk, New York. These tests
within weight and clearance limitations, the use of im- were made during October, 1945.
proved tube and flue layouts with correspondingly larger
gas areas and better superheater proportions, additional A Look into the Future?
firebox and combustion chamber volume, more nearly
level grates and larger ashpan capacity. The two latter In the same month that this prototype Niagara was de-
features are especially necessary for long locomotive livered, Kiefer developed Specification 577 for a divided
runs.” drive “road locomotive” that was obviously a “passenger
only” design.
The newly applied PT tender also came in for its share of
attention. “The new tenders now in use have already
resulted in a reduction of engine changes on the Har-
mon-Chicago run, and in the future, it is expected that
even with 17 car trains further improvements can be
made, to a point of one coal stop only.”

15

Builder’s photograph of prototype Niagara Class S-1A at Alco. (AHP)

16

Fireman’s side of prototype Niagara at Alco in March, 1945. (AHP)

Top view of S-1A class No. 6000 new at Alco. Trailing edge of 90
degrees on the smoke deflectors would not be repeated. (AHP)

The location of the air compressor
cooling coils are shown with the
locomotive under construction,
nestled on the top surface of the
main frame. There was additional
piping in this area to the main air
reservoir, which was cast integral
with the one piece engine bed cast
by General Steel Castings. (AHP)

The running gear of the
prototype Niagara with
Timken roller bearing
main and side rods and
needle bearing valve gear
was best industry practice
in 1945, and was never
bettered despite efforts to
promote the use of poppet
valves. The 75 inch diam-
eter driving wheels would
be replaced on this engine
within six months with a
set of 79 inch wheels, the
standard NYC size for high
speed power. (AHP)

19

20

Left Page Photo - The arrangement of controls on the back head of the Niagara cab closely followed
New York Central practice. One new cab feature included a crew locker immediately behind the engineer.
On the fireman’s side of the locomotive, there was a second seat with a small window with a drop sash
for the head brakeman. The width of the cab had a slight taper front to back for clearance purposes. (AHP)

The Niagara was officially dedicated to the New York Central in a ceremony at Alco on March 10, 1945.
Several hundred workers participated in the event with high level New York Central officials. Remarks
were made by then Governor of New York State, Thomas E. Dewey. (AHP)

21

Top view of S-1A class No. 6000 new at Alco. Trailing edge of 90
degrees on the smoke deflectors would not be repeated. (AHP)

22

This ad in the trade press dated 2/1/47 for the Central’s new dual service Niagara advertised the physical
properties of the Manganese-Vanadium main and side rods, and the properties of the axles used on this
modern steam locomotive. (RB)

The first Niagara is in the Cleveland Union Terminal area for clearance testing. (AH/TRG)
24







This industry ad quotes the first assignment of the original Niagara on the Commodore Vanderbilt.
Monthly mileage and trip times reveal the intensive utilization that this locomotive and the production
Niagaras would see in their first two years of service. (RME/TRG)

S-1A No. 6000 was photographed near Peekskill, New York with Train No. 44. In this view,
the engine has not yet had its 75 inch driving wheels replaced. (AH/TRG)

A young original Niagara waits near the tower entrance to
Albany station in this postwar view from about 1949. (RB)

The appearance of the Loss of smoke deflec-
original Niagara at tors has changed the
Chicago minus smoke appearance of the
deflectors may have been original Niagara,
a part of an extended test photographed at
to determine if they were Selkirk, New on
really needed. The short July 13, 1945.
stack and open exhaust (LK/JCS)
passages of the Niagaras
resulted in smoke trailing Niagara 6000
at part throttle, so they at Buffalo in
became standard on the the early 1950’s.
Central’s late Mohawks (TRG)
and Niagaras. (NYCSHS)

31

The existence of Canadian Pacific power in the background indicates that this photo of the original
Niagara was taken at the West Shore roundhouse in Buffalo, NY. The date is July 14, 1953. (NYCSHS)

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