KnowThyNiagaras

an Annual Inspection by 2/11/56. The first half of Novem- and was designed to negotiate an 18 degree-30-minute
ber scheduled monthlies for 6000 and 6023, a quarterly curve. In order to successfully negotiate this curvature,
for 6023 by 1/6/56. Engine 6023 was scheduled for “Rule a Niagara was equipped with two sets of lateral motion
110” by 12/23/55. During the second half of December, devices. The New York Central had restricted clearanc-
1955, 6020 had a scheduled monthly, 6023 was still sched- es, and the diesel had no restrictions on any mainline
uled for Rule 110 and 6024 was scheduled for a quarterly. trackage and in fact could operate almost anywhere on
The last Inspection Schedule Report lists 6015, with 6019 the railroad.
and 6020 lined out. That report was issued by E. H.Wright,
Master Mechanic, Collinwood, Ohio, on January 17, 1956. -From an operational perspective, there were addition-
Niagara 6015 would survive in service until early August, al advantages. On a steam locomotive, the transmission
1956. It was the last Niagara. of the locomotive, consisting of the pistons and rods,
was outside of the track gauge. On a diesel, the trans-
For the Record….. mission, consisting of the traction motors and gearing,
was inside the track gauge and the torque was con-
The official retirement dates for each Niagara are available stant, so the diesel was much easier on track and road-
from the W. E. Edson records. On August 16, 1955, seven- bed compared with a steam locomotive. The EMD die-
teen Niagaras were retired. Road numbers are: 6001-6006; sel also had a lower center of gravity compared with a
6008-6013; 6017-6018; 6021-6022; and 6025. On August Niagara, and the Central recognized that a diesel could
22nd, 6014 was retired, and on August 25th, 6016 was re- be operated at a higher speed on curves.
tired. All of these Niagaras were assigned to Line West ex- -The EMD diesel had “get home” capability that the Ni-
cept 6005 which was assigned to the Big Four. Line West agara did not have. With four diesel engines in each
6007 was retired on November 15, 1955. The next series two unit consist, a problem with any one engine could
of retirements occurred in March, 1956. On March 19th, be isolated, and the locomotive would continue on its
Line West Niagaras 6000, 6019, 6020, 6023, and 6024 were journey with its three remaining engines. A traction
retired. The last Niagara in service, 6015 assigned to the motor could also be cut out if there was an electrical
Big Four, was retired August 20, 1956. problem, and the remaining seven motors of each two-
unit diesel would permit the locomotive to complete
External Factors and Competition its trip.

The short careers of the Niagaras were caused by a number -The diesel was self-contained, and did not require re-
of factors, some of them peculiar to the New York Central. plenishment of fuel or water,except for boiler water for
passenger car heating, during a trip. A Niagara required
-The 27 Niagaras were a very small part of the railroad’s extensive facilities such as track pans and at least one
roster of steam locomotives at the end of World War II, coaling stop on each 928-mile trip. The much higher
and many of these locomotives were worn out and re- thermal efficiency of a diesel compared with any steam
quired replacement. The railroad’s motive power poli- locomotive gave the diesel much greater fuel range.
cy, whether it be steam, diesel, or electric, was dictated
by the oldest and least efficient locomotives, not the -The economics of the diesel were impossible to ig-
newest and best locomotives. nore, and diesels did not require the capital and main-
tenance extensive fixed plant that steam locomotives
-From a technical perspective, the diesel had several required such as roundhouses, turntables, coaling tow-
significant advantages. A NYC EMD “E7” unit had an ers and ash pits,nor the labor costs required to support
individual axle loading of 53,800 lb. per axle. The load a fleet of steam locomotives.
on each driving axle of a Niagara was 68,750 lb. The
overall height of an EMD “E” unit was 14’-11” over the -Diesel locomotives were the most flexible form of mo-
horn, their rigid wheelbase was 14’-1”, and they were tive power. Their low axle loadings and high tractive
designed to negotiate a 21-degree curve. A Niagara effort at low speeds were tailor made for railroad op-
had a height of 15’-2-3/4” a rigid wheelbase of 20’-6”, erations. For example, the ruling grade on the New

289

York Central main line was Albany Hill at 1.68% with 6 improvement in diesel locomotive technology, and by the
degrees of curvature for a distance of slightly less than economics of the diesel. Intrinsically, the Niagaras were
2.8 miles. With diesel operation, the railroad could the equal of contemporary diesel-electrics, but could not
eliminate steam helpers on this main line bottleneck. win the economic battle of the cost of the infrastructure
required to support a steam locomotive, no matter the mo-
-The Niagaras could only be effectively used in territo- dernity of its basic design.
ries with steam facilities that were designed to support
the peculiarities of NYC steam, including the use of
track pans, which were used only on the Harmon to
Chicago main line and the Michigan Central. The limit-
ed water capacity of a PT tender required Niagaras op-
erating on the Big Four to take water from water plugs,
since the Big Four did not have track pans. Turning a
Niagara required either a wye or the use of a 100-foot
turntable, and these were not common on the railroad
except on the main line.

-Due to their size,the Niagara could not easily be down-
graded to less critical service.

The Niagaras were the most modern reciprocating steam
locomotives ever built. They had a one-piece cast engine
bed, and a complete set of roller bearings on the engine
and tender journals. They used needle bearing valve gear,
and they included Valve Pilot instrumentation used by the
engineer to set valve cutoff based on information and not
by a “seat of the pants” guess. They used a complete set
of light weight Timken manganese-vanadium main and
side rods, and these were equipped with roller bearings.
They used large diameter Boxpok type driving wheels for
strength and effective use of counterbalance weight. They
used the innovative and most up to date boiler technology,
and the appliances used to supply the boiler were the larg-
est of their kind. They had an advanced smokebox design
that increased boiler evaporation by ten percent and was
patented. They used aluminum for weight savings, for the
cab, running boards, and smoke deflectors. They used the
most technically sophisticated and most weight efficient
tender of any steam locomotive, with all roller bearing
journals. The tenders had a coal pusher, a stoker engine
mounted in the tender and not on the engine, large diam-
eter wheelsets for high mileage, and a high-speed water
scoop system with overflow control to eliminate stops for
water during a trip.

The result of all this was a design that could and did com-
pete with contemporary diesel-electrics and win. The
Niagaras were eventually overtaken by the rapid rate of

290

Niagara No. 6002 was at Cincinnati, OH in 1954. (NYCSHS)

One critical date for Niagara operation as steam was Steam did survive on the Big Four, specifically between In-
pushed west is September, 1953. At the end of September, dianapolis and Cincinnati, in freight and transfer service.
the railroad announced that it was dieselized east of Cleve- One Niagara remained in service after March of 1956, and
land and east of Detroit. We know that there were pockets it was 6015, assigned to freight service. However, 6015
of steam east of Cleveland and Detroit until late 1956. For showed, for one last time, exactly what a Niagara could do.
example, at Fort Erie, ONT. Canada there were 0-8-0’s and On June 30, 1956, after a diesel failure and a reassignment
2-8-0’s in service, and one ancient 4-6-0 on a branch line of diesels to another train, the 6015 was assigned to east-
in Ontario. In 1955, the six Niagaras remaining in service bound Train 416 after a 34 minute delay at Indianapolis
were still being dispatched from Collinwood,Air Line Junc- due to the engine reassignment. Train 416 departed Indi-
tion (Toledo), and Chicago. In December, 1955, these six anapolis 37 minutes behind schedule. With nine cars, the
locomotives operated almost 6,000 miles each. 6015 ran the 108.9 miles from Indianapolis to Cincinnati
and recovered 31 minutes during the trip. That train sheet
is reproduced below.

292

The Central received its final series of passenger die-
sel-electrics, an order for thirty-two EMD E8’s, between
June and September of 1953. In normal times, the Niagaras
might have been retired at that time. The railroad was in
the process of downgrading its fleet of minority builders’
passenger locomotives to less demanding and more local
assignments, and some of the EMD “E” series fleet took up
the slack. Steam might have been retained as protection
power at this time due to the Korean conflict. The east to
west dieselization scheme pushed steam out of Harmon,
NY, and Niagara 6020 was the last steam locomotive to de-
part Harmon on August 7, 1953. The intended train for the
Niagara was the Empire State Express. For some unknown
reason, the Niagara departed on Train 185. For the Harmon
work force and the railroad, it was the end of an era.

Niagara 6020 rang down the curtain for steam operation out of Harmon, New York on August 7, 1953.
Anticipated assignment was the Empire State Express, but the engine was reassigned to Train 185. (JA/JWS)

293

Niagara No. 6020, in excellent condition, prior to dispatch
from Harmon, NY on August 7, 1953. (NYCSHS)

The last Niagara in service was 6015, and it was not retired The photographer who took the photo of 6015 described
until August 20, 1956. This Niagara was last assigned to it as the only Niagara he ever saw on this line, and that
freight service on the Big Four, operating between Indi- subsequent checking revealed that this was a test to de-
anapolis, IN and Cincinnati, OH. Jeremy Taylor, who was termine how well the engine handled the train. While the
an operating official based at Indianapolis during this time, performance of the locomotive was acceptable, there was
advised that at the end of the New York Central steam era, a problem or delay turning the locomotive at one end of
the railroad was forwarding L&N coal from Cincinnati to the run due to the length of the engine and tender. He
the steel mills at Gary, IN. The normal power for these 55 advised that he took the photograph in the spring of 1956,
car trains was an L-2 Mohawk. When an L-2 Mohawk was and enlisted a fellow student at Purdue to drive his car
used, another L-2 Mohawk from Danville took over near while he took movies, and this single photograph. It is one
the midpoint of the run. of only a few images of a Niagara in freight service on a
coal train.

After passenger assign-
ments were dieselized, the
remaining Niagaras were
assigned to freight service.
As they required shopping,
they were consigned to
scrap. The last Niagara in
service was No. 6015, seen
here on a 52 car coal drag
in the Lafayette, IN area in
the Spring of 1956. On June
30, 1956, this engine made
the last Niagara passenger
run due to a diesel failure.
(JCC/TRG)

Niagara 6008 was at
Cincinnati, OH on June 9,
1954. (NYCSHS)

295

Niagara No. 6001 departs Indianapolis in the spring of 1954 with Train No. 473. (JT)

A great place to see Niagaras in quantity was Chicago, where
Nos. 6003 and 6018 were on the outbound track for east-
bound runs. (RJS)

Niagara No. 6005 was assigned to Train 446 and is at
Bellefontaine, OH in May, 1954. This Niagara was the
first Niagara arrival on the Big Four. (JT)

267

In the spring of 1954, the Niagaras were assigned to the
Big Four. The original Niagara assigned to the Big Four
was 6005, and the others followed later. Niagaras were
assigned to passenger trains operating out of Chicago, to
Cincinnati and Indianapolis. Niagaras were too large and
heavy for the Big Four routes into St.Louis,specifically Mer-
chants Bridge, so a Niagara hauled train had a change of
motive power to a Hudson on St. Louis bound trains. This
motive power change was made at Mattoon, IL.

No. 6016 was consigned to scrap at Toledo, OH on
August 13, 1955. This overhead view shows that this
engine was not equipped with sand dome drip lips.
(NYCSHS)

299

Niagara No. 6017 was on Train 407 at Shortline
Junction, near Cleveland, OH in October, 1953. (JT)

In August, 1955, Niagara No. 6019 was still active on the mainline
of the railroad. Here is the engine at Toledo, OH. (BN/TRG)

Niagara 6020 was photographed at Toledo, OH on
July 14, 1955. (Kuba/JW/TRG)

NYC 6024 was at Toledo, OH on September 6, 1954. (TRG)

No. 6024 was found at Collinwood, OH in 1955. Note her Lima PT-4
tender, serial T-4105, which the engine received in October, 1951. (TRG)

Niagara 6018 was still in
service at Collinwood, OH
in May, 1955. (TRG)

By february 14, 1956, Niagara
No. 6019 was out of service
at Airline Jc.Toledo, OH and
consigned to scrap.
(AJ/TRG)

No. 6020 is being
prepared for an assign-
ment at Elkhart, IN in
1955. (TRG)

303

306

307



A Niagara Retrospective

The performance of the Central’s Niagara was widely and given the inherent advantages of the diesel electric, it
known by the railroad fraternity after the engines had ac- is difficult to understand the industry’s position regarding
cumulated some service time. There was intense interest steam at this late date. The railroads had a symbiotic rela-
in the basic design and the performance of these engines tionship with the coal industry, and the extent of the rail-
by other railroads and also by the trade press. I have re- road’s fixed plant all supported this relationship and the
produced several items of correspondence and editorial motive power policy that was the result.
comments regarding these engines that reveal the pride
that the New York Central took in these locomotives, and But for a brief period in time, the performance of the Niag-
also external reporting that describes the industry posi- aras and the reputation of the New York Central Railroad
tion, including that of the operating unions. The New York served to slow, if not stop, the march of dieselization. It
Central was regarded as a progressive railroad, and an in- was a glorious time to watch a single motive power unit
dustry leader in the adoption of new design concepts and deliver over 60,000 ton miles per train hour in traffic, and
new technology. Right after the war, most major railroads to support and enhance the reputation of what many con-
were still on a steam standard, and the thought was that sider to be the greatest passenger carrying railroad that the
diesels were appropriate for some specialized applications United States would ever see.
but would never replace steam completely. In hindsight,

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315

316

317

318

319

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Bibliography

Introduction
Confidential Report on Diesel Electric & Straight Electric vs Steam Locomotives
for Road Service on the New York Central R.R. July 1943............................................. Omalia,Wolff, Kiefer

The HS-1A
The Steam Locomotive in America................................................................................ Bruce.Alfred
Trains Magazine February 1955..................................................................................... Westing, Fred
New York Central Lines Magazine.................................................................................. June 1929
New York Central Lines Magazine.................................................................................. October 1931
Loco Profile 20 – The American 4-8-4............................................................................ Reed, Brian

6000
Railroading from the Head End...................................................................................... Farrington, S. Kip, Jr.
NYC Publicity Release................................................................................................... March 10, 1945
Headlight Magazine........................................................................................................ April 1945
Forty Years of Motive Power Progress on the New York Central................................... Alco-1945
Railway Mechanical Engineer........................................................................................ October 1945
Central Headlight Magazine 3Q1988............................................................................. Gerbracht,Thomas R.

The Production Niagaras 6001-25
Locomotive Directory-Diesel and Electric Locomotives................................................ Mech. Engr. Locomotives 1964
Railroading from the Rear End....................................................................................... Farrington, S. Kip, Jr.
Railway Mechanical Engineer........................................................................................ July, 1945
A Practical Evaluation of Railroad Motive Power........................................................... Kiefer, Paul
Classification Book-Diesels and Electric........................................................................ 1957
An Ultimate Steam Locomotive Design......................................................................... Atkins, C. P. BSc
Central Headlight Magazine August 1975...................................................................... Dawson, Richard W.
Central Headlight Magazine 1Q1989............................................................................. Gerbracht,Thomas R.

5500
Franklin Railway Supply................................................................................................. Steins 1/10/47
One Man’s Locomotives................................................................................................. Smith,Vernon L.
Central Headlight Magazine (3Q93).............................................................................. Gerbracht,Thomas R.
Letter.............................................................................................................................. Hulbert, Carleton 1981

Testing the Niagaras
Power Test Codes (Test Code for Steam Locomotives).................................................. A.S.M.E. Series 1923
Preliminary Report Locomotives 5500-6000-6023........................................................ Office-Engineer of Tests 1948
Niagara Test Report........................................................................................................ July 3, 1948

The Divided Drive C-1A
Specification 577 4-4-4-4- Road Locomotive.................................................................. Kiefer, Paul May 5, 1945
Locomotive & Tender Record Cards.............................................................................. Edson,W. D. Collection
Locomotive Cyclopedia................................................................................................. 1950-52
The Steam Locomotive.................................................................................................. Johnston, Ralph P.

323