New York Central & Hudson River RR #999
Displayed in the main hall of Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry is one of the fastest and most famous steam locomotives of the late 19th Century. This 4-4-0 American Standard is New York Central & Hudson River RR Locomotive #999. Built in 1893 for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad by the company's West Albany Shops, this engine was a one-off design that was specifically intended to pull the railroad's prestigious "Empire State Express." Her designers optimized her for speed and glamour. She had extremely tall, 86.5" drivers, 15" cylinders and a boiler pressure of 180 psi. She also had air brakes on her pilot truck, which was very unusual for the time. Dolled up with highly polished pipes, bands and other trim and painted in a satin black finish with gold leaf lettering on the tender, she was made for the limelight.
On May 10th of 1893, pulling the Empire State Express, this engine was alleged to have gone 112.5 mph on a stretch of her run from Syracuse, NY to Buffalo. If true, it would have made her the first man-made machine to exceed 100 mph. Alas, the methods used to document that speed at the time were crude and engineering analysis in more recent times have raised serious questions as to its accuracy. That said, she was still likely the fastest of her time. In the 1920s, she was replaced in her high-profile role by newer technology and relegated to branch line and switching service. An overhaul during that period replaced her outsized drivers with 70" wheels and she lost much of her glitz. Although she was effectively retired in 1924, she spent another two and a half decades as an exhibition locomotive, before being retired for good in the mid-1950s. In 1962, the New York Central Railroad donated her to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry, where she is displayed today, sadly with the 70" drivers, not the ultra-tall ones that made her famous.
New York Central & Hudson River RR #999
Displayed in the main hall of Chicago's Museum of Science & Industry is one of the fastest and most famous steam locomotives of the late 19th Century. This 4-4-0 American Standard is New York Central & Hudson River RR Locomotive #999. Built in 1893 for the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad by the company's West Albany Shops, this engine was a one-off design that was specifically intended to pull the railroad's prestigious "Empire State Express." Her designers optimized her for speed and glamour. She had extremely tall, 86.5" drivers, 15" cylinders and a boiler pressure of 180 psi. She also had air brakes on her pilot truck, which was very unusual for the time. Dolled up with highly polished pipes, bands and other trim and painted in a satin black finish with gold leaf lettering on the tender, she was made for the limelight.
On May 10th of 1893, pulling the Empire State Express, this engine was alleged to have gone 112.5 mph on a stretch of her run from Syracuse, NY to Buffalo. If true, it would have made her the first man-made machine to exceed 100 mph. Alas, the methods used to document that speed at the time were crude and engineering analysis in more recent times have raised serious questions as to its accuracy. That said, she was still likely the fastest of her time. In the 1920s, she was replaced in her high-profile role by newer technology and relegated to branch line and switching service. An overhaul during that period replaced her outsized drivers with 70" wheels and she lost much of her glitz. Although she was effectively retired in 1924, she spent another two and a half decades as an exhibition locomotive, before being retired for good in the mid-1950s. In 1962, the New York Central Railroad donated her to the Chicago Museum of Science & Industry, where she is displayed today, sadly with the 70" drivers, not the ultra-tall ones that made her famous.