Stately Mohawk
New York Central L3a 4-8-2 "Mohawk" #3001 poses during a night photo session at the National New York Central RR Museum, back in January of 2011. Some friends and I spent most of the afternoon rigging the scene lighting as well as a fog machine and box fan inside the smokebox to make #3001 look a little more "alive". The locomotive has since had its elephant ears re-installed and more recently has been sold to the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society. It will take time and money, but the plan is for this stately old gray hound to run again.
The L3a class were the first of the dual-service Mohawks to arrive on the Central. NYC rostered more 4-8-2s than other railroad, with a fleet of 600 of them. The freight L1s and L2s were basically the SD40s of their era: go anywhere, do anything. The L3as (and the even more modern L4s that followed) were an improvement of the earlier design, with better cross-balancing and weight distribution for higher-speed running. They joined the Central's famous Hudsons in passenger and express service all across the system, from Mackinaw City, MI to St. Louis, MO, and everywhere in between. While other railroads would adopt 2-8-4s and 4-8-4s for fast freight service, the Mohawks were plenty powerful for the mostly flat NYC. The 4-8-4 Niagaras would come much later. While they were dual-service engines, most worked primarily in passenger service until very late in their careers. The NYC was not kind to preservation, and today #3001 is one of just six remaining NYC steamers.
Stately Mohawk
New York Central L3a 4-8-2 "Mohawk" #3001 poses during a night photo session at the National New York Central RR Museum, back in January of 2011. Some friends and I spent most of the afternoon rigging the scene lighting as well as a fog machine and box fan inside the smokebox to make #3001 look a little more "alive". The locomotive has since had its elephant ears re-installed and more recently has been sold to the Fort Wayne RR Historical Society. It will take time and money, but the plan is for this stately old gray hound to run again.
The L3a class were the first of the dual-service Mohawks to arrive on the Central. NYC rostered more 4-8-2s than other railroad, with a fleet of 600 of them. The freight L1s and L2s were basically the SD40s of their era: go anywhere, do anything. The L3as (and the even more modern L4s that followed) were an improvement of the earlier design, with better cross-balancing and weight distribution for higher-speed running. They joined the Central's famous Hudsons in passenger and express service all across the system, from Mackinaw City, MI to St. Louis, MO, and everywhere in between. While other railroads would adopt 2-8-4s and 4-8-4s for fast freight service, the Mohawks were plenty powerful for the mostly flat NYC. The 4-8-4 Niagaras would come much later. While they were dual-service engines, most worked primarily in passenger service until very late in their careers. The NYC was not kind to preservation, and today #3001 is one of just six remaining NYC steamers.