Hi community,
A member of my forum asked me the following question:
“When steam traffic into Manhattan was banned ( I think inbetween 1906 and 1910 ) did NYC ever attempt to equip a steam engine with electric traction motors?”
Now, I personally can’t imagine such an engine but wanted to hear from any NYC - guru to confirm my knowledge or prove me wrong.[%-)]. This is no joke: Curt (the guy asking this question) saw a documentation about Grand Central on the web and obviously noticed a steam engine that had some strange equipment added to it and so he came up with this question.
Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Erhard
(from Germany)
To the best of my knowledge, the only pre-WWII steam-electric was the Heilmann, and it never saw the west side of the Atlantic.
NYC had already committed to third-rail straight electric operation, even before the politicians got into the act. The only place where unpowered track could be a problem was on the West Side line, and that was solved with on-board battery/distillate engined motors that could also draw power from the third rail. (The West Side line was also taken out of the streets, either on raised viaducts or in below-street-level cuts.)
New York City wanted the clouds of coal smoke over the railroad tracks GONE! I doubt that the idea of an idling steamer with motors drawing power from the third rail would have met with regulatory approval. (I’m certain that, once Grand Central was roofed over, it wouldn’t have met with passenger approval either.)
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Thanks very much for the info.
That solved my problem…
Regards,
Erhard
That documentary noted that the ‘final straw’ forcing the switch to electrics was a terrible commuter train crash in which the engineer couldn’t see the train stopped ahead of him in the tunnel because of all the smoke. That crash was what finally turned the tide towards banning steam on the island.