I love sreamliners.
yellowbellies
j-class
duplex
hiawatha
dreyfuss hudson
commodor vanderbilt
what are your favorites?
N&W J and K2 (the streamstyled 4-8-2).
Most of the others don’t impress me - T1 was a ship out of water, and I’m really turned off by inverted bathtubs. Somehow the others with cone and ogive noses just didn’t catch the right proportion of speed and brute strength that the N&W portrayed (I think the shape was inspired by the ball ammo for the .45cal Model 1911 automatic.) As for the NYC’s roman helmets…[tdn].
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
My preference is MILW Class A, the first Hiawatha locomotives; closely followed by ATSF 3460. Another interesting design would be the LNER A4 class.
A steam engine (any Steam engine) is my dephibulator.
My heart beats with each chug. The excitement as it labors to get started. The exhilaration as it runs by.
Those of you who (like me) are N&W J and SP Daylight fans, please look at the New Haven I-5’s. Won’t you agree that is the very best streamlined Hudson, 4-6-4, far better than the Hiawathas the Mercury, the 20th Century and the Empire State Express? This question is for Daylight and J people only, not for those who like inverted bathtubs.
New Haven I-5 Hudson. Ten built by Baldwin in 1938. That’s The New Haven’s “Comet” passing on the left.
N&W J - No doubt.
Streamstyled M1a??? Like Pennsy???
I like the Dreyfuss Hudsons because they remind me of a Flash Gordon/Buck Rogers space ship and Art Deco which was popular at the time. The ones with Scullin Disc drivers were especially interesting. Didn’t some of them have the drivers lit up in blue light at one time?
I generally don’t care for the inverted bathtubs or some of the extreme bullet noses. My favorite would be the GS-class Daylight as the best balance between streamlining and still looking like a steam engine. A CPR Royal Hudson gets my second place vote.
Speaking of CPR, although it’s a bathtub the Jubilee 4-4-4 and the more ‘Royal Hudson’ styled 2900 class 4-4-4’s rarely get mentioned, How fast were they compared to the Hiawatha’s and what were they used for. I’ve seen a few pictures of them in commuter service but little else and it seems hard to imagine that’s what they were built for, unless they were running Acela-like service.
No. 1 - SP Daylight.
No. 2 - L&N 295.
T-1 Duplex.
Nothing looked faster; nothing was faster.
PRR S1…
I never grew up in the ages of steam, but from what i’ve seen, nothin beats the CNR U4a 6400 Streamer Northerns. They have the best lines of any streamlined locomotive and could go almost 110mph! If you read the last Classic Trains magazine, in the article “Cab Rides In Canada” it tells you just how exhilirating those engines were.
I love ‘steamliners’ too!! How about those yellow CNW pacifics on the Minnesota 400?? I have a painting print of one of them on my desk at work…but then, who but Canadian Pacific would streamline a 2-10-4?? Those are pretty cool too.
Fun to think ‘what might have been’. Northern Pacific thought about streamlining some of their A class 4-8-4 Northerns, that would be fun to see!!
PRR-S1
PRR-Streamlined K-4
Hiawatha
I like the NYC Empire State Express the best, followed by the PRR T1 duplex. The Canadian one mentioned is great as well. One of my least favorite is the Loewy designed K4 (too “fat” in a attempt to cover too much running gear), as well as all the “inverted bathtub” designs.
My error [:I] Should have been K2 Maybe I was thinking PRR.
N&W class K2 was a streamstyled rebuilt USRA heavy 4-8-2, very similar to the J in appearence. Trainspotter’s giveaway was the shrouded Worthington BL feedwater heater on the fireman’s side - looked as if it was packing a sidearm!
Chuck
Another big spotting difference between the N&W J & K-2/K-2a is the tenders. The J’s were welded and the K’s were riveted. Both make my heart race!!!
I think the NH I-5’s rate right up there with the N&W streamliners for looks. B&O’s last 4 streamlined P-7 Pacifics were slick! The SP GS classes were very nice too. I think the NYC Dreyfuss, Mercury and other streamlined Hudsons remind me of the drug commercial on TV…“this is your brain on drugs”.
Roger
N&W J
SP Daylight
NYC Dreyfess
Hope this bit of info helps answer a few of your questions.
Quoting Patrick C. Dorin from his book Canadian Pacific Railway ( Motive Power, Rolling stock, Capsule History ) Superior Publishing Company 1974
“Two of the trains were assigned to the Montreal-Quebec service which involved a 4 hour, 30 minute schedule for the 173 mile run in each direction, including 32 intermediate stops. Another train, with two 4-4-4 type locomotives assigned to the run was assigned to the Toronto-Detroit run. This Train was christened the “Royal York” and made a round trip between Toronto and Detroit daily. The 229 mile run ( one way) was made in 5 hours, 35 minutes in both directions with 19 intermediate stops. The fourth train, the “Chinook”, ran between Calgary and Edmonton and made the round trip daily. The 194 mile run (one way ) was completed in 5 hours, 15 minutes in both directions with 22 intermediate stops. Each train was made up of 4 cars and 1 locomotive.”
The developement of the 4-4-4 Jubilee type locos was for a very specific reason. High speed local service. 16 light weight, air conditioned, streamlined cars were also made specifically for the first F2a class Jubilees. The 2 Jubilee classes were the F2a, #3000-3004, built on 80" drivers in 1936 at the Montreal Locomotive Works and the F1a, #2910-2929, built on 75" drivers during 1937-1938 by the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston