I am reviewing the history of NYC streamliner in the 1930s and 40s recently. It seems to me that Henry Dreyfuss had a better relationship between him and New York Central and his works achieved greater success than almost everything Raymond Loewy designed for PRR. From the Mercury in mid-30s, the 20th Century and the Empire State Express in 1938 and 1941, Henry Dreyfuss successfully, with the support from NYCRR, created some World’s most famous streamliner. His designs for NYC was classic, popular, timeless and commercially successful.
I feel had the designers been on the opposite teams with their designs the results would have still favored the NYC. PRR management was the big impedement on the adoption of new designs. Lowey and Dreyfuss were about equal in the foresights. PRR Management was the boar anchor.
I agreed that PRR’s management culture was one of the main reason of why Loewy’s works and designs encountered such “ambagious treat”, but I think PRR was open minded to some rare or new mechanical ideas like the direct-drive steam turbine and the concept of duplex, although these ideas or concept were adopted just because PRR and its allies wanted to prolong the dominance of the steam locomotive, in order to protect there coal transport business, but they failed. Moreover, PRR remained a good relationship with EMC/EMD even though PRR refused some dieselization suggestions by them.
Compared to NYC, B&O, MILW, UP or CB&Q, they did much better than PRR in terms of creating a cooperation image from hardware to software. PRR had more than enough money and resource to improve, they even hired the most famous Industrial Designer to do it but turn out it still fell between two stools (especially on the west end). As a PRR Fans who love steam engine, it is frustrating…They could have done better.
Yes, he did, MILW’s FM Erie-built was one of my favorites in terms of body design even though it performance wasn’t good enough. Loewy also designed the Baldwin shark nose RF-16 and helped to die BLW to gain a total of 160 units ordered.
There were some designs he probably didn’t claim. I have seen more than one sources stated that the streamlined shrouding of PRR Q1 and 4 K4s were his works, but altered by PRR, like the headlight of Q1, a freight engine, was supposed to place on the middle of the bullet nose, which would had concurred with the design of S1, a passenger engine. But it seems like PRR didn’t want any more of design which the Keystone number plate could not be placed on the middle of smokebox door or headlights not placed above the Keystone plate, so the design was altered, maybe this is the reason why Raymond Loewy didn’t count it as his works.
