Did any steam locomotive ever venture into Penn Sta N.Y.C.for experimental, emergency purpose or anything similar?
Probably not. The City of New York had an ordinance that prohibited the use of steam engines in tunnels. The length of the East River and Hudson tunnels would have made the use of steam power very unpleasant for all involved and the exhaust might well have damaged the overhead wires (at least it would have covered them in soot). The PRR had a number of “low profile” tunnel cranes and these might have been steam powered so that they could operate with the power down.
I’m not even sure that diesel-powered equipment (maybe an FL-9 in electric mode?) operated in NY Penn Station prior to the opening of the west side connection to the old New York Central tracks to Spuyten Duyvil.
I have seen published reports that they did attempt to run freight trains from New Jersey to Long Island through NY Penn Station (to avoid the car-float operation) but that it proved to be very difficult and was discontinued.
Happened twice and both were British Pacifics. Once in 1939 when a complete Flying Scotsman train was exhibited at the NY Worlds Fair, with a stop at NY Penn Sta., and once after WWII when a British railfan (Pegler?) brought his Gresley Pacific to tour the USA. This was shortly after Amtrak started up, if I remember,and they were involved. The locomotives were dry, not under steam while in NYC, in both cases, if I remember correctly.
Electrically-powered coal trains of hopper cars regularly ran through Penn Station during WWII to both New England and Long Island points. This was done during early AM hours when passenger trains were sparse.
During the Alpert administration and afterwards, FL-9’s did run in regular passenger service into Penn Station when a “Jet” was not available and for the short time that the “Jets” (EP-5’s) needed a communications interference problem cured. The EMD shoe was double sprung and could handle LIRR third rail as well as NYCentral.
The biggest problem keeping freight out of the PRR Hudson and East River tubes were the 2+% grades in the approaches to the tubes, and no free tracks to run them through Penn Station on. Sounds like a problem that we still have sixty plus years later!
Somewhere I’ve got pictures of the Raymond Loewy designed streamlined Broadway Limited on display in Penn Station with a streamlined K-4. Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to find them. Obviously, the K-4 wasn’t fired-up. I presume it was towed into the station. Similarly, the NYC did the same thing at GCT when they introduced the Dreyfus designed Twentieth Century Limited in 1938.
That is entirely possible. Also, both a streamlined K4 and the S1 6-4-4-6 were at the 1939-1940 Worlds Fair and may possibly have passed through Penn Station, at least the K4. Probably clearences were not appropriate for the S1 and it went via carfloat or the Hell Gate Bridge.