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Front view
The 5363 presents her classic front end to the camera at Shelby Street engine terminal, Indianapolis, in March of 1956. This engine came to the Big Four from St. Thomas, Ont, and once bore Michigan Central number 8218. She ran out her last miles over…
Engineer's side showing cab and cab curtain
How many engineers have had their faces pitted and creased as they peered out of this aperture for mile after mile at high speed? How many have cursed this machine for bucking them, searing them, deafening them, while yet marvelling at the way she…
Right front view
Representing the ultimate development of the 4-6-4 type on the New York Central, J-3 no. 5437 poses for her picture at Shelby street, also in March of 1956. She was slated for retirement at the time, having performed her last duties several days…
Close up of BoxPox drivers and valve gear components
Such is the underpinning of one of the all-time race champions in the annals of American railroading. Many's the time, with her Baker hooked up and a feather at her stack, she's strutted her stuff at the head of the Century and all the other rolling…
Close up of trailing truck and firebox
The large firebox supported by the four-wheel trailing truck was of course the principal difference between the Js and their immediate predecessors in main line passenger service, the K-3 and K-5 4-6-2s. It gave the Js all of their greatest…
Close up of trailing truck and firebox looking forward
The Central's Hudson had a characteristic shared by very few other steam types, in that it was an attractive locomotive viewed from almost any angle. It derived an initial advantage from the 4-6-4 wheel arrangement, which guarantees a…
Right front 3/4 view
While the J-engines (the J-1s in particular) were the bellwethers of the NYC's fleet of high-speed passenger engines, the L-engines (especially the L-2s) were the workhorses of its roster of freight power. There were 300 L-2s, all turned out by Alco…
Right front 3/4 view
Begrimed no. 2936 above, a class L-2d engine, differs very little from her 'cousin' of class L-2c, the 2803 just pictured. Both have the following specifications: cylinders, 27x30 in.; drivers, 69 in.; pressure, 225 lbs.; tractive force, 60, 620…
Left front 3/4 view
In 1940, Alco delivered another batch of 4-8-2s to the NYC. These were designated class L-3 and numbered 3000-3064. All of them were equipped with steam-heat pipes and were used extensively in passenger service, especially during World War II when…
Right front 3/4 view
The ultimate in 4-8-2s on the NYC was the L-4 class. With their 72-inch drivers and roller-bearing driving journals, they were right at home on a passenger train, although they, too, were restricted to a conservative 70 MPH. (All other L classes had…
Close up of BoxPox drivers and valve gear components
This photograph of the running gear of the 3148 gives a clue to the immediate reason for her removal from service (she would have succumbed to dieselitis shortly afterward anyway). Notice that the piston key is not tightly fitted into the crosshead -…
Right front 3/4 view
Here, at Shelby Street, backed in on top of the 3148 on a 'dead' track, is the last of the largest - S-1 4-8-4 no. 6015. This engine remained in service almost a year after the retirement of her twenty-five sisters. The reason for this oddity was…
Close up of BoxPox drivers and valve gear components
No need to identify the owner of those sleek rods and nighty drivers. Her principal specifications are as follows: class, S-1b; cylinders, 25x32 in.; drivers, 79. in.; pressure, 275 lbs.; tractive effort, 62,500 lbs.; weight, 471,000 lbs.; and…
Engineer's side
Let us not forget the small engine and the important role it has in the process of bringing in revenue. It ventures out onto the frail iron of branches and spurs and twists itself around the sharp corners of industrial tracks, switching out the…
Fireman's side
This is the last of the portraits taken at Shelby Street. It was held out purposely to the end of the series to dispel any impression -- which night well have been created by the preceding pictures -- that Shelby Street was not a real engine terminal…