It's also of note these machines were designed by slide rules, theoretical calculations, and teams of draftsmen and design engineers. No computers, or automation here, these were all basically hand built machines. While they were maintenance intensive and expensive when compared to diesels, it's hard to ignore their pulling power, looks and sheer scale. It's a real shame none of these magnificent engines were saved and preserved for future generations to enjoy. Wonderful video and thanks for posting it and sharing.
That's really sad. In the UK a number of businessmen were instrumental in saving steam locomotives. These were formidable giants and the ultimate in U.S. steam traction
Niagaras were one of the most efficient steam locomotives built. Yet, all scrapped without a single one to make into preservation. So glad we have these films which captured them in their glory.
What is it about steam locos ❓ They seem so human , so alive .... beautiful things , majestic almost , such a crying shame so few were actually preserved ....
At least there was something preserved. The 3001 Mohawk. We have to be thankful about what we have, it may not last forever. Niagara’s and Hudson’s were great, but The New York Central scrapped EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
@@Bolly650 It’s their fault, and they should’ve realized how important the Hudsons and Niagaras were due to the Hudsons streamlined looks, and how useful the Niagaras were. The NYC shouldve taken pride in their engineering legacy, just like the PRR by preserving these beauties for children and railfans to enjoy. Despite being scrapped, they will always be remembered as famous machines that represented the future and how important they were in the history of railroading. I hope, though we can build a Hudson and a Niagara from scratch so that we can correct this grave mistake the NYC made.
When my dad was a boy during the depression, his mom would send him to the railroad tracks to glean coal. When a train came by and the firemen saw him, they frequently would toss an entire shovelfull over the side for him.
That's cool, but I feel like he could've been hit in the face by the coal flying at him at like 100 mph and kill him, unless they just dumped it out away from him.
I was fortunate enough to witness these wonderful locomotives whenn I was a boy. I would stand at track level within a yard or two of these huge wheels rolling into Union Station at Columbus Ohio, inhaling the sweet aroma of the steam and acrid smoke. God, it is a memory I'll take with me to me grave. Thank you so so so much for posting this unforgetable video.
Every time I see that lone archway across from the Arena I can Imagine how utterly huge Union Station was. I have seen pictures of it. But Im sure it doesn't even come close to seeing the actual station.
The amount of money I, who was born in 2002, would pay to go back in time to see what you saw is astronomical. You’re a very fortunate individual, my friend
2:57 The Mohawk classes were amazing. The fact that one still exists is a miracle (3001). I don’t know why they scrapped all of the Hudsons, they were the most streamlined steamers, and the only remaining piece of the Hudson’s is a singular tender. Sadly, for the Niagara’s, not a single piece of them remains today.
@@fafnir242Both are ironically preserved on the far western side of the old New York Central Railroad, where they made their final stand from 1953 to 1957.
@@77goofyguy Fastest in North America in steam was the original Hiawatha service on the Milwaukee Road (CMStP&P). This was the only steam operated service that required daily 100+ mph speeds just to maintain schedule.
that's not what that's for lmao That alarm is there for safety reasons. Should the engineer, i dunno, DIE, that alarm will set off the emergency brakes. Should that happen in a steam engine, you're out of luck and the train'll keep going until it explodes from derailing.
@@TrolololGaming No, because there would be two men operating the steam locomotive. The only exception would be the Camelback locomotive. They were designed so that the fireman in back was isolated from the engineer. If the engineer keeled over, the fireman wouldn't be in a place to see it.
@@TrolololGaming I'm no expert, but GWR Locos had a warning chime/bell that went off when the locomotive approached a station, and should the reset for the alarm not be set the brakes will apply to stop the locomotive. Best thing is that the chime is a physical and not an electrical piece of equipment (to my knowledge).
My moms dad died in 1955 while working for the Erie as a fireman, that is all I know of him since mom did not talk much about him and the RR. Being born in 1958 in Spring Valley NY this video brings me much happiness seeing it and thinking that my grandpa could have been on one of these locomotives as the firemen. Thank you for a great video.
I can tell that some of the audio on this video was lifted from "Sounds of the New York Central" published by Cook Records. I had this LP as a kid. Cool to hear it again.
Wow does that bring back memories. Every year as a yong boy in the 1950s we used to take the route from Harmon to Cleveland to visit mom's relatives. Mostly diesel but on occasion still steam. You would find me sitting in the back of the curved observation-lounge car or running back to my seat in the pullman to see where I could get the best views as we travelled along the Hudson and across NY. It was 13 hours of joy each way (but not for mom chasing me). I think she finally tired of that and we started flying back and forth on United DC-6s. Never lost my enthusiasm for railroads though. Took Amtrak from Trenton to Denver in 1986 on a business trip. The western portion with a sleeper was great. Could not stop looking out of the window day and night. Eyes were red for days after. It is truly a shame that the NYC did not preserve and restore any of these marvelous machines as had Norfolk Southern, Southern Pacific and UP.
I love it, I love the sound and the narration, I can put this on while I sit here and draw houses for a living. I am an old-school draftsman (steam loco) trying to compete with CAD draftsman (diesel). The sounds of the steam engines make me draw faster!What great rare color footage! Thank you so much for posting !
I can remember seeing the N.Y.C. trains running on the East Side of the Hudson river from my home on a hill overlooking the Hudson in Newburgh, back in the late 50s...we could hear the whistles clear across the Hudson, and see the lights of the passenger cars at night.
I rode the NYC's twentieth Century Limited. I went from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY. The trains pulled by the Hudson's always were on time. After the switch to diesel, the trains were always late or not on time as some conductors said.
@@tommytruth7595 You are absolutely right! The NYC was going down and the road was becoming unmanageable. In the end, the merger with the Pennsylvania was meant to save both roads but the financial burden of the NYC proved too much and both went under, resulting in the government taking over and creating a new railroad the Conrail system.
THANK YOU FOR THESE WONDERFUL PICTURES OF STEAM ENGINES. i WAS BORN DURING THE CHANGE FROM STEAM TO DIESEL. i MISSED THE GOLDEN AGE OF STEAM LOVED THESE PICTURES.
These beautiful steam locomotives feel like there human. Theres an element of breathing of smoke puffing like on a cold winters day. A heart beat of pistons and rods pounding. And an actual whistleing sound from the wistle. A fire in its belly and the need for both intake of fuel that had to be physically feed into it. and a drive to move once feed. And move as fast as possible because everyone could use an adrenaline rush/ get to work on time. Its easy to love and relate to theses human like machines. Diesel/electric are robotic and blah. Bring back steam to a new glory.
What is it about steam locos ❓ They seem so human , so alive .... beautiful things , majestic almost , such a crying shame so few were actually preserved ....
All the running gear, the mechanical aspects of these machines are out in the open to see, not hidden behind doors or panels, like diesel-electrics, and can be enjoyed an marveled.
@@GiordanDiodato Europe seems to manage it just fine. Stand at any station in Italy, watch an express roll by at 120 MPH, and then a loaded (albeit shorter) freight roll by two minutes later...
What we're coming to is the beginning of the end of any passenger service in America heck Amtrak I think is planning on phasing out long-distance passenger service, I could be wrong on this information but it's what I heard at the time
Good video! I find the sheer size of American locomotives fascinating. Also the number of locomotives being prepared for service was remarkable. A really good insight into the age of steam over on your side of the pond. You scrapped your steam trains before we did in the UK. Such a shame, they are such great pieces of engineering.
Great video. I thoroughly enjoyed it, seeing steam next to diesel and the competition for greater pulling. It was the best time for appreciating trains. I am going to model the transition with NYC, NH, Pennsylvania, and the later Penn Central going along the CT shoreline into New York City. So this video really gets the juices flowing! Thank you.
Anyone catch those 4-6-4's double heading a coal drag around the 2:20 mark. that had to be somewhat rare. as most considered the 4-6-4 strictly a passenger engine.
yeah with no maintenance, then when they broke down they were towed to a death row siding in a yard, sat for a few years and scrapped. A bit like the life of a death row inmate really :)
I'm in awe of the doctor rail fan that took all the color footage of some of the last steam locomotives back in the day. I'm also in awe of whomever dubbed sound to this!!
15:58 CNJ!! :) 16:25 Fanwood, NJ....I grew up nest door in Plainfield, live now two towns west of there! But that footage looks more like Roselle. Dunellen is the town between Plainfield and Middlesex, where I now live. Ahh, CNJ Camelbacks!! Loving the Whole vid, not just my home turf!
I’m too young to have seen any steam locos. But the 20th century limited had a prominent part in one of my favorite movies, “The Sting” . Paul .Newman rode the train hooked the mark ( Robert Shaw) in a poker game.
Im so thankful that here in the UK we have numerous heritage lines and preserved Locos and rolling stock so that the kids (of all ages) can go and see how things once were. Its great when you see the look of wonder and awe on a kids face the first time they get close to a stem loco and their excitement when they go for a ride in a steam hauled train. We didn't preserve enough of course but at least we have some.
The Hudson, one badass machine. Pure function over form. Love it. Thanks for the upload. :)) Over here in the Netherlands they scrapped all steam engines! all!! The locos we have today are all German. It's a shame.
It is to America's Eternal discredit that we that they destroyed all of the steam engines that had years and Decades of service left in them and it's funny how all these railroads were bankrupt in 10 years
Steam locomotive represent an America that was prosperous now we have nothing and our prosperity is nothing but a memory that is fading away God shame this country
Wonderful to see the old Locomotives remind me when I came to California in 1947 I won from New York to California on locomotive I still remember to this day, I went through Theresa Grorge
Outstanding video! Have never seen steam trains quite like this! Born 1953 here. Thank You very much! BTW, I remember CNWs Pacifics here in my wee childhood in Chicago!
My Mother would share memories of this error . when not to hang your clothes out to dry , what the time was by the sound of each whistle , and more . love watching these golden classics !
I have seen some of these very same locomotives in the rail museums, and standing next to them makes you appreciate their true size and power. These locos were truly enormous monsters on rails.
What a FANTASTIC collection of sights and sounds! It makes ya quiver all over like a kid again when you saw them "in the flesh" the first time! You can almost smell the coal smoke and hot steam oil, feel the heat, ground shake,AHHH! Who cares if the exhaust beat doesn't quite the wheel revs! I loved it, Thanks for posting.
When Timken introduced roller bearings, they specifically outfitted 1 locomotive with them and for a demonstration had a team of local high school cheerleaders PULL IT by ropes. Roller bearings can remove the weight of a locomotive carrying itself and allows that to be transferred into tractive effort. That said and being factual....Me & Bob are NOT pushing that thing. -just sayin
@@TotallyMusicArtistChannel Thats not how roller bearing work, roller bearing reduce the friction between the axel and frame. By lowering the friction you also lower the force required to move it. Its like how putting something on wheels makes it easier to move, in fact its the same principle!
Another amazing fact in the toy train odyssey - the Hudson 4-6-4 is still far and away the toy train locomotive to buy from Lionel in today's modern era.
I’ll never understand why New York Central failed to preserve one example from each class of Hudson and Niagara type locomotives. Paul Kiefer must have been very disappointed none of his remarkable designs were saved.
NYC was willing to sell its locomotives at scrap price to anyone or any group that would put up the cash. But, no-one did. NYC was in severe financial difficulties in the 1950s and 1960s and could not afford to donate locomotives. A private corporation is there for profit and not to provide freebies to railfans.
To put it simply, New York Central during Dieselization did not want their steam locomotives anymore. They didn’t care to save them. It’s a shame, but it’s not like they didn’t preserve a candidate. We even have a Hudson tender. Edit: Another thing that I have a theory for was that when the Railroads began to fail, before the merging of Pennsylvania and this one, the New York Central scrapped their locomotives to gather as much money as they could to stay afloat. This is a notable reason as to why there are very rare diesel representatives in preservation. They scrapped them in order to get more money, and when that didn’t work, they eventually merged with equally struggling railroad: the Pennsylvania Railroad. The Pennsylvania had a problem as well when it came to their locomotives, they had to sell their locomotives to scrapyards to get more money. But there were preservationists that were willing to either buy them for use or, they were put on display. Knowing the central, putting a Hudson or Niagara on display would be more money than they were willing to spend. There were some individuals who bought their locomotives for static display, and there were possibly Hudson and Niagara offers, but it was possibly rejected by the Central.
@@jppicur I had heard that F. Nelson Blount of Steamtown fame offered NYC twice scrap value for Hudson and was turned down. So who knows the real story.
@@AdmiralColdhead that is probably the case, which is sad to think about but it is the truth and we all know how Penn Central ended up, and it does make sense just the funny thing is that the difference between NYC and PRR locomotives was that PRR engines were basically disposable, so firebox trouble? Slap a new one in there and put it back in service. So the NYC engines meant to last long were beat to preservation by disposable PRR engines…. It’s a cruel irony (besides the 2 Mohawks I mean)
As someone from Toledo, OH who lived for a while around Rochester, NY, and who now lives in Chicago, I have driven the entirety of the Water Level Route and it sort of traces a lifetime for me...
I've been on the highways next to the Mohawk River. To think that some of the most famous American steam locomotives have traveled there is incredible. Wish I could have seen it
Re: the 4-6-4's from Trent (below) it would depend on the diameter of the drivers. Remember, the bigger the drivers, the more they were denoted as passenger class as they were faster and smoother operating, such as 74-86" class drivers. The freight engines always had the smaller diameter drivers, such as 32-62". This is an average and did not always apply. Many of the 74-78" drivers locomotives when close to retirement after having served as passenger haulers, were then relegated to combination passenger and freight haulers. So double stacking 2 of the 4-6-4's was not out of the ordinary per say. Great catch in the video though. Also, whomever placed this video on You Tube, thank you very much. It brought back many memories.
Wonderful quality footage of incredible locomotives, very surprising that no Hudsons or Niagaras are preserved, perhaps the UK example of building new ones from scratch could be followed, as with the A1 pacific Tornado?
Not a chance. There is no facility in North America and, perhaps, in the industrial world capable of producing the massive and complex steel frame castings with integral cylinders. Tornado is still a simple plate-frame engine -- easy 19th Century technology.
@@jppicur actually there is a Northern sized steam locomotive, currently being built from scratch, it's called the PPR T-1 Trust, engine no.5550. The T-1 is a duplex and has a ridgid frame, similar to a Northern. The only difference is that a T-1 is a duplex. Building a Northern from scratch in today's world is possible. The hard part is raising the money. I'd Check out The T-1 Trust if you are interested. It is possible to do the same with a Niagara, problem is getting enough public interest.
Tho I'm pretty sure that sequence at 6:18 was on the pre-CTC Toledo Div in western Ohio, I'd love to know exactly where. That guy was definitely at, and prob exceeding the timetable speed of 80!!
Absolutly amazing to see this living machines in full speed and Power.And the wonderfull music of the singing weehls on the tracks, accentuated from the beats of the steamengine.👍🇺🇸Greatings from Germany
I don't know if many people noticed, but in many cases, the sound was added to the picture. If you listen to the "choo-choo's" and look to the driver wheels, you will notice they don't correspond. (There is supposed to be 4 "choos" per wheel turn.)
It's also of note these machines were designed by slide rules, theoretical calculations, and teams of draftsmen and design engineers. No computers, or automation here, these were all basically hand built machines. While they were maintenance intensive and expensive when compared to diesels, it's hard to ignore their pulling power, looks and sheer scale. It's a real shame none of these magnificent engines were saved and preserved for future generations to enjoy. Wonderful video and thanks for posting it and sharing.
Early diesels were designed with slide rules as well.
@2022-Matthew Baker But diesels have a thermal efficiency more than twice that of steamers. And while coal may be cheaper, it's not 7 times cheaper.
That's really sad. In the UK a number of businessmen were instrumental in saving steam locomotives. These were formidable giants and the ultimate in U.S. steam traction
Feliciana Delacruz Two of the Mohawks still exist today, sasly they both don’t run and probably never will.
@@mikeytrains1 If Northfolk SOuthern cares to pull a bigboy with them, they could.
Niagaras were one of the most efficient steam locomotives built. Yet, all scrapped without a single one to make into preservation. So glad we have these films which captured them in their glory.
What is it about steam locos ❓ They seem so human , so alive .... beautiful things , majestic almost , such a crying shame so few were actually preserved ....
At least there was something preserved. The 3001 Mohawk. We have to be thankful about what we have, it may not last forever. Niagara’s and Hudson’s were great, but The New York Central scrapped EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.
@@Bolly650 It’s their fault, and they should’ve realized how important the Hudsons and Niagaras were due to the Hudsons streamlined looks, and how useful the Niagaras were. The NYC shouldve taken pride in their engineering legacy, just like the PRR by preserving these beauties for children and railfans to enjoy. Despite being scrapped, they will always be remembered as famous machines that represented the future and how important they were in the history of railroading. I hope, though we can build a Hudson and a Niagara from scratch so that we can correct this grave mistake the NYC made.
@Ben Chuft Maybe one a trust will be established to rebuild a working replica.
@@Bolly650 Don't forgot about 2933
That must have been like piloting a rocket ship going over 100 mph... a tribute to the track crews who kept the track in such superb condition!
Yes the platelayers had their work cut out!
To go 100mph + in a fully loaded steam engine....you might as well say they were going Mach 5, It sounds impossible
@@K-Effect And they could go 120mph -- imagine seeing that fly by!
@@Raptorman0909 Yea close to the speed of Mallard
@@ArnavKhode -- Most ducks fly at between 45mph and 55mph -- the fastest duck ever measured was a Merganser at 100mph (paced by an airplane).
When my dad was a boy during the depression, his mom would send him to the railroad tracks to glean coal. When a train came by and the firemen saw him, they frequently would toss an entire shovelfull over the side for him.
Thats amazing!
That's like people did in the UK, too.
That's cool, but I feel like he could've been hit in the face by the coal flying at him at like 100 mph and kill him, unless they just dumped it out away from him.
@@cf1925 One stands farther back from the tracks and then moves in after the train has passed.
@@WWZenaDo Oh, thanks!
I was fortunate enough to witness these wonderful locomotives whenn I was a boy. I would stand at track level within a yard or two of these huge wheels rolling into Union Station at Columbus Ohio, inhaling the sweet aroma of the steam and acrid smoke. God, it is a memory I'll take with me to me grave.
Thank you so so so much for posting this unforgetable video.
you got me there bud grate gob that is noy carcasim
Every time I see that lone archway across from the Arena I can Imagine how utterly huge Union Station was. I have seen pictures of it. But Im sure it doesn't even come close to seeing the actual station.
I saw them go by Vermilion, Ohio
At 5:52 just where is that? I grew up in Columbus and that building to the right rings a bell but can not place it.
The amount of money I, who was born in 2002, would pay to go back in time to see what you saw is astronomical. You’re a very fortunate individual, my friend
2:57 The Mohawk classes were amazing. The fact that one still exists is a miracle (3001). I don’t know why they scrapped all of the Hudsons, they were the most streamlined steamers, and the only remaining piece of the Hudson’s is a singular tender. Sadly, for the Niagara’s, not a single piece of them remains today.
There are two, actually. #2933 is at the Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri.
The NYC was bankrupt. They didn't have the luxury of spending money on historic preservation.
@@fafnir242Both are ironically preserved on the far western side of the old New York Central Railroad, where they made their final stand from 1953 to 1957.
@@JonAschenbrenner Most notably in Ohio and Indiana in the 50s, Herron Rail has footage of Hudson 5413 one of the last in service in 1955
It's a good thing we have both Mohawks 2933 and 3001 preserved.
Nice to see freight cars without all of that awful graffiti on them. Love the cabooses too!!
Norfolk Southern uses 3 cabooses still in the railyard up above my home.
120 mph behind steam would be an interesting experience, to say the least....
Fastest train service in North America I believe. I don't know if the very limited Acela can do this now.
They want train service to improve? Run it more like this!
@@77goofyguy Fastest in North America in steam was the original Hiawatha service on the Milwaukee Road (CMStP&P). This was the only steam operated service that required daily 100+ mph speeds just to maintain schedule.
Gene The Acela can and does regularly exceed 125mph without breaking a sweat.
The N&W J's could hit 106 MPH!
The Steam Powered 20th Century Limited was scheduled to run New York to Chicago in 16 hours. Today Amtrack can't go New York to Buffalo in that time.
NaYawkr that’s back when passenger service wasn’t considered a money pit and you had shorter trains with less freight in the way.
They can't get to Albany that fast!!!
Oh boy Not to mention the increased development along the roads
In fairness, the Century of the time was an express that did not make the stops of more mundane trains--or Amtrak. :-)
Hahaha Amtrak messed up big time because feight trains more slower than now They've only money and climate income tax from company.
I find it funny that steam locomotives kept two men fully occupied, yet Diesels are so boring they have to have an alarm to keep the engineer awake.
that's not what that's for lmao
That alarm is there for safety reasons. Should the engineer, i dunno, DIE, that alarm will set off the emergency brakes. Should that happen in a steam engine, you're out of luck and the train'll keep going until it explodes from derailing.
Railroading used to keep thousands of men fully occupied and their families fed. Nowadays it's just a computer problem.
all they do is moan for their fitters
@@TrolololGaming No, because there would be two men operating the steam locomotive. The only exception would be the Camelback locomotive. They were designed so that the fireman in back was isolated from the engineer. If the engineer keeled over, the fireman wouldn't be in a place to see it.
@@TrolololGaming I'm no expert, but GWR Locos had a warning chime/bell that went off when the locomotive approached a station, and should the reset for the alarm not be set the brakes will apply to stop the locomotive. Best thing is that the chime is a physical and not an electrical piece of equipment (to my knowledge).
My moms dad died in 1955 while working for the Erie as a fireman, that is all I know of him since mom did not talk much about him and the RR. Being born in 1958 in Spring Valley NY this video brings me much happiness seeing it and thinking that my grandpa could have been on one of these locomotives as the firemen. Thank you for a great video.
A wonderful compilation of a beautiful era for North American rail. Thank you for sharing.
I can tell that some of the audio on this video was lifted from "Sounds of the New York Central" published by Cook Records. I had this LP as a kid. Cool to hear it again.
Some of the audio comes from the record "Rainy Nights along the tracks of the New York Central"
Wow does that bring back memories. Every year as a yong boy in the 1950s we used to take the route from Harmon to Cleveland to visit mom's relatives. Mostly diesel but on occasion still steam. You would find me sitting in the back of the curved observation-lounge car or running back to my seat in the pullman to see where I could get the best views as we travelled along the Hudson and across NY. It was 13 hours of joy each way (but not for mom chasing me). I think she finally tired of that and we started flying back and forth on United DC-6s. Never lost my enthusiasm for railroads though. Took Amtrak from Trenton to Denver in 1986 on a business trip. The western portion with a sleeper was great. Could not stop looking out of the window day and night. Eyes were red for days after. It is truly a shame that the NYC did not preserve and restore any of these marvelous machines as had Norfolk Southern, Southern Pacific and UP.
But sp and Up doesn't went into receivership
Awesome video!
I love it, I love the sound and the narration, I can put this on while I sit here and draw houses for a living. I am an old-school draftsman (steam loco) trying to compete with CAD draftsman (diesel). The sounds of the steam engines make me draw faster!What great rare color footage! Thank you so much for posting !
@John Afella More diversity = more enthusiasm.
I draw to and the 50 states art i did for Uhaul travel the roads now going on 30 years.
I can remember seeing the N.Y.C. trains running on the East Side of the Hudson river from my home on a hill overlooking the Hudson in Newburgh, back in the late 50s...we could hear the whistles clear across the Hudson, and see the lights of the passenger cars at night.
:lol: now amtrak uses that route.
Sounds amazing, would have loved to see something Iike that
(8th like)
Damn, @DD890 you are one of the *Luckiest* children to-day.
DD890 What a beautiful and evocative memory scene you draw of your childhood home. You are to be envied.
Seeing the camera crew move out of the way while the locos are at work is funny the locos are saying work don’t stop
I rode the NYC's twentieth Century Limited. I went from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY. The trains pulled by the Hudson's always were on time. After the switch to diesel, the trains were always late or not on time as some conductors said.
The NY Central was going down the drain then.
@@tommytruth7595 You are absolutely right! The NYC was going down and the road was becoming unmanageable. In the end, the merger with the Pennsylvania was meant to save both roads but the financial burden of the NYC proved too much and both went under, resulting in the government taking over and creating a new railroad the Conrail system.
I'm ever so thankful that you posted this video. The memories it brings back to me. Those were better days.
Love seeing these old steam locomotives! I was born 1951 and most of my memory was diesels.
THANK YOU FOR THESE WONDERFUL PICTURES OF STEAM ENGINES. i WAS BORN DURING THE CHANGE FROM STEAM TO DIESEL. i MISSED THE GOLDEN AGE OF STEAM LOVED THESE PICTURES.
These beautiful steam locomotives feel like there human. Theres an element of breathing of smoke puffing like on a cold winters day. A heart beat of pistons and rods pounding. And an actual whistleing sound from the wistle. A fire in its belly and the need for both intake of fuel that had to be physically feed into it. and a drive to move once feed. And move as fast as possible because everyone could use an adrenaline rush/ get to work on time. Its easy to love and relate to theses human like machines. Diesel/electric are robotic and blah. Bring back steam to a new glory.
Well, each individual steam locomotive has a heart of some sort, so it would not be worth breaking its heart.
What is it about steam locos ❓ They seem so human , so alive .... beautiful things , majestic almost , such a crying shame so few were actually preserved ....
All the running gear, the mechanical aspects of these machines are out in the open to see, not hidden behind doors or panels, like diesel-electrics, and can be enjoyed an marveled.
Charles Heath 💯 Charles ...
In a way, they WERE alive!
Thomas
All steam power is like that
Express trains used to travel this fast (6:19) on bolted rail. Now Amtrak goes 70 max on welded smooth ribbons. What are we coming to...
with so much freight traffic on the rails, it's little wonder why they don't go fast.
@@GiordanDiodato Europe seems to manage it just fine. Stand at any station in Italy, watch an express roll by at 120 MPH, and then a loaded (albeit shorter) freight roll by two minutes later...
What we're coming to is the beginning of the end of any passenger service in America heck Amtrak I think is planning on phasing out long-distance passenger service, I could be wrong on this information but it's what I heard at the time
Railroad,Preserver,2000 they want to phase out some, but not all of them.
Dante DiBiase
Just gonna note, it’s technically jointed. Not bolted.
Also, Amtrak has to deal with multiple private entities and their trains.
20:53 in Sparkill, NY is now part of the Joseph B. Clarke Rail Trail
Railroads in the US make the skeleton of the nation,
Thus the Latin phrase *e pluribus unum (out of many, one)*
Oooo the Niagaras are so neat looking.
Beautiful Man, simply beautiful!
Good video! I find the sheer size of American locomotives fascinating. Also the number of locomotives being prepared for service was remarkable. A really good insight into the age of steam over on your side of the pond. You scrapped your steam trains before we did in the UK. Such a shame, they are such great pieces of engineering.
0:54 I spot a NKP Berkshire in the background with that Hudson
Great video. I thoroughly enjoyed it, seeing steam next to diesel and the competition for greater pulling. It was the best time for appreciating trains. I am going to model the transition with NYC, NH, Pennsylvania, and the later Penn Central going along the CT shoreline into New York City. So this video really gets the juices flowing! Thank you.
Im doing mine based on the late 30's early 1940's PRR the hey days.
Peter Norkawich !
TH-cam/sawmills
Anyone catch those 4-6-4's double heading a coal drag around the 2:20 mark. that had to be somewhat rare. as most considered the 4-6-4 strictly a passenger engine.
Late in their lives, they lost the prestige duty to diesels, so they had to be used for something.
Probably working the ore docks down to Pittsburg.
yeah with no maintenance, then when they broke down they were towed to a death row siding in a yard, sat for a few years and scrapped. A bit like the life of a death row inmate really :)
I'm in awe of the doctor rail fan that took all the color footage of some of the last steam locomotives back in the day. I'm also in awe of whomever dubbed sound to this!!
15:58 CNJ!! :) 16:25 Fanwood, NJ....I grew up nest door in Plainfield, live now two towns west of there! But that footage looks more like Roselle. Dunellen is the town between Plainfield and Middlesex, where I now live. Ahh, CNJ Camelbacks!! Loving the Whole vid, not just my home turf!
0:11 That is the ideal passenger train. You have the whistle blowing, the speed, and the unstreamlined locomotive pulling streamlined cars.
I’m too young to have seen any steam locos. But the 20th century limited had a prominent part in one of my favorite movies, “The Sting” . Paul .Newman rode the train hooked the mark ( Robert Shaw) in a poker game.
Thanks for uploading *most* of this video!! It was a great look back.
Excuse me? More like a *Blast from the Past!*
There is another water level route video that focused on Elkhart, In to New Albany, Ny. I would watch that over and over as a child.
Beautiful video of trains
Great video! The NYC ran by the house where I grew up, lots of memories.
I love watching these old trains !
Im so thankful that here in the UK we have numerous heritage lines and preserved Locos and rolling stock so that the kids (of all ages) can go and see how things once were. Its great when you see the look of wonder and awe on a kids face the first time they get close to a stem loco and their excitement when they go for a ride in a steam hauled train. We didn't preserve enough of course but at least we have some.
Tango6nf 💯👍🏼
Brilliant footage. 23.48'of exceptional beauty.
The Hudson, one badass machine. Pure function over form. Love it.
Thanks for the upload. :))
Over here in the Netherlands they scrapped all steam engines! all!!
The locos we have today are all German.
It's a shame.
Maybe but learned some in Pennlyannia town have museum of train but asked me for sure streams trains well look up yourself that found aground.
Belgium still haves their steam trains
It is to America's Eternal discredit that we that they destroyed all of the steam engines that had years and Decades of service left in them and it's funny how all these railroads were bankrupt in 10 years
Steam locomotive represent an America that was prosperous now we have nothing and our prosperity is nothing but a memory that is fading away God shame this country
I love this montage of videos! It captures so much of railroading history and you don’t want it to end. Thank you so much for this!
Wonderful to see the old Locomotives remind me when I came to California in 1947 I won from New York to California on locomotive I still remember to this day, I went through Theresa Grorge
Outstanding video! Have never seen steam trains quite like this! Born 1953 here. Thank You very much! BTW, I remember CNWs Pacifics here in my wee childhood in Chicago!
As you think of some people taking a wee on the tracks during their wee childhood.
Fantastic video! A great learning experience also - thank you for sharing the information about the trains 🚂 😁👍💕
My Mother would share memories of this error . when not to hang your clothes out to dry , what the time was by the sound of each whistle , and more . love watching these golden classics !
Great video, and I very much enjoyed the narrative.
I have seen some of these very same locomotives in the rail museums, and standing next to them makes you appreciate their true size and power. These locos were truly enormous monsters on rails.
A lot of the sounds used here came from the record titled "Rainy Nights along the tracks of the New York Central"
That's a railroad enthusiast's dream video. Thanks for posing!
Thank you , I enjoyed this , massive steam fan from the United Kingdom 🇬🇧
Good morning
Cool video, love this old footage of the old locomotives.
I love that this video Captures so much History!!
I am now 75 and this film on steam engine on the rails reminds me when I was a young child
What a FANTASTIC collection of sights and sounds! It makes ya quiver all over like a kid again when you saw them "in the flesh" the first time! You can almost smell the coal smoke and hot steam oil, feel the heat, ground shake,AHHH! Who cares if the exhaust beat doesn't quite the wheel revs! I loved it, Thanks for posting.
Thank you, really enjoyed it. The old steam locomotives are wonderful to watch.
Nice video I was hoping to see Dunkirk NY in this
Holy crap 8:10 that's nuts. "Aight Fred! you and Bob push her into the siding!"
sorry 8:02
When Timken introduced roller bearings, they specifically outfitted 1 locomotive with them and for a demonstration had a team of local high school cheerleaders PULL IT by ropes. Roller bearings can remove the weight of a locomotive carrying itself and allows that to be transferred into tractive effort. That said and being factual....Me & Bob are NOT pushing that thing. -just sayin
@@TotallyMusicArtistChannel Thats not how roller bearing work, roller bearing reduce the friction between the axel and frame. By lowering the friction you also lower the force required to move it. Its like how putting something on wheels makes it easier to move, in fact its the same principle!
Some neat stuff in here! Thumbs up!
Another amazing fact in the toy train odyssey - the Hudson 4-6-4 is still far and away the toy train locomotive to buy from Lionel in today's modern era.
Great footage thanks for posting.
Enjoyed every minute of it.......
The clip starting around 9:46 is mislabelled as Stryker, Ohio, when it’s in fact the Main Street crossing at Elkhart, Ind.
I could watch this all day😊
I’ll never understand why New York Central failed to preserve one example from each class of Hudson and Niagara type locomotives. Paul Kiefer must have been very disappointed none of his remarkable designs were saved.
NYC was willing to sell its locomotives at scrap price to anyone or any group that would put up the cash. But, no-one did. NYC was in severe financial difficulties in the 1950s and 1960s and could not afford to donate locomotives. A private corporation is there for profit and not to provide freebies to railfans.
@@jppicur Sad! Would have been great to see one still around! I mean, we have two PRR K4s but not a single Hudson to go with them!
To put it simply, New York Central during Dieselization did not want their steam locomotives anymore. They didn’t care to save them. It’s a shame, but it’s not like they didn’t preserve a candidate. We even have a Hudson tender.
Edit: Another thing that I have a theory for was that when the Railroads began to fail, before the merging of Pennsylvania and this one, the New York Central scrapped their locomotives to gather as much money as they could to stay afloat. This is a notable reason as to why there are very rare diesel representatives in preservation. They scrapped them in order to get more money, and when that didn’t work, they eventually merged with equally struggling railroad: the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Pennsylvania had a problem as well when it came to their locomotives, they had to sell their locomotives to scrapyards to get more money. But there were preservationists that were willing to either buy them for use or, they were put on display. Knowing the central, putting a Hudson or Niagara on display would be more money than they were willing to spend. There were some individuals who bought their locomotives for static display, and there were possibly Hudson and Niagara offers, but it was possibly rejected by the Central.
@@jppicur I had heard that F. Nelson Blount of Steamtown fame offered NYC twice scrap value for Hudson and was turned down. So who knows the real story.
@@AdmiralColdhead that is probably the case, which is sad to think about but it is the truth and we all know how Penn Central ended up, and it does make sense just the funny thing is that the difference between NYC and PRR locomotives was that PRR engines were basically disposable, so firebox trouble? Slap a new one in there and put it back in service. So the NYC engines meant to last long were beat to preservation by disposable PRR engines…. It’s a cruel irony (besides the 2 Mohawks I mean)
As someone from Toledo, OH who lived for a while around Rochester, NY, and who now lives in Chicago, I have driven the entirety of the Water Level Route and it sort of traces a lifetime for me...
First time viewer here,pretty terrific video! Thanks .
I've been on the highways next to the Mohawk River. To think that some of the most famous American steam locomotives have traveled there is incredible. Wish I could have seen it
Re: the 4-6-4's from Trent (below) it would depend on the diameter of the drivers. Remember, the bigger the drivers, the more they were denoted as passenger class as they were faster and smoother operating, such as 74-86" class drivers. The freight engines always had the smaller diameter drivers, such as 32-62". This is an average and did not always apply. Many of the 74-78" drivers locomotives when close to retirement after having served as passenger haulers, were then relegated to combination passenger and freight haulers. So double stacking 2 of the 4-6-4's was not out of the ordinary per say. Great catch in the video though. Also, whomever placed this video on You Tube, thank you very much. It brought back many memories.
Fabulous a lot many of history railroads! Great video!
Me too.... utterly fabulous footage and upload. Niagara info and coverage so great to finally see. Good job!
Fantastic, thank you for sharing.
Fantastic video, thank you for uploading this.
Great film footage. I liked the narration, straight to the point.
2(two) men could push the Niagara with tender because of precision machining and balancing of moving parts....woah!! did you hear that kids!!
Fantastic video!! Thank you for the post!!
Wonderful quality footage of incredible locomotives, very surprising that no Hudsons or Niagaras are preserved, perhaps the UK example of building new ones from scratch could be followed, as with the A1 pacific Tornado?
Not a chance. There is no facility in North America and, perhaps, in the industrial world capable of producing the massive and complex steel frame castings with integral cylinders. Tornado is still a simple plate-frame engine -- easy 19th Century technology.
@@jppicur actually there is a Northern sized steam locomotive, currently being built from scratch, it's called the PPR T-1 Trust, engine no.5550. The T-1 is a duplex and has a ridgid frame, similar to a Northern. The only difference is that a T-1 is a duplex. Building a Northern from scratch in today's world is possible. The hard part is raising the money. I'd Check out The T-1 Trust if you are interested. It is possible to do the same with a Niagara, problem is getting enough public interest.
Absolutely marvellous footage and interesting commentary.
7:12 Is that a coal dump? There are the remnants of one in Carteret, NJ near where I live.
16:20 says Fanwood, that's clearly the LV bridge overtop the CNJ at Aldene, NJ
That last shot really marks the end of steam 😭
An excellent video. ♡ T.E.N.
Tho I'm pretty sure that sequence at 6:18 was on the pre-CTC Toledo Div in western Ohio, I'd love to know exactly where. That guy was definitely at, and prob exceeding the timetable speed of 80!!
Absolutly amazing to see this living machines in full speed and Power.And the wonderfull music of the singing weehls on the tracks, accentuated from the beats of the steamengine.👍🇺🇸Greatings from Germany
Those J3 Hudsons could probably keep the timetable of the current P42 locomotives.
they could actually do better if they wanted
Some can go 120mph, and one was tested on a slip track to reach 164.5mph
wow these things were powerful beast excellent video
19:56 That's the whistle from K&L Trainz Dreyfuss Hudson.
I don't know if many people noticed, but in many cases, the sound was added to the picture. If you listen to the "choo-choo's" and look to the driver wheels, you will notice they don't correspond. (There is supposed to be 4 "choos" per wheel turn.)
1:40
I am trying to hear the train whistle
Shut up
The railroad jobs up to Schenectady where they manufactured so many locomotives is a testament to how jobs come and go.
2:23 It's very rare to see locomotives designed for passenger service pull freight trains.
Great video. Excellent narration.
14:50 NKP #765 Original Nathan 6 Chime whistle
Amazing footage of a by gone era.
Is there a way to shut off the TH-cam stabilization effect? It does a lot to destabilize this video and makes it jump around.
I agree with Sue Smith! What is it about steam trains that makes them so special!!! Love that Woo, Woo, Woo!!!
Love those iron beast and sounds, only miss the doppler effect when a train is passing, a sure evidence of dubbing! A great video nevertheless.
CLAS..VIDEO !., THANKS YOU for your JOB !. Sal.des.new york city.