Empire State Express
Overview | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Service type | Inter-city rail | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Status | Discontinued | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Locale | Midwestern United States Northeastern United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
First service | 1892 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Last service | 1967 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Successor | Niagara Rainbow | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former operator(s) | Amtrak New York Central Railroad | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Route | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Termini | New York City Detroit and Cleveland | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Service frequency | Daily | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Train number(s) | Eastbound: 50 Westbound: 51 Amtrak, 1974-1998: Westbound: 63 Eastbound: 64 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On-board services | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Seating arrangements | Reclining seat coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Catering facilities | Dining car (1951) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Observation facilities | Observation lounge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Entertainment facilities | Tavern lounge; parlor car | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Technical | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Track gauge | 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Empire State Express was one of the
History
The train soon gained worldwide acclaim, and its route would later stretch to 620 miles (998 kilometers), to Cleveland, Ohio. The Empire State was the first passenger train with a schedule speed of over 52 mph and the first to make runs of 142.88 miles (230 km) between stops (between New York City and Albany: the longest scheduled nonstop run until then).
The 1893 Guide shows an 8 hr 40 min schedule for 440 miles New York to Buffalo. As early as the 1930s the train served as a connector train for people making a transfer in Utica, New York for day trains through the Adirondack Park and on to Malone, New York and Montreal, Quebec.[3]
On December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated a new stainless-steel streamlined (Budd) train, powered by a streamlined J-3a Hudson (4-6-4) steam locomotive. The streamlined shrouding of the J-3a Hudson was designed by Mr. Chase H. Knowlton and Mr. George M. Davies. Henry Dreyfuss wasn't involved with the project.[citation needed] The inauguration was mostly overshadowed by the bombing of Pearl Harbor the same day.
Like many long haul passenger trains through the mid-1960s, the "Empire State Express" carried a 60-foot stainless steel East Division (E.D.)
From the post-war 1940s to the 1960s the train split at Buffalo. One section went along the south shore of Lake Erie to Cleveland. Another section went through
Amtrak
When
Empire State Express locomotive No. 999
The key to the Empire State's initial fame was a 37-foot (11 m)-long American-type 4-4-0 steam locomotive built in West Albany, New York especially to haul the train. The handmade unit had 86" diameter driving wheels and was the first of its kind to have brakes on the front truck. The bands, pipes, and trim were polished; the boiler, smokestack, domes, cab, and tender were given a black satin finish, and "Empire State Express" was applied to the sides of the tender in 2 ft 6 in (76 cm) high gold leaf lettering.
After touring the nation and making appearances at numerous expositions including the
Equipment used
An early (circa 1905)
Note: The Vice President's private car was often attached to the end of the train for excursions.
In 1941 the New York Central ordered new lightweight stainless steel cars for the ESE trains from
December 7, 1941, Consist:
- 5426 Streamlined J3A 4-6-4 Hudson Locomotive & Tender
- ALONZO B. CORNELL Baggage 60 Railway Post Office Car
- GROVER CLEVELAND Baggage Buffet 36 seat Lounge Car
- CHARLES E. HUGHES 30 Revenue seat Parlor Car with 5 seat Parlor Drawing Room
- HERBERT H. LEHMAN 30 Revenue seat Parlor Car with 5 seat Parlor Drawing Room
- NATHAN L. MILLER 30 Revenue seat Parlor Car with 5 seat Parlor Drawing Room
- GEORGE CLINTON 44 seat Dining Car
- REUBEN E. FENTON 56 Revenue seat Coach
- 2569 56 Revenue seat Coach
- 2567 56 Revenue seat Coach
- 2566 56 Revenue seat Coach
- HAMILTON FISH 56 Revenue seat Coach
- DEWITT CLINTON 44 seat Dining Car
- DAVID B. HILL 56 Revenue seat Coach
- MORGAN LEWIS 56 Revenue seat Coach
- WILLIAM L. MARCY 56 Revenue seat Coach
- THEODORE ROOSEVELT 56 seat Tavern Bar Lounge Observation
In popular culture
On October 12, 1896, The Empire State Express, a short
In 1965, blues singer and guitarist Eddie James "Son" House Jr., at the time a New York Central employee, recorded "Empire State Express" at the New York Folk Festival:
- Went down to the station,
- Leaned against the door.
- Went down to the station,
- I...leaned against the door.
- I knew it was the Empire State,
- Can tell by the way she blows.
- Asked the depot agent,
- "Please let me ride the blinds."
- Asked the depot agent,
- "Please let me ride the blinds."
- He said, "Son, I like to help you...you know,
- But the Empire State ain't mine".
- The Empire State...you know she,
- Rides on Eastern time.
- The Empire State,
- She rides on Eastern time,
- She's the "rollingest" baby,
- On the New York Central line.
- excerpt from "Empire State Express" by Son House
No. 999 was the inspiration for the eponymous steam engined-shaped space vehicle in the Galaxy Express 999 series of manga and animated films.
The 2007 Lyle Lovett song "This Traveling Around" includes the verse:
- And that 999,
- It's so fast you cannot see.
- And that 999,
- It's so fast you cannot see.
Members of the Chicago band, Empire State Express (ESE), drew inspiration in naming their project from both the Son House song (a staple of ESE's live performances) and the No. 999's static display at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. The band's 2009 debut EP was titled "Land Speed Record" in honor of the train's legacy.
Notes
- ^ a b John Lienhard. "Rain, Steam & Speed: Inventing Powered Motion". Archived from the original on July 20, 2006. Retrieved January 28, 2007.
- New York Times. May 12, 1893. Retrieved December 13, 2007.
- ^ July 1936 New York Central timetable, Table 58 http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-0736.pdf
- ^ Riding the Fast Mail. Popular Mechanics, February 1943 p. 56 et seq.
- ^ June 1951 New York Central timetable http://streamlinermemories.info/NYC/NYC51-6TT.pdf
- ^ April 1964 New York Central timetable http://streamlinermemories.info/NYC/NYC64TT.pdf
- ^ Official Guide of the Railways, June 1961, New York Central section, 'Sleeping Car, Coach and Dining Service,' and Tables 11, 13, 37
- ^ New York Central timetable, April 1964, Buffalo-Toronto Express and Toronto-Buffalo Express eliminated from timetable
- ^ November 1967 New York Central timetable http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-1167.pdf
- ^ December 1967 New York Central timetable http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/ptt/images/tt-1267.pdf
- Amtrak NewsNovember 1, 1974, pages 1, 8
- ^ Amtrak May 1975 timetable, p. 34
- OCLC 7925036.
- ^ SilentEra entry
References
- "Empire State Express No. 999". Genesee County, New York. Archived from the original on December 30, 2005. Retrieved March 1, 2006.
- Hollingsworth, Brian and Arthur F. Cook (1987). The Great Book of Trains. Portland House, New York, NY. ISBN 0-517-64515-7.
- "The Two Fastest Long Distance Runs Without Stop". Scientific American — September 3, 1898. Retrieved March 1, 2006.
- Yenne, Bill (1992). The Great Railroads of North America. Brompton Books Corporation, Greenwich, CT. ISBN 0-88029-783-2.
External links
- New York Central Sleeping and Parlor Car Equipment and Assignment of Space for the Empire State Express, Part I.
- New York Central Sleeping and Parlor Car Equipment and Assignment of Space for the Empire State Express, Part II.
- Empire State Express at IMDb.
- The Empire State Express & Webb C. Ball contains various vintage images and trivia.