The ''Empire State Express'' was one of the named

passenger trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

and onetime flagship of the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the later

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

). On September 14, 1891, it covered the 436 miles (702 kilometers) between

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and Buffalo in 7 hours and 6 minutes (including stops), averaging 61.4 miles-per-hour (98.8 km/h), with a top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h).

History

The train soon gained worldwide acclaim, and its route would later stretch to 620 miles (998 kilometers), to

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the United States, U.S. U.S. state, state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. 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

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 The Adirondack Park is a part of New York's Forest Preserve in northeastern New York, United States. The park was established in 1892 for “the free use of all the people for their health and pleasure”, and for watershed protection. The park ...

and on to

Malone, New York Malone ( moh, Tekanatà:ronhwe) is a town in Franklin County, New York, United States. The population was 14,545 at the 2010 census. The town contains a village also named Malone. The town is an interior town located in the north-central part ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

. 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 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known ...

) steam locomotive. The streamlined shrouding of the J-3a Hudson was designed by Mr. Chase H. Knowlton and Mr. George M. Davies.

Henry Dreyfuss Henry Dreyfuss (March 2, 1904 – October 5, 1972) was an American industrial design pioneer. Dreyfuss is known for designing some of the most iconic devices found in American homes and offices throughout the twentieth century, including the We ...

wasn't involved with the project. The inauguration was mostly overshadowed by the bombing of

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

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.)

Railway Post Office In Canada and the United States, a railway post office, commonly abbreviated as RPO, was a railroad car that was normally operated in passenger service as a means to sort mail en route, in order to speed delivery. The RPO was staffed by highly tr ...

(R.P.O.) car operated by the

Railway Mail Service The Railway Mail Service of the United States Post Office Department was a significant mail transportation service in the US from the mid-19th century until the mid-20th century. The RMS, or its successor the Postal Transportation Service (PTS), ...

(RMS) of the

United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...

which was staffed by USPOD clerks as a "fast mail" on each of its daily runs. Mail handled by the ''"Empire State's"'' RPOs was canceled or backstamped by hand applied circular date stamps (CDS) reading "N.Y. & CHICAGO R.P.O." and the train's number: "TR 50" (eastbound) or "TR 51" (westbound). The train was distinctively the most limited in stops (aside from the elite ''

20th Century Limited The ''20th Century Limited'' was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967. The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along ...

'') in the New York City to Albany section. Beyond 125th Street, it only made a stop at Croton-Harmon, the location for switching from electric to diesel power, and made no other stops until Albany. 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

Southwestern Ontario Southwestern Ontario is a secondary region of Southern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It occupies most of the Ontario Peninsula bounded by Lake Huron, including Georgian Bay, to the north and northwest; the St. Clair River, Lake ...

, Canada to

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. From the early 1960s the Buffalo to Detroit section was a separate connecting train. Also at this time, coaches on the train from New York broke off at Buffalo and joined with the ''Buffalo-Toronto Express'' in partnership with

Canadian Pacific The Canadian Pacific Railway (french: Chemin de fer Canadien Pacifique) , also known simply as CPR or Canadian Pacific and formerly as CP Rail (1968–1996), is a Canadian Class I railway incorporated in 1881. The railway is owned by Canadi ...

bound for Toronto. This Toronto segment ended by April 1964. In 1967 the train was extended from being a day train to continuing to

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

as an overnight train. With the December 1967 schedule the ''Empire State Express'' name was gone, and #51 was shortened to Buffalo to Chicago, via Cleveland. The eastbound #50 was from Detroit to Buffalo.

Amtrak

When

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada. ...

took over the nation's passenger service on May 1, 1971, it consolidated trains on the New York—Albany—Buffalo corridor into the "'' Empire Service''". Amtrak revived the name, although not the route to match, on January 6, 1974, when it gave names to ''Empire Service'' trains. The ''Empire State Express'' returned as a New York—Buffalo train, numbers 71 and 78. On October 31 that year Amtrak extended the train to Detroit via Southwestern Ontario with dining car and baggage service. This was the first instance of restored New York City to Detroit through Ontario service since the

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals (the Pennsylvania, New York Central and th ...

's successor to the New York Central's ''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a musc ...

.'' On April 25, 1976, Amtrak renamed this train the ''

Niagara Rainbow The ''Niagara Rainbow'', known as the ''Empire State Express'' before 1976, was an American passenger train service operated by Amtrak between New York City and Detroit via Buffalo and Southwestern Ontario in Canada. The service ran between Oct ...

''. Amtrak brought the name back in 1978 as a New York—Buffalo service, which in 1979 was extended to

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

. A few years later Amtrak dropped train names on the Empire Corridor.

''Empire State Express'' locomotive No. 999

The key to the ''Empire State's'' initial fame was a -long American-type

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

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 high gold leaf lettering. After touring the nation and making appearances at numerous expositions including the

Chicago Railroad Fair The Chicago Railroad Fair was an event organized to celebrate and commemorate 100 years of railroad history west of Chicago, Illinois. It was held in Chicago in 1948 and 1949 along the shore of Lake Michigan and is often referred to as "the last ...

, the unit was retired from service in May, 1952, at which time it was relegated switching service in western New York shuttling express service milk cars. The New York Central donated the locomotive to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry in 1962, where it has been preserved and placed on display. It lacks its original 86" drivers, which were removed sometime after the historic speed run and replaced with smaller 70" driving wheels.

Equipment used

An early (''circa'' 1905) heavyweight train car consist: Empire State Express 1944

Buffet A buffet can be either a sideboard (a flat-topped piece of furniture with cupboards and drawers, used for storing crockery, glasses, and table linen) or a system of serving meals in which food is placed in a public area where the diners serve ...

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

(2) * Sleeper (drawing room car) 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 Budd. Initially a Hudson with matche
streamlined stainless steel
panels was used. The NYC planned their first day of operation with the new fluted equipment as December 7, 1941, but drew little fanfare as the US was focused on the attack of

. A set of the 1941 cars is owned by the

Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum The Rochester and Genesee Valley Railroad Museum (RGVRRM) is an operating railroad museum located in Industry, New York, a hamlet within the town of Rush. The museum started in 1971 with the purchase of a former Erie Railroad Depot from the Eri ...

. 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 12 October 1896, ''The Empire State Express'', a short

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

made in the experimental 68mm American Mutoscope Company process, premiered at Hammerstein's Olympia Music Hall Theater in New York City. The film was described by the critics of the day as "the greatest train view ever taken."SilentEra entry
/ref> In 1965,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the ...

singer and

guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themsel ...

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 Manga ( Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is ...

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

References

* * * *

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
* .

contains various vintage images and trivia. {{Authority control Former Amtrak routes International named passenger trains Named passenger trains of Canada Named passenger trains of Ontario Named passenger trains of the United States Passenger rail transportation in Michigan Passenger rail transportation in Ohio Passenger rail transportation in New York (state) Passenger rail transportation in Pennsylvania Passenger trains of the New York Central Railroad Railway services introduced in 1891