New York Central and Hudson River Railroad No. 999

New York Central and Hudson River Railroad No. 999 is a 4-4-0 “American” type steam locomotive built for the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad in 1893, which was intended to haul the road's Empire State Express train service. It was built for high speed and is allegedly among the first steam locomotives in the world to travel over 100 mph. The locomotive was then exhibited in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. There was a two cent US stamp issued representing the world speed record event. Thousands of miniature replica ridable No. 999 locomotives were made for amusement parks worldwide. Manufacturers of electric toy trains designated some of their models No. 999. The original 999 locomotive has been restored and is now a permanent exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

Development

In 1892, New York Central's General Passenger Agent, George Henry Daniels, proposed a new, fast locomotive be designed to publicize the Empire State Express at the upcoming World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. New York Central's Chief Superintendent of Motive Power & Rolling Stock, William Buchanan, had designed a class of 4-4-0 locomotives known as the Class "I", which were already capable of reaching high speeds, so it was simply a matter of making some modifications to an existing design. In 1893, locomotive #999 was rolled out of the New York Central's West Albany Shops.

The 999 was designed from the beginning for speed. It mounted diameter driving wheels rather than the wheels mounted on other engines of the class, and had its brakes mounted to the front truck, which was a new approach. The bands, pipes, and trim were highly polished; the boiler, smokestack, domes, cab, and tender were given a satin finish of black, and "Empire State Express" was applied to the sides of the tender in high gold leaf lettering.

World's fair and later service

No. 999 entered service in 1893, making the trip from Syracuse, New York. In April 1893, the ''Empire State Express'' carried a speed recorder that did not go higher than 86 miles per hour.The Electrical Engineer 1893 Vol 15 p470 The train was operated by engineer Charlie H. Hogan on May 9, 1893, when it was declared to have reached going from Rochester to Buffalo: a distance of 69 miles traveled in 68 minutes. Word spread quickly of this high-speed event and, when Hogan operated the train the next day going back to Buffalo, large crowds gathered all along the route. This time, alleged railroad officials with hand-held stop watches were aboard the train. When the train traveled between Batavia and Buffalo, it was supposedly witnessed and timed by those with the stop watches that clocked off mileposts.

The claimed speed of was run on May 10, 1893 as a new world speed record for a steam locomotive. There were 75 to 100 witnesses. The stopwatch witnesses stated that the train traveled a mile in 32 seconds. Historian Stewart Holbrook said "Nothing that rolled, agree all railroad historians, had ever gone so fast." The reputed 112.5 mile per hour world speed record was not exceeded until 1904. The possible record made No. 999 the first object on wheels to exceed 100 mph. There is a letter from historian John H. White, published in 2014 by ''Railroad History'', which expressed real skepticism about the 112.5 mph record.

The locomotive was professed by Daniels as the first power-driven vehicle to travel faster than 100 mph and described as the "railed rocket". He informed the major city newspapers of the 112.5 mph speed record and it was published nationwide by hundreds of other newspapers. The locomotive engine and the train of railroad cars it pulled was known as the "world's most glamorous train" and the "world's most beautiful locomotive ever built."

Daniels arranged to have the 999 locomotive and the Empire State Express train displayed at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Engineer Hogan and the No. 999 locomotive were the "star attractions". After the fair, the engine continued to pull the ''Empire State Express'' between Buffalo and Syracuse until 1899. When the engine was sent to other parts of the railroad system, it was found to be hard to handle when pulling more than five cars, as it slipped. It was rebuilt with the same 70 inch drivers as the other engines of the class. In the 1920s, it was given a new boiler and tender, operating local and branch line trains until 1924, when it was restored for exhibition at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad's "Fair of the Iron Horse" the following year.

Retirement

Advances in locomotive design, particularly the advent of diesel-electric power, eventually rendered No. 999 obsolete. It was decided as early as 1923 that the locomotive was not going to be scrapped and would be preserved in some manner because of its speed record.

After touring the nation and making appearances at numerous expositions, including the 1948-49 Chicago Railroad Fair, the unit was retired from service in May, 1952, following its demotion to yard switching service in western New York, shuttling express service refrigerator railroad cars. At this time, the railroad appeared to turn its back on steam power, and consequently, the vast majority of its steam locomotives, including all of its famed Hudsons and Niagaras and all but two Mohawks, were scrapped by 1957. However, the railroad decided to preserve the 999. The New York Central donated the locomotive to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry in 1962, though it did not arrive at the museum until 1968.

Once there, while its preservation was assured, the engine was displayed outside, where exposure to the elements took its toll over the years. In 1993, the museum underwent a major renovation. This project included a cosmetic restoration of number 999, and it was placed inside the museum's main hall. The locomotive is displayed with its later 70" drivers, rather than the original 86" wheels that earned it its claim to fame. There are about two million visitors annually that see No. 999 at the museum.

See also

*Arthur P Yates

References

Sources

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* {{cite news, date=May 10, 1943, title= Old 999 Set Record 50 years ago today, url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/101920628/the-ithaca-journal/ , work= The Ithaca Journal, page=11, location=Ithaca, New York, via=Newspapers.com {{open access, access-date=May 17, 2022 , ref={{SfnRef, The Ithaca Journal , 1943

External links

No. 999 at the Museum of Science and Industry

4-4-0 locomotives
New York Central Railroad locomotives
Passenger locomotives
Steam locomotives of the United States
Individual locomotives of the United States
Standard gauge locomotives of the United States
Railway locomotives introduced in 1893
Preserved steam locomotives of Illinois