John, Some would argue about that Niagara. To be sure the NYC 4-8-4s were excellent locomotives, but a few contenders were out there: SP Gs-4 UP FEF-2 or 3 N&W J class Northerns RI 4-8-4s MILW S3 class Others might include examples for additional roads, but the first three listed area considered superb steam locomotives. An article about this might be a great read if written by person who really knew his stuff. Tom
________________________________ From: [email protected] on behalf of John Picur Sent: Tue 1/13/2009 9:55 PM To: [email protected] Subject: {S-Scale List} : Destruction of the NYC Hudson Alfred Perlman was no idiot. He had the NYC close to the point of financial recovery when forced into the PC merger. He fought against the merger -- was looking for a B&O/C&O merger while PRR merged with subsidiary N&W. The NYC that went into the PC merger was a lean and mean railroad, ready for the 20th (and 21st) Century. Perlman joined NYC in 1954, long after the decision to scrap steam was made, and when the steam roster was already a fraction of what it had been. He was willing to sell any of the remaining steam locomotives to anybody willing to pay the scrap price. Nobody did. Nobody thought it important enough to come up with a few thousand dollars to save a Hudson or a Niagara (the latter is the greater loss -- the most efficient class of steam locomotives ever built, anywhere in the world). Perlman loved trains -- had made a career of railroading, starting as field construction draftsman in 1923. However, his was a rescue job and steam had to go. Unsentimental? Yes. But when your patient is bleeding to death, you do whatever surgery it takes to save its life. His work on the NYC was neither the first nor the last time he was brought in to save a railroad from financial collapse. He rescued the D&RGW from probable dismemberment before WWII. After PC, at age 70, he went on to save the WP, which was also hemorrhaging money. At least five of his management protégés went on to become railroad CEOs. Alfred E. Perlman was no idiot. regards ... pqr ----- Original Message ----- From: thebrassbasher To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 10:13 AM Subject: {S-Scale List} [S-Trains] Re: Destruction of the NYC Hudson I Don't recall this theme originating on this list. The title even says, S Trains, and not S scale. So now that it has started how about letting those of us not on the S Trains in on what is going on --- In [email protected], Rance and Bente <velapo...@...> wrote: > > Hey Gary (and possibly those other great NYC fans like E.L.) > How come the NYC museum is in Elkhart, IN????? Undoubtedly the NYC had > tracks in Indiana, but why not a NY museum? > Rance Velapoldi (Tranby, Norway) > > Gary Chudzinski wrote: > > > > > > The idiot to which you refer was Alfred E. Perlman, president of NYC > > 1958-1968. He scrapped all of the heavy steam power to dieselize the > > road. Only two heavies remain; one, a Mohawk (4-8-2) L-2c or d in > > Texas and the other, a L-3A in the NYC Museum, Elkhart, IN. I don't > > recall which of the two, but one was hidden for years in some NYC > > facility and the other sold off to Mexico (I think). It's been a while > > since I read the history. There may be some light steam still around > > rusting, but Perlman had all the Hudsons(4-6-4), Mohawks(4-8-2), and > > Niagaras(4-8-4) melted down for scrap. I believe I read somewhere that > > the government gave railroads a lucrative tax credit to scrap steam > > and convert to diesel. Probably an early bureaucratic version of the > > EPA! The Hudson was the power for the famous Twentieth Century Limited > > for many years. For a period in the late 1930's, Hudsons of the > > Limited were clad in a streamlined shell. One beautiful locomotive! > > MTH has produced this model in O scale......not sure if it was ever an > > AF issue. American models has a similar streamlined version referred > > to as Empire State but not exactly like the Century model. > > Gary Chudzinski > > > > >The Hudson Posted by: "mlprell" mlpr...@... > > <mailto:mlprell%40yahoo.com> > > >Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:24 am (PST) > > > > >I've asked this question to the TCA group. Who was responsible for the > > >destruction of all of the NYC Hudsons? As a proud guardian of three > > >Flyer Hudsons , including a very nice 314AW, I'm interested in the > > >history of this beautiful machine. > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/S-Scale/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[email protected] mailto:[email protected] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [email protected] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
