Empire State Express

Wikipedia:

The Empire State Express was one of the named passenger trains and onetime flagship of the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad (a predecessor of the modern New York Central Railroad). It became the world's first high-speed passenger train on September 14, 1891, when it covered the 436 miles (702 kilometers) between New York City and Buffalo in just 7 hours and 6 minutes (including stops). The train averaged 61.4 miles-per-hour (98.8 km/h), a new world speed record in rail travel, with an officially recorded top speed of 82 mph (132 km/h), though observers claimed to have clocked the train at 112 mph (180 km/h).

History

In short order, the train would gain worldwide celebrity, and its route would later stretch to 620 miles (998 kilometers), with Cleveland, Ohio as its western terminus. In addition to its other notable accomplishments, the Empire State was the first passenger train to maintain a regular schedule speed of over 52 mph (84 km/h), 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 ever attempted).

On December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated a new, all-stainless-steel streamlined (Budd) train, powered by a streamlined J-3a Hudson (4-6-4) steam locomotive. Passengers on the inaugural run, who had expected significant crowds to greet them en route, were very surprised at the low turnout at trackside, before they learned later that same day that Pearl Harbor had just been bombed by the Japanese. As were many similar long haul express passenger trains through the mid 1960s, the "Empire State Express" carried a 60-foot stainless steel East Division (E.D.) Railway Post Office (R.P.O.) car operated by the Railway Mail Service (RMS) of the United States Post Office Department which was staffed by USPOD clerks as a "fast mail" on each of its daily runs. The mails received by, postmarked, processed, sorted, and dispatched from the "Empire State's" RPOs were either canceled or backstamped (as appropriate) during the trip 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).

Amtrak

When Amtrak took over operation of the nation's passenger service on May 1, 1971 it consolidated all services over the New York—Albany—Buffalo corridor into the umbrella "Empire Service". Amtrak revived the name, although not the route to match, on January 6, 1974 when it granted individual names to all Empire Service trains. The Empire State Express returned as a New York—Buffalo service with numbers 71 and 78. On October 31 that year Amtrak extended the train all the way to Detroit via southern Ontario, Canada. On April 25, 1976 Amtrak renamed this service the Niagara Rainbow. Amtrak brought the name back again in 1978 as a New York—Buffalo service, which in 1979 was extended to Niagara Falls. The name dropped out of use when Amtrak ceased the practice of naming the individual trains on the Empire Corridor.

Empire State Express No. 999

The key to the Empire State's initial fame was a specially outfitted, 37-foot (11 m)-long American-type 4-4-0 steam locomotive that was built in West Albany, New York especially to haul the train. The handmade unit was mounted on 86" diameter driving wheels, and was the first of its kind to have brakes mounted to the front truck. The bands, pipes, and trim were highly 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 (762 mm) high gold leaf lettering.

Advances in locomotive design, particularly the advent of diesel-electric power, eventually rendered No. 999 obsolete. After touring the nation and making appearances at numerous expositions including the Chicago Railroad Fair, the unit was retired from service in May, 1952, at which time it was relegated to yard 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 static display. The unit as displayed lacks its original 86" drivers, which were removed sometime after the historic speed run and replaced with smaller diameter driving wheels.

Equipment used

An early (circa 1905) heavyweight consist:

Note: The Vice President's private car was often attached to the end of the train for special excursions.

In 1941, the New York Central ordered new lightweight stainless steel cars for the ESE trains from Budd. Initially, when the new equipment ran, a Hudson with matched 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 Pearl Harbor. A set of the these 1941 cars is owned by the Rochester & Genesee Valley Railroad Museum.

In song and film

In 1896, the Empire State Express was the subject of a short documentary film, which was described by the critics of the day as "the greatest train view ever taken."

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:

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:

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.