Hi everyone! I model the Central in Nscale and often get asked why it is my favorite road(I get this because being 31 I did not get to see it only the Penn Central,Yuch!) . My standard answer is the Lightning stripes however it has such a rich history . In my opinion it was a leader in so many new ideas and was willing to try them (Hudson,Niagra,FlexiVans,Electric Mainlines)just to name a few . So in closing what is your favorite reason for liking the New York Central, what does it for you? Thanks
Randy, welcome to the New York Central forum. Being some 30 years older than you and growing up alongside the four-track mainline in the Mohawk Valley, NY, I loved everything about the NYC. My mom didn't, especially if she didn't get her sheets off the clothesline before one of the limiteds smoked by and cindered the whole wash. A conversation with a friend a few years ago comes to mind. His father was (a Pennsy fan) riding the Central for the first time and asked the conductor "Will this train be on time?" The conductor said in return "Sir, you are riding the New York Central." It was an attitude.
I, like Jim, grew up along the Central and...well...what's NOT to like out the New York Central? They had well proportioned steam locomotives that performed well,they had a name that "looked good" on the side of the cars and tenders. Weird I know but...well think about it,look at some other railroad names and see if they "fit" on the side of a Hudson or Niagara. Even the electrics and...ugh...diesels looked good (until the bolts went away). The road had a "feel" about it and you are proof that even today the New York Central is a road to love and respect by people who weren't even born when it was in it's death throes. I'm not even going to get into the technical, financial or geographical aspects of the system...I just liked the way the stuff looked......
Make a free call: 1-800-708-1776 to Trains UnLimited and ask about their 60 minute VHS tape on the NYC. It shows the history from the electric Crockadiles to the T-1 and GG-1 up to a steamer taking on water from a track pan at fifty miles an hour! Very interisting film, cost $19.95+ shipping & handeling.
The Central had very friendly people, clean passenger cars, on-time (mostly ) performance, and good track. The Harlem Division was like a mini-family who did their own thing between GCT and Chatham, NY. What was really exciting was when a Naval 16" gun barrel went sideways in the tunnels near Cold Spring, NY during WW-II and the "Name Trains" were routed onto the Harlem between Albany and GCT for about 16 hours ..... Activity at the Harmon, NY Engine Terminal was great to watch during and shortly after WW-II, especially when seen from the parking lot north of the station about 100' above the tracks overlooking the Terminal.
I bring a little different perspective to the Central. Being from Anderson Indiana, I was (and still am) on the Big 4 (CCC&StL) double-track main. The passenger trains here ran from St. Louis through Indianapolis to Cleveland. No, we didn’t have the big Name Trains like the 20th Century and most of them that came through here used Big 4 power. (That was like the east coast power, but slightly different.) On a cold winter’s morning, you could walk downtown past the depot and see the baggage and RPO’s sitting and waiting to be switched into their trains with the steam swirling around them hiding them from sight. Across the street way the Railway Express office and tracks with their LCL cars being loaded and unloaded. The line from Louisville to Elkhart came together here with north-south freight and passenger service. I only rode the Central once. I rode the Pennsy several times to Chicago and Cincy while I was in service. The central lines survived the PC here while the PRR were abandoned. There are still a number of Central personnel arround and I have put up a few photos and stories on my Railroads of Madison County website. Besides the lightening bolt scheme was one of the neatest paint jobs around. To me, even better than the Santa Fe warbonnet. Roger Roger Hensley - rhensley@anderson.cioe.com == http://madisonrails.railfan.net/ == == Railroads of Madison County (Indiana) ==
The steam power, no question. The triumvirate Hudson, Mohawk, and Niagara each had no peers, and certainly no superiors! Second to me was the way they "conducted their affairs", that is, ran their trains...which is to say fast and frequently! The whole operation was first class, and the pride in the organization was reflected by the employees. (If more modern businesses had this espirit de corps, we as a nation would be a whole lot better off....)
My favorite thing...is a number of things. Where I live, in Cornwall, Ontario, we had the Ottawa Division run right through and the station here was the largest on the entire line in Canada. I'm not even thirty yet so some also asked how I even knew that line existed (abandoned in 1957). An easy answer, my family worked that line for many years and I grew up beside what was the Cornwall yard (still vacant I might add to this very day). Another reason is when I was in my early teens, I was biking everywhere (including places we weren't allowed in). I found remnants of the NYC line (foundation stone, old ties, the original bridge piers over the St. Lawrence River and the swing wheel in the water, etc) and my friend and I were just interested as to what happened to all of this. Then, as I grew older, I researched my family and tried to find information on their employment and wouldn't you know it that the local archives had nearly nothing on the line itself. It basically became a mission to put everything together finally. Even today, I still hold the Ottawa line of the NYC as my favorite (even have video footage finally) and I also enjoy what I do know of the existing Montreal line. This is interesting because it originated from the Adirondacks, but today the way to get to Montreal is along the St. Lawrence River through Watertown and Massena. Not sure exactly which is more interesting, researching the operating past...or the present abandoned states to see what still remains. NYC's Ottawa Division History
Staion Master, it is very heartening for some of us old folks to hear that you younger people are interested in, and care about the history of our countries, both USa and Canada. The railroads built our countries in steam days. BTW, my lovely wife Sharon, (40 years next week) was born and raised in Watertown.
Furthest I was in Watertown was Philadelphia just a few weeks ago, was tracing the Black River & Morristown RR and Clayton & Therese RR. While going south from Massena, I stopped off at each town that still had a remaining station. For all you out there, stop in on the one in Canton....it STILL says New York Central & Hudson River Railroad over the entrance to the now pub.
I liked everything about the Central, most of all getting to work for it- although not for very long. I hired out as a tower operator in Oct, 1966 in Detroit, so I didn't get to see steam but I did get to route the psgr, mail, flexi-van, and general frt trains all thru the Detroit area being pulled by FA's, RS's, F's, & 1st generation Geeps and Alco U boats. At that time, Detroit was still part of the Chicago - Buffalo mainline via Canada and The Detroit River Tunnel. Detroit was a good hotspot for the NYC as besides the east/west traffic there was even more north/south traffic moving up from Toledo, Ohio or down from Bay City, Mich. I'm still with the railroad today, not many of us original NYC guys left, but I'll tell you one thing, the Central knew how to railroad and get the trains over the road as the Big 3 auto companies will testify!! None of their plants ever closed because the NYC didn't deliver!
To me the most impressive thing about the New York Central is that aside from a few miles from Chicago to Whiting, In., the ex NYC mainline is intact and still the fastest route between Chicago and New York. It was and still is a marvel of engieneering, and was the major issue in the Conrail split. Among all the Eastern trunks, the NYC is the one that remains pretty much as built. The Erie is gone, the Pennsylvania is dormant west of Crestline, and the B&O was single tracked, and then had to be totally rebuilt west of Alliance Oh. to handle traffic that for years ran on the NYC. Jimmy
Jimmy, welcome to Trainboard, and thanks for resurrecting this old thread. As someone else said, if the industries in the country now took as much pride in their work as the old NYC employees did, we'd be a lot better off now.
I like the NYC because of the high standard of Passenger service. If you ride on the New York Central, that's really a big deal, on other roads, it's just another form of travel. The NYC took passenger travel in the 50's and early 60's to higher level than many other companies did. That's why I liked about the NYC.
Having grown up along the B&O, I used to eat sleep and talk B&O as a kid. Then in elem. there was a book in the library about a cab ride on a NYC passenger train with E-8's. (Have never been able to find that book since) It caught my young attention as it described the NYC as you traveled east to NY, I remember Albany, Poughkeepsie, etc, since that book I became fascinated with the Central. I started to study and read anything NYC, that's how I became a Central nut, everything about it still fascinates me today, they were very innovative and modern for it's time.
