New York Central 1290 and 1291

[Miningman]

Todays Photo of the Day features NYC #1290. Here's the story on this long lived ten wheeler.

Locomotives 1290 & 1291

 

Locomotives 1290. Courtesy of Elgin County Archives.

The Michigan Central Railway locomotives numbered 1290 and 1291 were manufactured at the St. Thomas Michigan Central shops. The locomotives were completed in July and October 1900. Manufactured as a 4-6-0 configuration and weighing in at a massive 45 tons, the cost of each engine was $18, 537.82 respectively.

The total weight of Engine #1290 was 146,700 pounds, with weight on the wheels being 112,900 pounds. The wheel base was 24 feet 7 inches. The overall length of the locomotive was 61 feet and 6 inches. 1290 had a water capacity of 6,000 gallons and a coal capacity of 12 tons. The two locomotives were built under the supervision of then Divisional Master Mechanic, Mr. Michael Flynn.

The Michigan Central locomotive manufacturing shops were located, in St. Thomas on land just south of the M.C.R. mainline that traversed southwestern Ontario, from Fort Erie to Windsor.

It took an average of two years to build a locomotive from scratch. The building of these two locomotives would have kept the railway workers at the St. Thomas shops steadily employed.

The original number for 1290 was #449 when the engine was first used as a locomotive for passenger service. Both of the locomotives later served as part of “way freight trains” on the local branches of the Michigan Central and New York Central lines, working along the St. Clair branch (St. Clair Subdivision) and the Fort Erie and Niagara Falls branch.

Locomotive 1291 made its last run from St. Thomas on January 15, 1957 while locomotive 1290 made its final run from St. Thomas on April 27, 1957. They had been in service with the Michigan Central and New York Central Railways for almost sixty years. The age of the diesel engine had taken over from the steam locomotives.

Despite efforts to save either of the locomotives from destruction, both the 1290 and 1291 were sold for scrap in 1957. The estimated scrap value at the time was $4,928.57.

Inducted 2006

 

Two previous Classic threads dealt with these locomotives as well. 

 

1) Friday June 30, 2017. " Was this the last operating steam locomotive on the NYC?"

 

2) Thursday July 6, 2017 " NYC at its humble best"

 

Some photos have been taken down, but it's still good reading. 

 

[Miningman]

The End

[Flintlock76]

The last of the last.  Too bad.

I'll tell you, the ruthless way the NYC got rid of their steamers, especially the ones they expressed so much pride in a few years earlier, is almost bone-chilling.  

Especially compared with the western 'roads like the Santa Fe, the Southern Pacific, and the Union Pacific, who apparently were willing to give some away to anyone who wanted a park ornament or roadside attraction.  Oh well.

[Miningman]

We know with great certainty that the $4,928.57 the Central got for 1290 and 1291 in scrap value did not change their future one bit. 

The good taxpayers and railroad workers of St. Thomas attempted to save the 1290, a familiar sight for 60 years, but the New York Central would not go along with this. 

Things of course went downhill from there with CASO and the New York Central and now they have completely vanished. Some kind of justice? 

The building/facility where they were built still stands however. Would it not be fantastic if the 1290 and 1291 were saved and housed there? 

Canadian National Hudson 5700 is inside there along with a small Wabash Diesel that has been brought home. Both beautifully cosmetically restored and well looked after. 

5703 masquerading as 5700 a number applied after retirement 
Originally displayed at NMS&T in Ottawa. 
Now at ECRM in St. Thomas.

Back in the day. Now restored and inside where 1290 and 1291 were built.

Wabash 51 43-ton 300 HP (Two Cummins HBI-6 150 hp diesel) GE 12496 7/1939 
Retired 12/1960 and sold 1961 to Andrew Merrilees (D) Toronto.

[SD70Dude]

Wabash #51 still operates, and is used to move stuff (including CN 5703) around on a regular basis.

For anyone reading this, if you are ever in Southern Ontario take the time to visit St. Thomas and the Elgin County Railway Museum.  It is a must-see place.  So much railway history in that area, and the town is very proud of it to boot!

My only regret is that I spent all my time admiring the stuff with my own eyes, and did not take any pictures.

[Jones1945]

Flintlock76

The last of the last.  Too bad.

I'll tell you, the ruthless way the NYC got rid of their steamers, especially the ones they expressed so much pride in a few years earlier, is almost bone-chilling.  

Especially compared with the western 'roads like the Santa Fe, the Southern Pacific, and the Union Pacific, who apparently were willing to give some away to anyone who wanted a park ornament or roadside attraction.  Oh well.

Miningman

We know with great certainty that the $4,928.57 the Central got for 1290 and 1291 in scrap value did not change their future one bit.

I can't agree more, Wayne and Vince. The Dreyfuss Hudson built up the solid and popular corporate identity for New York Central and was a very successful one. I think there was only the SP's Daylight GS-2/3/4/5 could come close to that level of popularity. But the streamlining lasted only merely 7 years. Their replacement, the Niagara, was a mechanical masterpiece of the time. Both of these types of steam engines were mercilessly purged, not even a driver or the front end of them was preserved.

I can understand that many RRs wanted to create a fresh new image after the bloody world war, but there was at least one option for them to choose: to preserve at least one, or even only part of them! 

Their early diesel replacement at the time was neither attractive (E7/8/9 clones) nor mechanically reliable.  RRs like the NYC and PRR tried but were failed to keep their train attractive enough, from inside to outside, like what they did during the prewar era, to compete with highways and jet planes. The rest is history. 

"...at least make them looks great!..." 

[Miningman]

Good to see you back SD70Dude. You are quite correct about the Elgin County Railroad Museum in St Thomas, well worth a visit.

I am certain that I saw 1290 and 1291 in the 50's. My Dad went to St. Thomas, Brigden, Oil City frequently in the summer months and other times as well, and always made time for train watching. Had to be steam. Always steam. Electrics of the L&PS were exciting as well. I do not recall Diesels at all.

The area still had some active Railroading with Penn Central/Conrail and the CSX days but shortly thereafter began to vanish. New owners CN and CP jointly, gave it little chance for any success, quite deliberately.

They had to do something about that downtown running in Niagara Falls plus the magnificently engineered Canada Southern line had deteriorated to virtually unusable status. It is gone gone gone and ain't never comin' back. 

Amazing that the good folk of St. Thomas have been as strong as they have because they lost industry after industry ( remember the Crown Victoria? ) the vast number of railroads and infrastructure reduced to virtually nothing. They retain that magnificient freight house, the big shop where steam was built and the London & Port Stanley still passes through on a North-South alignment.

Dedicated group doing a great service at the Museum.

One last thing.. Go Blues! Go Raptors!  

[Miningman]

Oh geez, I jinked both teams. No more of that! 

Of course I'm not that powerful.

However... if I had, say, the power of Q, I would snap my fingers and change the gravitational constant or the space/time continuum or whatever and Diesels larger than this would not be possible.. that's all the revised Law of Physics would allow. 

Steam of course would be fine and boiler explosions would not be possible.

Thats my Q universe, you can do whatever you want in your own.

 

[Backshop]

I spent a day poking around St Thomas once back in the 80s.  I took some pics around the CR yard and then (somehow) found the old C&O roundhouse with a couple of the Canadian GP7s hanging around.  I was driving through a few years ago and decided to go to the museum.  Unfortunately, it was the offseason, it was Sunday and they were closed.  I really wanted to see the Hudson.