No. 10046 #9E Four-Wheel Box Cab Electric Outline Locomotive, Dark Green, heading up the Heavyweight Passenger Train "Lake Shore Limited"

New York Central Railroad

Electrification came to the New York Central Railroad in 1907, primarily to relieve the midtown Grand Central Terminal area of the smoke, soot, and noise generated by the many steam trains operating in and out of the station.  However, very little of the railroad system was electrified, evidenced by the fact that of the 3,473 New York Central locomotives in operation in 1948, only 139 were electrics, mostly operating in the New York City area.

Electrics pulled trains in and out of Grand Central Terminal, so that’s what people would see when they went to the station.  But 34 miles north of Manhattan, at Harmon, New York, the electric locomotives would be replaced on all trains by steam engines (through World War II) or diesel locomotives (post-WWII) for the trains’ trips beyond.  There were no inter-city electrically powered trains on the New York Central, unlike the Pennsylvania Railroad, which had electric lines between New York, Baltimore, Washington D. C., Philadelphia, and Harrisburg, PA (established 1933-1938).

Because observers in New York saw New York Central electric engines at Grand Central Terminal, and because toy train maker Lionel was headquartered in New York, pre-war Lionel manufactured and successfully marketed many New York Central style electric locomotives to power their toy passenger trains between 1910 and 1936.
 
Engine #9E heads up one of those, an excellent reproduction by MTH of one of Lionel’s top-of-the-line Standard gauge electric outline locomotives of the 1930s.  It pulls a typical four-car passenger train of the times, (c1925-early 1930s), No. 10047—combine, coach,  diner, and observation car, all in dark green, traditional Pullman colors.  This is the “Lake Shore Limited” between New York City and Chicago, on an electrified segment of the New York Central, a deluxe sleeper train with daily service first established in 1897 (a 24-hour trip at the time). For the record, the original Lionel #9E train of 1930 was a three-car train, with #429 Baggage/Parlor Car, #428 Parlor Car, and #430 Observation, with 4-wheel trucks.  MTH has added #431 Dining Car to this reproduction set.
 
The design of Lionel’s box cab electric outline New York Central locomotives would seem to be inspired by New York Central’s R series motors—R-1a 8-wheel B+B (1926-1943) and successor R-2 12-wheel C+C (1930-1962), built by Alco with General Electric motors.
 
Amtrak has adopted the “Lake Shore Limited” name for its currently operating coach and sleeper trains between New York (Pennsylvania Station) and Chicago (961 miles). These fine streamliners feature full-service Dining Cars and Café/Lounge Cars with sandwiches, snacks, and bar service. Notable are the “Viewliner” sleeping cars with  large panoramic windows. “Viewliners” are single-level all-bedroom stainless steel cars designed by the Budd Company in the early 1990s and used where the higher bi-level “Superliner” cars (see No. 10359) cannot go due to bridge and tunnel restrictions along the Northeast Corridor. Amtrak runs them as well on its “Crescent” trains (New York-New Orleans, see No. 10633), and its “Silver Service” trains (New York-Miami, see No.   10126).
 
The Pullman-equipped “Lake Shore Limited” has a remarkable historical record from its inception in 1897 as New York Central’s grandest train at the time, because it is still running today (2006), more than a century later, as a fine overnight sleeper-equipped Limited. It is unfortunate that after the introduction of the famed “20th Century Limited” in 1902 (see No. 10073) little was heard about this then lesser but still distinguished member of the “Great Steel Fleet.” The train kept up with the times, adding lightweight streamlined cars in 1941 to its traditional heavyweight consist, and diesel locomotives postwar. And it remains operational now, unlike its more celebrated sister train, the “20th Century Limited,” which made its last run in 1967.