No. 10809 General Electric Class
EP-3 Electric Locomotive,
heading up the "East Wind"
Streamlined Passenger Train

New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad

The New Haven line was unusual on the American railroad scene in that it relied on passenger revenues heavily, with less emphasis than other railroads on freight service. In 1946, for instance, New Haven's tracks were handling 545 passenger trains daily, an extraordinary volume of traffic. Forty-four (44%) percent of New Haven's gross revenues was derived from the passenger trade at the time.

The New Haven railroad was an essential link between Boston, New York, and Washington in Northeast Corridor service, with its 4-track main line from the north into New York's Grand Central Terminal and Pennsylvania Station. For speed and efficiency, the New Haven had the foresight to electrify its tracks between 1907 and 1914 from New Haven to New York, which meant no locomotive change would be necessary approaching New York, as the New York Central Railroad had to do with its New York City-bound trains. Also, the New Haven with partner Pennsylvania Railroad constructed the Hell Gate Bridge over New York's East River in 1917, permitting New Haven service south of New York to cities like Philadelphia and Washington through Pennsylvania Station in New York City.

Electric locomotives were important on the New Haven, and one of the most impressive was General Electric's 20-wheel box cab EP-3 2-C + C-2 introduced to the road in 1931 for passenger and freight service. This design was so successful that it influenced two important later electric locomotives, General Electric's streamlined EF-3 (1942-see No. 10271) and Pennsylvania Railroad's famed Raymond Loewy-designed GG-1 (1935 - see No. 10078). At 2740 horsepower with twelve driving wheels, the EP-3 had excellent traction to pull the heaviest trains at high speeds. Ten EP-3s were delivered to the New Haven, numbers 0351-0360, designed to pull fifteen 80-ton heavyweight Pullmans in express service at speeds up to 80 mph. With articulated truck frames, the EP-3s performed reliably for the New Haven until the arrival of the FL-9 fleet as replacements starting in 1956 (see No. 10311). When #0358 made her last run in November, 1961, she was not only the last EP-3 but also the last New Haven non-rectifier electric in operation.

Until recently (2000), there was no electrification on the New Haven between Boston and New Haven, so a southbound steam train from Boston would have to change locomotives in New Haven to continue its journey. An electric EP-3 could then head up the train from New Haven south to New York City. At New York's Pennsylvania Station, a Pennsylvania Railroad electric GG-1 (see No. 10078), would replace New Haven's EP-3 for the run to Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington. South of New York City, the GG-1 electric locomotive would be operating on the Pennsylvania Railroad's electrified tracks.

The completion of the Connecticut Turnpike in 1958 and the appearance of the New York-Boston airline shuttle in 1961 severely impacted New Haven passenger service, as the line struggled through bankruptcy, merger with the New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads in 1969 (Penn Central), and takeover by Amtrak in 1971. But, with electrification all the way to Boston now, and the "Acela" high-speed express service now in place (2001), (see No. 10638), possibly there's hope for a resurrection.

No. 10809 represents New Haven's EP-3 electric outline locomotive No. 0360, the last one in the series, heading up the 8-car streamlined train "East Wind" (Nos. 10810 and 10811) as it would have been seen on New Haven's electrified tracks between New York and New Haven on its daytime run from Washington to Portland, Maine, in the 1940s to 1955 (New York-Portland after 1950). The locomotive and cars are in "0" gauge by MTH, accurately to scale.

The "East Wind" was a late June-September daily summertime-only air-conditioned coach and parlor car streamlined train, two trainsets, with special cars that were painted canary yellow (including an attractive dining car). It began running on the New Haven between Washington and Portland through Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, New Haven, Boston, and New Hampshire in 1940, with the cooperation of the Pennsylvania and Boston & Maine railroads. The "East Wind" ran through the 1943 summer season, then resumed postwar in 1946, discontinuing Pennsylvania Railroad's segment Washington-New York in 1950 (originating and terminating in New York after 1950). The train stopped running after an August, 1955, flood, never to be revived.