No. 10156 Streamlined Alco J-3 4-6-4 "Hudson" Type Steam Locomotive, heading up the "20th Century Limited" Streamlined Passenger Train

 New York Central Railroad

The “20th Century Limited” was perhaps the grandest, most elegant passenger train to run in the United States, capturing the heart and imagination of America. On  its New York-Chicago daily run, it was an all-reserved, all-Pullman, all-first-class extra-fare train.  Her bedroom compartments were roomy, comfortable, and air conditioned. The observation car contained a bridal suite, and there was a secretary on board to cater to the needs of busy executives - also, a barber, fresh and salt water baths, valet service, a ladies' maid, and a manicurist - in short, the train was a “luxury liner on wheels,” and fast, too — 16 hours New York to Chicago, 961 miles, with 8 sleeper Pullmans and 150 passengers (1938), behind powerful new "Hudson" steam locomotives.  It was promoted as the "Fastest Long Distance Train in the World," and was so popular it frequently ran in several sections. 
 
As a review, the precursor to the “20th Century Limited” was the “Lakeshore Limited,” established in 1897 in a 24-hour schedule from New York to Chicago (see No. 10046). The “20th Century Limited” was introduced in 1902 with 5 cars accommodating 42 passengers on a 20-hour schedule for the overnight runs. It was a grand all-Pullman train, a proud addition to New York Central’s “Great Steel Fleet.”
 
In the late 1920s, the New York Central Railroad needed a new steam locomotive to power its longer and heavier, elegant first class passenger trains at faster speeds. The result was the handsome Alco-built 4-6-4 “Hudson”-type, and it proved to be extremely successful, heading up such famous trains as the “20th Century Limited” and “Empire State Express” (see No. 10062). It went into service in 1927.  This locomotive could pull heavy thirteen- to fifteen-car trains at high rates of speed.
 
To emphasize the modernity of its new “Hudson” engine, New York Central put a talented in-house employee, Carl Kantola, to work with technicians at the Case School of Applied Science in Cleveland, to develop a distinctive shroud to “streamline” New York Central’s J-1 “Hudson” No. 5344. The result was the first streamlined steam locomotive seen in America - only one was shrouded, and it was named after New York Central’s founder, Cornelius Vanderbilt - the “Commodore Vanderbilt” (see No.10065).
 
The shrouding, finished in gun metal gray, was applied to “Hudson” locomotive 5344 in December, 1934. From a public relations standpoint, it was a smashing success - its photograph was everywhere, and crowds swarmed to view the new sensation.  New York Central liked the engine enough to run it more than 18,000 miles each month, for some two and a half years, starting in February, 1935, on the 233-mile portion of the “Century’s” route between Toledo and Chicago. The new design seemed to conjure up a future that was bright, in the midst of the Great Depression, an optimism born of new technologies as showcased by the Art Deco design movement, of which streamlining was an important element.
 
The “Commodore Vanderbilt” proudly pulled the “20th Century Limited” until the fall of 1937, when it was pulled from service to be restyled by Henry Dreyfuss, one of America’s most talented industrial designers. The restyled “Hudson”  locomotive went into service with its ten new Alco-built sisters (Nos. 5445-5454) early in 1938 on the “20th Century Limited,” restyled by Dreyfuss and Pullman-Standard as an all-room 15-17 car streamliner. Unlike Case’s Norman Zapf, who designed the locomotive only, Henry Dreyfuss designed the entire train.
 
In 1938 streamlining of the “Century” was fulfilled with the order (Pullman-Standard) for newly designed lightweight mail/baggage, buffet/lounge, sleeping, dining, and sleeper/lounge/observation cars. The Dreyfuss approach was that of understated elegance—exteriors of light gray and dark gray window bands and white horizontal stripes along the entire length of each car. Interiors were also in cool colors of grays and blues with complementary accents in tan, copper, and rust colors. The whole effect was what Dreyfuss referred to as “cleanlining.”
 
The diners featured their own Dreyfuss-designed crockery on which the menu selections served were as fine as in any Manhattan restaurant. And after the last dinner seating, the dishes were cleared away, and the dining car was transformed into an elegant night club,”Café Century,” with softened lighting and contemporary recorded music.
 
The newly-designed “Century” was among the first “all-room” trains in America; nearly all the other all-Pullman trains included at least a few “section” accommodations containing traditional curtained upper and lower berths with little privacy. Rather, the “Century” offered double bedrooms, compartments, drawing rooms, and soon-to-be popular newly conceived roomettes for singles, all private. 
 
The train secretary could assist passengers with dictation, correspondence, hotel and theater reservations, and return trip ticketing. There was also telegraph and valet service, and a barber shop.
 
Typically, the extra-fare train operated with 13 cars, but it often swelled to as many as 17 cars and at other times operated in two sections (two complete trains, one following the other).
 
Postwar, in 1948, the “Century” received new equipment from Pullman-Standard, American Car & Foundry, and the Budd Company, retiring the 1938 equipment (see No.  10374). At that time, diesel locomotives were replacing steam at the head end of the “Century” trains.
 
The “Hudsons” were phased out and shorn of their streamlining in 1947-1948, to usher in the diesel era with Electro-Motive F-3s and E-7s by General Motors (see No.  10374). The “Hudsons” were all retired by early 1956 and scrapped.
 
The “20th Century Limited” ran under diesel power until deteriorating economic conditions forced its retirement, with its last run on December 2, 1967,  after which it was terminated. It had been in service since 1902, perhaps America’s most famous train.
 
Notable was the unique 6' x 260' red carpet that was unrolled each day to welcome passengers aboard at Grand Central Terminal from 1922 to 1967.
 
No. 10156 represents an accurate semi-scale model of the Dreyfuss-designed streamlined Alco J-3 4-6-4 “Hudson”-type steam locomotive by MTH in “O” gauge, heading up the  6-car streamlined train “20th Century Limited” (Nos. 10145 and 10146) as it would have been seen between New York and Chicago 1938-1948.