No. 10243 Lima Class J-3a "Greenbrier" 4-8-4 "Northern" Type Steam Locomotive, heading up the Deluxe Heavyweight Passenger Train, the "George Washington"

Chesapeake & Ohio Railway

Commemorating the 1932 bicentennial of George Washington’s birth, the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway inaugurated a deluxe heavyweight train in his honor linking, overnight, the nation’s capital and Tidewater Virginia with Cincinnati and the bluegrass horse country of Kentucky. Shorter sections diverted to Louisville and Detroit via Ashland, Kentucky. The “George Washington” drew upon Georgian designs of the Colonial period for its interior decor, employing the latest innovations in passenger comfort, including air-conditioning (one of the first air-conditioned trains) and handsome carpeted floors, prompting C&O publicists to declare it the “Most Wonderful Train in the World.” In an even more inspired promotion, C&O was soon using Viennese artist Guido Gruenewald’s portrait of a dozing cat—appropriately named “Chessie”—to advertise the sleep-inducing qualities of its passenger trains. Twenty-two Pullman sleepers were rebuilt and repainted Pullman green with gold “The George Washington” lettering for the new service, as were three remodeled dining cars and three Imperial Salon deluxe coaches taken from the “Sportsman” pool (see No. 10637).
 
The C&O provided a key link between urban centers in the East and Midwest and numerous small cities and towns in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. This was enhanced by an extensive network of interline Pullman sleeping car operations reaching such off-line points as New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit. Much of this first-class business was generated by on-line resort hotels, including the road’s own posh “Homestead” at Hot Springs, Virginia, and the celebrated “Greenbrier” at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. There was no extra charge for “George Washington” service.
 
C&O passenger operations of the 1930s—before the flamboyant Robert R. Young burst onto the scene as C&O Chairman in 1942—could be described as genteel and solidly conservative. The road showed little interest in the streamlining revolution gaining momentum elsewhere in the industry (for post-war C&O streamliners, see Nos. 10150, 10197, and 10637).
 
Departing Washington at the end of the workday in the 1930s, the “George Washington” eased out of Union Station and beneath Capitol Hill, emerging amidst great monuments and museums. After crossing the Potomac River and entering Virginia, the train’s route took it over Civil War battlefields on its way to Charlottesville. Then the “George Washington’s” westward movement was slowed by a steep climb over the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its grand views of the Piedmont Valley below as daylight waned. Beyond, during nighttime hours, the train trekked over the Allegheny Mountains, stopping briefly at the “Homestead” and the “Greenbrier” to drop off resort-bound passengers. Passing through Charleston and Huntington, West Virginia, the train crossed into Kentucky at Ashland on its way to Cincinnati’s morning arrival. Trip time was 14 hours and 45 minutes (600 miles). Train length was normally seven cars (1932-36).
 
To power the “George Washington,” in 1936 the C&O introduced a striking new design in steam power, the powerful Lima Locomotive Works-built Class J-3 “Greenbrier” 4-8-4 “Northern”-type locomotive, to replace the lesser 4-6-2 “Pacific” -type and the less powerful 4-8-2 “Mountain”-type locomotives it replaced, for the challenging ascent over the mountainous route with long, heavy trains. Each of the five locomotives in the J-3 fleet, named after the famous resort in West Virginia, was decorated in white trim and gold lettering and featured the names of distinguished Virginia statesmen on both sides of the sand box. The locomotives were  numbered  600 to 604. Two additional J-3s were added in 1942, Nos. 605 and 606. Postwar, with locomotive production restrictions lifted, Lima delivered five Class J-3a “Greenbriers” to the C&O, Nos. 610 through 614. The postwar “Greenbriers” were lighter than their prewar counterparts, with many aluminum components, roller bearings on all axles and side rods, and steam-powered booster trailing trucks for additional starting traction. The prewar J-3s were retired in 1952 with the introduction of Electro-Motive E-8diesel locomotives but the newer J-3a locomotives continued in freight service until 1956. Only No. 614 escaped the scrapper’s torch and still exists today.
 
No. 10243 represents an accurate scale model in “0" gauge by MTH of the postwar Lima Class J-3a “Greenbrier” 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 614 and tender, heading up the 7-car heavyweight passenger train the “George Washington” (Nos. 10244 & 10245) as it would have been seen on its run between Washington and Cincinnati in late 1940s to 1951.
 
Postwar, starting in 1946, steam locomotives were replaced with diesel power on the C&O. By 1951, the “George Washington” was diesel powered. The strength of the “George Washington” made it one of the few east-west services selected to be retained by Amtrak in 1971, extending service to Chicago, but discontinuing service to Cincinnati. The train continued, but the “George Washington” name was dropped in 1974.