New York Central / Boston & Albany 4-6-4 "Hudson" Type Locomotives

Class J-1 (Locobase 185)

Boiler had Elesco feedwater heater. These were the predecessors to the more well-known J-3 class. Michigan Central and the Big Four each received 30 of the type. Their tonnage rating was 1,270 tons on the flat at an average speed of 55 mph. Firebox heating surface included 37 sq ft of arch tubes.

S. Kip Farrington dissented boldly from the usual encomiums directed at this design in his Railroading Coast to Coast (1976, p 4). "Readers might be surprised to know that I put the very popular and the pioneer Hudson type, New York Central's J classes at the bottom of the list. They had many more troubles with them than were ever made public, although they did lead the parade."

The cylinder proportions were more equal than later locomotives and boiler pressure was relatively low. Beginning with 5297, cylinder diameter was reduced and the stroke lengthened by an inch. The 5200's low BDF of 519 indicated the design's growth potential.

#5311, 5313 went to the Toronto, Hamilton & Buffalo in 1948 as 501-502, where they ran until scrapped in 1954.

Class J-2a (Locobase 176)

Boiler had Coffin feedwater heater, valve motion limited cutoff.

These engines, built for the New York Central subsidiary, were virtually identical to the NYC J-series Hudsons. A visible difference was the B&A square sand dome. This is the first set of 10, delivered by Alco. Locobase 5873 has theLima 10, which had slightly less superheating surface.

Class J-2c (Locobase 5873)

Boiler had Coffin feedwater heater, valve motion limited cutoff.

These engines, built for the New York Central subsidiary by Alco-Schenectady (1st 10) and Lima (last 10), were virtually identical to the NYC J-series Hudsons. A visible difference was the B&A square sand dome and the smaller drivers, the latter in recognition of the Berkshire grades.

Class J-3 (Locobase 186)

Boiler had feedwater heater and firebox heating surface included 37 sq ft of arch tubes. Compared to the earlier J-1, the J-3 had less heating surface but a higher boiler pressure. According to Alvin Staufer (Steam Power of the New York Central System, 1961), the initial pressure setting of 275 psi led to the bending of main rods, so it was lowered 10 psi. Roller bearings were mounted on all engine and tender wheels.

Both had low BDF and GDF, suggesting an easy-to-work locomotive. The J-3s, however, developed 20% more power than did the J-1s at 65 mph. Their tonnnage ratings included 1,130 tons at 59 mph. Moreover, they could run 185,000 to 200,000 miles between shoppings for heavy repairs, which equates to approximately 2 years of service.

The last 10 locomotives were completed with the famous Dreyfus streamlined casing.

Specifications
Class	J-1	J-2a	J-2c	J-3
Locobase ID	185	176	5873	186
Railroad	New York Central (NYC)	Boston & Albany (NYC)	Boston & Albany (NYC)	New York Central (NYC)
Whyte	4-6-4	4-6-4	4-6-4	4-6-4
Road Numbers	5200-5404	600-609 / 5455-5464	610-619 / 5465-5474	5405-5454
Gauge	Std	Std	Std	Std
Builder	Alco	Alco-Schenectady	Lima	Alco
Year	1927	1928	1930	1937
Valve Gear	Baker	Baker	Baker	Baker
	Locomotive Length and Weight
Driver Wheelbase	14'	14'	14'	14'
Engine Wheelbase	40.33'	40.33'	40.33'	40.33'
Ratio of driving wheelbase to overall engine wheebase	0.35	0.35	0.35	0.35
Overall Wheelbase (engine & tender)	83.62'	76.12'	76.12'	83.62'
Axle Loading (Maximum Weight per Axle)
Weight on Drivers	184500 lbs	187500 lbs	188100 lbs	201800 lbs
Engine Weight	346500 lbs	353000 lbs	357000 lbs	365500 lbs
Tender Light Weight	212200 lbs		209800 lbs	316000 lbs
Total Engine and Tender Weight	558700 lbs	0	566800 lbs	681500 lbs
Tender Water Capacity	12500 gals	10000 gals	10000 gals	13600 gals
Tender Fuel Capacity (oil/coal)	24 tons	16 tons	17 tons	28 tons
Minimum weight per yard of rail on which locomotive could run	102.50 lb rail	104.17 lb rail	104.50 lb rail	112.11 lb rail
	Geometry Relating to Tractive Effort
Driver Diameter	79"	75"	75"	79"
Boiler Pressure	225 psi	240 psi	240 psi	265 psi
Cylinders (dia x stroke)	25" x 28"	25" x 28"	25" x 28"	22.5" x 29"
Tractive Effort	42366 lbs	47600 lbs	47600 lbs	41860 lbs
Factor of Adhesion (Weight on Drivers/Tractive Effort)	4.35	3.94	3.95	4.82
	Heating Ability
Firebox Area	281 sq. ft	281 sq. ft	281 sq. ft	360 sq. ft
Grate Area	81.50 sq. ft	81.50 sq. ft	81.50 sq. ft	82 sq. ft
Evaporative Heating Surface	4484	4484	4484	4187
Superheating Surface	1951	1951	1920	1745
Combined Heating Surface	6435	6435	6404	5932
Evaporative Heating Surface/Cylinder Volume	281.87	281.87	281.87	313.74
	Computations Relating to Power Output (More Information)
Robert LeMassena's Power Computation	18337.50	19560	19560	21730
Same as above plus superheater percentage	23897.17	25490.31	25424.33	28122.25
Same as above but substitute firebox area for grate area	82393.92	87886.84	87659.36	123463.55
Power L1	43666.66	44219.40	43693.25	56712.94
Power MT	1565.34	1559.79	1536.32	1858.73