Service began way back in 1891. To celebrate the train’s 50th anniversary in 1941, the railroad upgraded its operation with two brand-new 16-car train sets built by the Budd Co. The streamlined cars had fluted aluminum flanks, so the railroad streamlined two of its Hudsons, nos. 5426 and 5429, in matching attire.
Unfortunately for the railroad’s publicity department, the new Empire State Express service with revamped trains was inaugurated on December 7, 1941. Needless to say, the day is remembered for Pearl Harbor and the Japanese, not the Empire State Express and the New York Central.
In 1950 the railroad removed the streamlining from Hudson no. 5426, and a year later from no. 5429. Both locomotives were retired in 1956 and scrapped.
The model
This is MTH’s second Premier line rendition of this famous locomotive. Like the prototype, the O gauge Empire State Express is a pretty darned swanky rig. The model easily captures the interesting mix of streamlining and mechanics exhibited on the real thing.
The bullet-shaped nose really stands out, as does the fluting on the sides, running from the middle set of drivers to the end of the tender.
Although a streamliner, there are still sections of add-on piping running the length of both sides of the locomotive’s boiler. On the fireman’s side you’ll find two valve handles with red-painted handles. I don’t know if the New York Central ever painted valve handles red, but this detail looks nice.
The cab has a decorated backhead and two of MTH’s new crew figures. There are “panes” in the side windows that slide open. There are also three sliding hatches on the roof.
The running gear is complete, and the disk drivers are fetching. Just in case you miss the drivers, running lights shine down on them when the locomotive is in motion (you can see the light above the drivers on this issue’s cover).
For a steamer, the paint scheme is pretty complex. Most of the upper half of the boiler is silver, as is about half of the lower superstructure. The crown of the boiler running back to the cab is black. The cab roof is black down to the windows, and a black strip measuring about 3/4 inch wide runs forward, bisecting the nose.
The pilot is flanked by sets of Art Deco steps, and it wears an attractive red-and-silver New York Central System logo, with “Empire State Express” printed in white script just above.
Similarly, the sides of the tender are silver, but the front, top, and rear are black. The words “New York Central” are applied in black on the tender’s sides, and the locomotive number is in white on the black rear of the tender. You’ll find various red and white messages on the tender’s end as well.
The coal load is of the “chunk” variety, not the cast-in style. There are a lot of nice details cast in, but, unlike many of the latest high-end O gauge steamers, the water tank lid doesn’t hinge open. The rear of the tender is worth mentioning. The streamlining extends beyond the back of the tender, creating an extended platform over the rear coil coupler. A ladder runs up the rear of the tender, and you’ll also find a backup light.
On the test track
The low-end speed average for the Hudson, equipped with MTH’s ProtoSpeed cruise-control circuitry, was 8.3 scale mph. The high-end average was 81.1 scale mph. Drawbar pull for the 12 pound, 8 ounce locomotive was 3 pounds, 7 ounces.
The locomotive’s ProtoSound 2.0 audio package is outstanding. The heavy metal tender provides a first-rate chamber for hearty sound reproduction.
A reader asked us to listen for a “crackle” from the sound system when we tested our sample locomotive. While I could detect some upper-end distortion from the speaker at higher volumes, I found nothing that came off as a defect in the source sound.
The locomotive operated smoothly in all speed ranges.
The MTH ProtoSound 2.0 and Digital Command System software worked as advertised. The sound package is quite pleasing, and the various ProtoSound 2.0 features add fun for layout visitors.
Premium priced, the MTH Empire State Express Hudson is a commendable O gauge locomotive that will draw attention from all trackside observers.
a really nice model, the cars that it is spupposed to pull, make the engine look small and not up to the job