New York Central 2933

New York Central 2933
NYC No. 2933 on static display at the Museum of Transportation in 2017
Type and origin Power type Steam Builder American Locomotive Company Serial number 68126 Build date October 1929
Specifications Configuration: ​  • Whyte 4-8-2  • UIC 2′D1′ h2 Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) Driver dia. 69 in (1,753 mm) Adhesive weight 247,500 lb (112.3 tonnes) Loco weight 369,100 lb (167.4 tonnes) Fuel type Coal Fuel capacity 28 Tons Water cap. 15,000 Gallons Firebox: ​  • Grate area 75.3 sq ft (7.00 m2) Boiler pressure 225 lbf/in2 (1.55 MPa) Heating surface: ​  • Firebox 373 sq. ft Cylinders Two Cylinder size 27 in × 30 in (686 mm × 762 mm) Valve gear Baker Valve type Piston valves Loco brake Air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Maximum speed 60 mph (97 km/h) Power output 3,330 hp (2,480 kW) at 39 mph (63 km/h) Tractive effort 60,618 lbf (269.64 kN) Factor of adh. 4.08
Career Operators Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St. Louis Railway, New York Central Railroad Class L-2d Numbers 6233, 2933 Official name Mohawk Retired 1955 Disposition On display at National Museum of Transportation

New York Central 2933 is 4-8-2 "Mohawk", (Mountain), type steam locomotive built in 1929 by the American Locomotive Company for the New York Central Railroad. The wheel arrangement is known as the Mountain type on other railroads, but the New York Central dubbed them "Mohawks" after the Mohawk River, which the railroad followed. It pulled freight trains until being retired in 1955. Today, the locomotive is on display at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, Missouri. It is the second-largest New York Central steam locomotive still in existence and is one of two surviving New York Central Mohawks"; the other, No. 3001, is on display at the National New York Central Railroad Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.

History

Main article: NYC Mohawk

It was originally built for the Big Four Railroad and was numbered 6233, it was renumbered 2933 in 1936 when the locomotive was transferred to the New York Central.

New York Central No. 2933 is a member of class L-2d. It powered freight trains until retirement in 1955.

Preservation

The locomotive was used as a stationary steam boiler in the NYC shops before it was placed in storage. After a request penned by the museum director in 1962, it was donated to the Museum of Transportation. It had somehow previously escaped the order by then-NYC President Alfred E. Perlman to scrap all steam locomotives, which was accomplished by 1957. This made it the only large New York Central steam locomotive to be donated directly by the railroad.

In May 2017, the museum completed a 10-year-long full cosmetic restoration of the engine.

One story says that New York Central employees hid 2933 behind large boxes in a roundhouse in Selkirk, New York, 8 miles south of Albany, but there is little hard evidence to support this.

See also

• New York Central 3001 - Another surviving Mohawk and the largest surviving New York Central steam locomotive.

References

• Steam in the East. Niagaras & Mohawks, New York Central's 4-8-4 Steam Locomotives (DVD). Sunday River Productions.
• Durham, Robert K. (2000). New York Central: Steam-Locomotives and Trains from 1933 to 1943. ISBN 978-0-9644-4800-1.
• Keefe, Kevin. 2017. [1]