Last NYC Steam on Mohawk Division

Anyone know when the last NYC steam ran between Selkirk/Albany and
Dewitt ?

Did ANYTHING steam run on this section as late as 1956 for any reason ?
Light special move
Excurson
Special Run

I consulted I person I know who is kind of an authority on these matters, and he told me the following: the last steam locomotive --- a Niagara ---was dispatched from Harmon in August 1953, and that marked the end of all NYC steam operation east of Cleveland.

Now, since your question asked if any steam operated on the Mohawk after that, actually there was an instance. It was not NYC power and in fact was not even on the New York Central Railroad, but for the record there was a fantrip in October 1968 that operated New York-Niagara Falls & return with Nickel Plate #759. Since I was on that trip I can tell you that, even though it suffered some inconvenient operational problems (none of which had to do with the performance of the power), it was an utterly fabulous and memorable event.

Tom is basically correct - here are some more details: Official last NYC steam run east of Buffalo was on August 7, 1953 - Niagara 6020 on train #185 from Harmon.

http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/head ... 953-11.jpg

Thanks guys !

Nice link to the last steam !!!

And if you want to read about the end of steam on the system:

http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/head ... 657-17.jpg

Somewhere I thought I read that the last
actual steam was run late in August after
the Niagara run. Hudson used from Harmon to
Peekskill on commuters. I think there was a
pix as well. THis may have been in the NYC
Headlight or maybe a Staufer book.

Can anyone help me here?

onder wrote:Somewhere I thought I read that the last
actual steam was run late in August after
the Niagara run. Hudson used from Harmon to
Peekskill on commuters. I think there was a
pix as well. THis may have been in the NYC
Headlight or maybe a Staufer book.

Can anyone help me here?

There was NO steam after the run on August 7, 1953. I was watching
trains on the Mohawk that particular time and believe I saw that engine on
that train go west through Fort Plain at the time.
The Harmon roundhouse was closed immediately and steam facilities were
removed shortly afterward.
Noel Weaver

Wow Noel!!! Talk about being in the right place at the right time!!!

Tom Curtin wrote:Wow Noel!!! Talk about being in the right place at the right time!!!

Yes and I had no idea at the time of the siginificance of that day. I did
copy the engine number on a piece of scrap paper as it was the only
steam engine we saw the whole day, after reading about the event, I
knew why.
All of the commuter lines were fully diesel and electric by this time, Both
the Harlem and the River Divisions lost their steam during 1952, the
Putnam in 1951 and the Hudson either in 1952 or earlier in 1953.
Noel Weaver

Ross Rowland operated Nickel Plate Berkshire #759 from Harmon to Kansas City, for the 100th anniversary of the driving of the "GOLDEN SPIKE" at Promontory, Utah, with a trip up the Hudson Division on May 3,1969. Diesels took the train from Kansas City west to Utah and back. There is a good photo in "RAILS ALONG THE HUDSON", at Page 94,
together with a photo of Ross Rowland piloting Reading 4-8-4 #2101 up the West Shore on April 5,1975. There has positively been no steam on the NYC east of Buffalo since those dates: over 37 and 31 years ago,
respectively. It would be nice to see CSX get a lot more P.R.-minded,
and let either a rebuilt C&O #614 (Ross Rowland's engine) or a rebuilt
NYC L-3a Mohawk #3001 operate on the former NYC lines east of
Buffalo, for historic and promotional purposes.

["RAILS ALONG THE HUDSON" (softcover), published by Quadrant Press,
Inc., 19 West 44th Street, New York, NY 10036, in 1979.]