by scottychaos
One of the biggest problems when trying to research 19th century locomotives..even very famous ones..what color were they?! 
I have only seen two color references for 999:
"Old timers who thought they had seen the last of decorative splendor delighted in her trimmings. Plenty of stripping, and across her tender flank in gorgeous silver script (two and a half feet high) was EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS"
"The star locomotive was rushed back to West Albany for cleaning, polishing, and general trimming-up. The woodwork on her cab (alternating maple and mahagony strips) shone like a mirror."
both excerpts from "The New York Central's Early Power, Volune II, 1831-1916" by Alvin F. Stauffer.
The silver script makes sense..but the B&W photos dont seem to support "alternating maple and mahagony strips" on the cab..
those two kinds of wood would show up as different densities on B&W photos I would think, and all the photos seem to show a cab with a solid color..although maybe the pics I have arent of high enough resolution.
about her overall color..probably mostly black with silver trim.
but what about the cab? black as well? (apart from the wood strips..and where exactly were those strips on the cab?)
or might the cab have been a different color to match the trainset?
not black?
and there is a thick stripe on each dome that is clearly a different shade/color from the rest of the engine..the stripe that contains the number "999" on the sand dome, with a matching stripe on the steam dome...there is color there!
but...what color?
those stripes appear to be a color, other than black..
There are also some tone differences visable around her cylinders,
and 1893 is a bit late for a Russian Iron boiler jacket, but clearly her boiler is a different color/shade from the cab and tender.
Has anyone ever seen any color data for 999?
thanks,
Scot
about 999.
She was designed and built for one purpose only..to set a world speed record! and to put the rival PRR to shame..and she did!
She was designed and built by William Buchanan, New York Central's master mechanic, who had already built a string of very fast 4-4-0's.
She rolled out of the West Albany (NY) shops in April, 1893.
On May 10, 1893, she set her record.
On a 14-mile straight tangent west of Batavia, NY, with engineer Charles Hogan at the throttle, and fireman Al Elliot at the shovel, she hit 112.5 miles per hour, making her an instant global celebrity!
She went on display at the Chicago World's fair, where she was seen and admired by thousands..
later, she went into the regular NYC power pool, quickly losing her 7' drivers in favor of smaller, more "practical" drivers.
In the 1920's, she was discovered in a scrap line by a NYC employee who realized her heritage, (by then, she had even lost her number..becoming just another ananomous 4-4-0)
she was saved! preserved, and today can be found at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. (sadly lacking her original, giant drivers, which are long-gone..)
I have only seen two color references for 999:
"Old timers who thought they had seen the last of decorative splendor delighted in her trimmings. Plenty of stripping, and across her tender flank in gorgeous silver script (two and a half feet high) was EMPIRE STATE EXPRESS"
"The star locomotive was rushed back to West Albany for cleaning, polishing, and general trimming-up. The woodwork on her cab (alternating maple and mahagony strips) shone like a mirror."
both excerpts from "The New York Central's Early Power, Volune II, 1831-1916" by Alvin F. Stauffer.
The silver script makes sense..but the B&W photos dont seem to support "alternating maple and mahagony strips" on the cab..
those two kinds of wood would show up as different densities on B&W photos I would think, and all the photos seem to show a cab with a solid color..although maybe the pics I have arent of high enough resolution.
about her overall color..probably mostly black with silver trim.
but what about the cab? black as well? (apart from the wood strips..and where exactly were those strips on the cab?)
or might the cab have been a different color to match the trainset?
not black?
and there is a thick stripe on each dome that is clearly a different shade/color from the rest of the engine..the stripe that contains the number "999" on the sand dome, with a matching stripe on the steam dome...there is color there!
but...what color?
those stripes appear to be a color, other than black..
There are also some tone differences visable around her cylinders,
and 1893 is a bit late for a Russian Iron boiler jacket, but clearly her boiler is a different color/shade from the cab and tender.
Has anyone ever seen any color data for 999?
thanks,
Scot
about 999.
She was designed and built for one purpose only..to set a world speed record! and to put the rival PRR to shame..and she did!
She was designed and built by William Buchanan, New York Central's master mechanic, who had already built a string of very fast 4-4-0's.
She rolled out of the West Albany (NY) shops in April, 1893.
On May 10, 1893, she set her record.
On a 14-mile straight tangent west of Batavia, NY, with engineer Charles Hogan at the throttle, and fireman Al Elliot at the shovel, she hit 112.5 miles per hour, making her an instant global celebrity!
She went on display at the Chicago World's fair, where she was seen and admired by thousands..
later, she went into the regular NYC power pool, quickly losing her 7' drivers in favor of smaller, more "practical" drivers.
In the 1920's, she was discovered in a scrap line by a NYC employee who realized her heritage, (by then, she had even lost her number..becoming just another ananomous 4-4-0)
she was saved! preserved, and today can be found at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. (sadly lacking her original, giant drivers, which are long-gone..)
