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The New York Central Railroad's Niagara was a steam locomotive named after the Niagara River and Falls. It had a wheel arrangement of 4-8-4 in the Whyte notation and is considered as one of the most efficient 4-8-4 ever built. The first New York Central Railroad Northern (or 4-8-4) was ordered in 1931: #800, an experimental locomotive that had its boiler divided into three sections of different pressure. This was another failed experiment in high pressure steam locomotives. By the 1940s loads being hauled on the New York Central main line from New York to Chicago were as much as the famous J-class NYC Hudson 4-6-4's could handle. The Chief of Motive Power for the railroad, Paul W. Kiefer, decided to order some 4-8-4's which could sustain on the run between the two cities, day after day without respite. The American Locomotive Company ALCO proposed these locomotives, and although the design owes something to the Union Pacific 4-8-4's, of which Union Pacific 844 is the best-known, the design was actually quite new. Some steam experts have claimed the Niagara to be the ultimate locomotive, as it had the speed of an FEF (the Union Pacific's nickname for their 'four eight fours' was FEF) and the power of Northerns with smaller driver wheels. ==Locomotive details== The first Niagara was Class S-1a #6000 in 1945; the S-1b (6001-6025) were delivered in 1945-46. The NYC's last steam locomotive was Class S-2 #5500; it had poppet valves. The Niagaras did not have steam domes, as did most steam locomotives, which resulted in a smooth contour along the top of the boiler. A perforated pipe collected steam instead. This was necessary because of the lower loading gauge of the New York Central (15 ft 2 in versus for other American railroads). These locomotives had a small water capacity (18,000 US gallons; 68,000 litres) in the tender, because the New York Central was one of the few in North America which used track pans. This allowed a larger coal capacity—46 tons—so the New York to Chicago run could be done with one stop for coal. (The stop was said to be at Wayneport, New York, 14 miles east of Rochester, but that would leave 603 miles to Chicago via the Cleveland lakefront.) On test these locomotives reached in the cylinders, and ran 26,000 miles per month. *Cylinders: *Bore and stroke: 25½×32 inches (648×813 mm) *Driving wheel diameter: *Boiler pressure: 275 lbf/in² (1.90 MPa) *Tractive effort: 61,570 pounds-force (273.9 kN) *Axle load: 32 long tons (32.5 t) *Valve gear: Baker valve gear *Total length: *Total weight: 405 long tons (411 t) All bearings were either roller bearings or needle rollers. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「NYC Niagara」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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