20th Century Limited
The 20th Century Limited was a luxury night train between New York ( Grand Central Terminal ) and Chicago (LaSalle Street Station) operated by the New York Central Railroad (NYC) from 1902 to 1967 .
claim
The self-confident naming reflects the high quality standards of NYC that their train would be regarded as THE “express train of the 20th century” in terms of travel time and comfort . In fact, after starting operations on June 17, 1902 , the 20th Century Limited developed into the “most famous train in the world” over a 65-year history and was considered a “national institution”, according to the New York Times on its last journey a few months ago the end of the New York Central Railroad, on December 2, 1967.
The train always served as a demarcation against the competing Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and their "Broadway Limited". This had to take a more demanding route over the Allegheny Mountains ( Appalachian Mountains ). For this reason, New York Central propagated the advertising slogan “The Water-Level Route: You Can Sleep!” For its night train service. ”( German: The water level line: You can sleep! ). Shortly before Chicago, the two multi-track main lines of NYC and PRR met between Elkhart and Englewood , where sometimes spectacular parallel journeys between 20th Century Limited and Broadway Limited resulted on the side-by-side section of the route .
business
Century traveling westward always ran train number 25 and left New York every day at 6 p.m., while the return train started at 4 p.m. in Chicago due to the time zone transition and ran no. The Century took advantage of the low-gradient "Water-Level Route" ( German: water level line ) from New York through the wide river valley, the Hudson River to Albany , along the Mohawk River towards Buffalo and south of the Erie shore . At intervals of approx. 65 km, the steam locomotives were able to take in new water via channels (“track pans”) between the rails during the journey. Immediately before the Second World War , the train covered the 1,542 km long route - including several intermediate stops - at an average speed of 97 km / h in 16 hours, which required the locomotives to travel at speeds of 160 km / h and more over long stretches.
- Incidents
- On December 13, 1909, 20th Century Limited was involved in a serious accident . Due to the mistake of an employee in a signal box , the eastbound train ran into a stationary passenger train at a speed of almost 100 km / h . There was a large number of deaths.
- On July 4, 1910, there was another serious accident: The 20th Century Limited collided head-on with a freight train during a diversion . 20 people died.
- In 1943 the boiler of the locomotive of a 20th Century Limited from Chicago to New York exploded at full speed at a speed of 115 km / h. The locomotive, tender and 11 passenger cars derailed.
vehicles
Locomotives
From June 15, 1938, the 20th Century Limited was operated as a streamlined train . Both the streamlined cladding of the Super Hudsons of the NYC class J-3a , which was further developed for the demanding Century use, as well as the design of the corresponding passenger cars were based on designs by industrial designer Henry Dreyfuss . The striking silhouette of the streamlined locomotives became a popular motif in many contemporary advertisements, posters and publications, making the Century a style icon of Art Deco and the J-3a one of America's most famous locomotives.
Replaced shortly after the Second World War diesel-electric locomotives of the E series of EMD Hudson steam locomotives, the entire fleet has been completely scrapped.
dare
The sleeping cars built and operated by Pullman offered their wealthy passengers first-class equipment. The Century's special service already included an on-board hairdressing salon and a train secretary for business travelers. Before the train was made available in New York's Grand Central Station on platform 27 (later 34), a red carpet was always rolled out. Many celebrities, actors, politicians and business people use the train.
In September 1948, General Dwight D. Eisenhower inaugurated the next-generation 20th Century Limited streamlined train, which was entirely made up of new build cars. As with the previous train from 1938, the entire interior and exterior design were based on drafts by Henry Dreyfuss.
Picture gallery
In the early 20th century, Atlantic locomotives were used before the 20th Century Limited.
Since 1913, the 20th Century Limited, like all trains, ran the first 35 miles from New York City to Harmon under electric traction.
Around 1920, the New York Central usually hauled the 20th Century Limited with Pacific locomotives .
From 1928, the Hudson locomotives developed by New York Central carried the 20th Century Limited.
1938 begins with the "Super Hudson" steam locomotives for the 20th Century Limited, a new era as a streamlined train .
The "Bullet" design by Henry Dreyfuss makes the streamlined J-3a steam locomotives unmistakable.
A streamlined locomotive clad for the 20th Century Limited is a guest at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
100 years after the 20th Century Limited's first run, the Hickory Creek final car built in 1948 ...
... exhibited together with a piece from the historic red carpet in New York's Grand Central Terminal.
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literature
- G. Freeman Allen: The fastest trains in the world - the fast traffic in the past, present and future . franck, 1980, ISBN 3-440-04856-X .
- Richard J. Cook, Sr .: The Twentieth Century Limited 1938-1967 . TLC Publishing, Lynchburg, Virginia 1993, ISBN 1-883089-26-3 .
- Peter WB Semmens: Disasters on the rails. A worldwide documentation. Transpress, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-344-71030-3 .
