Builder's photo of New York Central J-1b Hudson No. 5249 in 1928. Used on the 20th Century Limited.

(Andy Dingley (scanner), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

4-6-4 HUDSON STEAM LOCOMOTIVE

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of locomotives, 4-6-4 represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels, six powered and coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. In France where the type was first used, it is known as the Baltic while it became known as the Hudson in most of North America.

Schematic of 4-6-4 steam locomotive wheel arrangement.

(Gwernol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

United States

With the exception of the Grand Trunk Railway's K2 Class tank locomotives built in the 1910s, all American 4-6-4 locomotives had tenders.

The first Hudson locomotive in North America was built in 1927 for the New York Central Railroad (NYC) by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO), to the railroad's design. The locomotive proved to be very successful and was named the Hudson type, after the Hudson River. Thirteen of these locomotives, one J-1e type and twelve J-3a types, were streamlined for use with named passenger trains like the Empire State Express and the 20th Century Limited. Between the NYC and its subsidiaries, the Boston & Albany Railroad (B&A), the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis Railway (CCC&StL or Big Four) and the Michigan Central Railroad (MC), they acquired altogether 275 4-6-4 locomotives of several different types, the largest Hudson fleet in North America.

The Milwaukee Road could have produced the first American 4-6-4 since its design work was done earlier than that of the NYC, but financial constraints delayed the project and the Milwaukee's locomotives only emerged in 1930. The Milwaukee called them Baltic, following the European practice started in France. The initial order of fourteen Class F6 locomotives was followed by eight more Class F6a locomotives in 1931 and, in 1938, the Milwaukee acquired six streamlined Class F7 Hudsons with the shrouds. These took over the Milwaukee's crack Hiawatha express trains from the Class A 4-4-2 Atlantics and were among the fastest steam locomotives of all time. The schedules of many of these trains required extended running at 100 miles per hour (160 km per hour). Similar to the Milwaukee F7s, the Chicago & North Western (CNW) Class E-4 were streamlined 4-6-4s with 84in drivers.

Another early adopter of the 4-6-4 was the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe (Santa Fe) who ordered 10 3450 class 4-6-4 locomotives in 1927 from Baldwin. The 3450 class employed the same boiler as Santa Fe's 3400 class Pacifics with a larger grate and slightly smaller 73 in drivers. Santa Fe designated their new 4-6-4 a "Heavy Pacific". In 1937, Santa Fe substantially modified their 3450 class, reducing tubing, increasing the firebox area, and increasing drivers to 79in. The same year, they ordered 6 more Heavy Pacific 4-6-4s (class 3460) from Baldwin including one streamlined locomotive (the Blue Goose, 3460). Like the F7 and E4, the 3460 class employed 84 inches (2,134 mm) drivers. In December 1937, locomotive No. 3461 set a world record for the longest single run by a steam locomotive by completing the 2,227 miles (3,584 km) from Los Angeles, California to Chicago without maintenance other than five re-fueling stops en route, hauling Train No. 8, the Fast Mail Express.

In 1937, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) needed backup locomotives for their streamlined diesel-hauled Zephyr passenger trains. Their solution was to streamline their Baldwin-built no. 3002 in their main Iowa shops. The locomotive was renumbered as No. 4000 and given the name Aeolus, after the mythical keeper of the winds. A second streamlined 4-6-4 was built for this purpose and numbered 4001.

There were also some once-off and experimental 4-6-4 locomotives. A number were rebuilt from 4-6-2 Pacific locomotives, or in some cases from other designs.

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad (B&O) built four as experimental locomotives between 1933 and 1936, using Colonel Emerson's water-tube fireboxes, but eventually turned to diesel-electric traction instead.
In 1937, the Illinois Central Railroad (IC) rebuilt a 2-8-4 Berkshire into its only Hudson, the Illinois Central No. 1, which was not a success and was not repeated. The railroad had also rebuilt seven 4-6-0s gained with acquisition of the Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad into 4-6-4Ts for easier bi-directional operation. All were scrapped with their line’s electrification finishing in 1928.
The Wabash Railroad rebuilt its seven Class P1 Hudsons from their unsuccessful K-4 and K5 Class 2-8-2 Mikado locomotives.
From 1937-1941 the Frisco Railroad rebuilt their 10 1060 class 1917-built 4-6-2s. While large and powerful they had initially had firebox problems, but the rebuild as Hudsons resolved this in addition to further boosting their strength. They received blue streamlining on their running boards and some lasted into the last year of steam on the Frisco in 1952.
In 1946 the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad rebuilt their five F-19 class Pacifics into Hudsons, with four of them gaining streamlining. These were in addition the as-built 4-6-4s purchased and to be purchased by the road. They were intended to serve alongside the new streamlined M-1 class steam turbine locomotives on the new Chessie service. However, the train's launch was cancelled due to declining post-war passenger numbers, and dieselization meant both the rebuilds and newbuilds were all retired by the mid-1950s. One of the rebuilds, 490, has been preserved, still with its streamlining, at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.

Canada

Tender locomotives

The second-largest user of the 4-6-4 type in North America was the Canadian Pacific with 65 H1a to H1e class locomotives, numbered 2800 to 2864 and built by Montreal Locomotive Works (MLW) between 1929 and 1940. They were highly successful and improved service and journey times on the CPR's transcontinental routes. The third and later batches of CPR Hudsons, H1c to H1e numbers 2820 to 2864, were dubbed Royal Hudsons and were semi-streamlined. Royal permission was given for these locomotives to bear the royal crown and arms after locomotive No. 2850 hauled King George VI across Canada in 1939.

Five CPR Hudsons survived. H1b class no. 2816 Empress is the sole remaining non-streamlined CPR Hudson. It was repatriated from static display at Steamtown in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to the CPR in 1998 and was restored and converted to oil-burning to haul excursions for CPR. The other remaining H1 class locomotives are all Royal Hudsons. As of 2008, three were on display in museums, No. 2839 in California, No. 2850 in Quebec and No. 2858 in Ontario, while No. 2860, the first oil-burning Royal Hudson of the class, was operational and based in British Columbia. By 2008, the CPR Hudsons were the only operational Hudsons in North America.

(Also see North American production list below)

Tank locomotives
The Grand Trunk Railway (GTR) had six K2 class 4-6-4T locomotives, built in September 1914 by MLW and acquired for suburban service. Numbered 1540 to 1545 on the GTR, they were reclassified as X-10-a and renumbered 45 to 50 after being absorbed by the Canadian National (CN) in 1923. Three of them are preserved, numbers GT 1541 (CN 46) and GT 1542 (CN 47) at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and GT 1544 (CN 49) at the Canadian Railway Museum in Delson, Quebec.

(Also see North American production list below)

North American production list

Altogether 21 railroads in North America owned 4-6-4s. Many were similar in concept to the NYC Hudsons, with 79 to 80 inches (2,007 to 2,032 mm) driving wheels, but most were a little larger than the NYC locomotives, such as the F6 and F6a classes of the Milwaukee Road, the K-5-a class of the Canadian National, the Canadian Pacific locomotives, the S-4 class of the Burlington Route, the I-5 class of the New Haven and the 1151 class of the Lackawanna. There were also the lightweights, which include the L-1 class of the Nickel Plate Road, the class D of the Maine Central and the class NR-1 of the Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México (N de M). On these, the extra axle was used to reduce the axle load in comparison to a 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive.

Because the 4-6-4 design was really only optimally suited to express passenger trains, which were dieselised early, the Hudsons were early candidates for withdrawal and scrapping. None of the NYC locomotives survived and neither did any of the Milwaukee locomotives. Five Canadian Pacific Hudsons survive, including four Royal Hudsons and the un-streamlined Canadian Pacific 2816. Five of the Burlington Route locomotives survive, including the Aeolus. Other surviving 4-6-4 locomotives are two each of the Santa Fe and Canadian National, and single examples from the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, N de M and Nickel Plate Road. The Pennsylvania Railroad also owned the P5 class of electric locomotives, also with a 4-6-4 wheel arrangement.

North American 4-6-4 locomotives (in order of introduction)

Railroad / Qty / Class / Road numbers / Builder / Build years Notes
GT / 6 / K2 / 1540–1545 / Montreal / 1914 / Tank engines. Later CN 45–50, class X-10-a
NYC / 145 / J-1 / 5200–5344 / ALCO / 1927–1931
NYC / 50 / J-3a / 5405–5454 / ALCO / 1937–1938
MC (NYC) / 10 / J-1b / 8200–8209 / ALCO / 1927 / Renumbered NYC 5345–5354
MC (NYC) / 5 / J-1c / 8210–8214 / ALCO / 1929 / Renumbered NYC 5355–5359
MC (NYC) / 15 / J-1d / 8215–8229 / ALCO / 1930 / Renumbered NYC 5360–5374
ATSF / 10 / 3450 / 3450–3459 / Baldwin / 1927 / "Heavy Pacific"
ATSF / 6 / 3460 / 3460–3465 / Baldwin / 1937 / One streamlined (No. 3460) - "Heavy Pacific"
NKP / 4 / L-1a / 170–173 / ALCO / 1927 / 170 Preserved.
NKP /4  / L-1b / 174–177 / Lima / 1929
B&A (NYC) / 5 / J-2a / 600–604 / ALCO / 1928 / Renumbered NYC 5455–5459
B&A (NYC) / 5 / J-2b / 605–609 / ALCO / 1930 / Renumbered NYC 5460–5464
B&A (NYC) / 10 / J-2c / 610–619 / Lima / 1931 / Renumbered NYC 5465–5474
CCC&StL (NYC) / 20 / J-1d / 6600–6619 / ALCO / 1929 / Renumbered NYC 5375–5394
CCC&StL (NYC) / 10 / J-1e / 6620–6629 / ALCO / 1931 / Renumbered NYC 5395–5404
CP / 10 / H1a / 2800–2809 / Montreal / 1929
CP / 10 / H1b / 2810–2819 / Montreal / 1930 / Canadian Pacific 2816 The Empress is the only surviving example of the class H1b 4-6-4, and is the only operating 4-6-4 Hudson type in North America.
CP / 30 / H1c / 2820–2849 / Montreal / 1937 / (Streamlined) Canadian Pacific 2839 is the only surviving example of the class H1c 4-6-4; It was one of the two Royal Hudsons that made a number of excursion trips through Pennsylvania, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana in the United States.
CP / 10 / H1d / 2850–2859 / Montreal / 1938 / (Streamlined) Canadian Pacific 2850 and 2858 are the only two remaining Class H1d Royal Hudsons. Canadian Pacific 2850 is the oldest class H1d built. The "royal" name was granted to the Canadian Hudson-class locomotives by King George VI after they were used to pull the royal train during the 1939 royal tour of Canada.
CP / 5 / H1e / 2860–2864 / Montreal / 1940 / (Streamlined, oil burner) Canadian Pacific 2860 is the only surviving example of the class H1b 4-6-4, and one of the two operating 4-6-4 Hudson types in North America along with 2816.
CN / 5 / K-5-a / 5700–5704 / Montreal / 1930 / 5702 and 5703 Preserved.
MILW / 14 / F6 / 6400–6413 / Baldwin / 1930 / Renumbered 125–138.
MILW / 8 / F6-a / 6414–6421 / Baldwin / 1931 / Renumbered 142–146, 139–141.
MILW / 6 / F7 / 100–105 / ALCO / 1938 / Streamlined.
MEC / 2 / D / 701–702 / Baldwin / 1930
CB&Q / 12 / S-4 / 3000–3011 / Baldwin / 1930 / 3002 rebuilt as class S-4A 4000 Æolus.
CB&Q / 1 / S-4 / 3012 / CB&Q Burlington / 1935 / New.
CB&Q / 1 / S-4A / 4001 / CB&Q Burlington / 1938 / New, streamlined, named Æolus.
B&O / 1 / V-1 / 5047 / B&O Mt Clare / 1933 / Rebuilt from P-1 class.
B&O / 1 / V-2 / 2 / B&O Mt Clare / 1935 / New; renumbered 5340.
B&O / 1 / V-3 / 5350 / B&O Mt Clare / 1935 / New.
B&O / 1 / V-4 / 5360 / B&O Mt Clare / 1936 New.
DL&W / 5 / 1151 / 1151–1155 / ALCO / 1937
IC / 1 / none / 1 / IC / 1937 / Rebuilt from 2-8-4 No. 7038.
N de M / 10 / NR-1 / 2700–2709 / ALCO / 1937
NH / 10 / I-5 / 1400–1409 / Baldwin / 1937 / Semi-streamlined.
SLSF / 10 / 1060 / 1060–1069 / SLSF / 1937–1941 / Rebuilt from 1060 Class Baldwin 1917 built 4-6-2s.
CNW / 9 / E-4 / 4000–4008 / ALCO / 1938 / Streamlined.
C&O / 8 / L-2 / 300–307 / Baldwin / 1941 / Scrapped, but the C&O class K4 Kanawhas match their same appearances; even so if their 2-8-4 wheel arrangement is different.
C&O / 5 / L-1 / 490–494 / C&O / 1946–1947 / Rebuilt from Class F19 4-6-2; four streamlined.
C&O / 5 / L-2-A / 310–314 / Baldwin / 1948 / Scrapped, but the C&O class K-4 Kanawhas match their same appearances; even so if their wheel arrangement is different.
WAB / 7 / P-1 / 700–706 / WAB Decatur Shops / 1943–1947 / Rebuilt from 2-8-2s.

See Also:

Steam Locomotives

Locomotive Builders