A large high-speed locomotive, like the New York Central’s Niagara 4-8-4, will consume a lot of water. By volume, the loco will require many times more water than fuel. At Tivoli, beside the Hudson River, #6009 takes water from a track-pan at 80 MPH. A Hostler fills the tank to capacity from a water-plug, probably at Harmon where passenger trains from Grand Central Terminal switch from electrics to steam or diesel.
The Central’s marketing and advertising many times, included the phrase the “Water Level Route.” Chicago-bound trains followed water-courses and avoided any serious grades. Their posh all-Pullman 20th Century Limited promotional material toted “ride and sleep on the Water Level Route.”
Track pans were spaced about thirty miles apart for the entire route. A closer look at the tender clearly shows the enormous length of the 46-ton coal bunker, and the relatively small water compartment. The Niagara needed refueling only once between the “Big-Apple” and the “Windy-City.”
Credits: Photos by W. A. Akin as seen in Kalmbach’s Steam’s Lost Empire
Submitted by Gary Ostlund