New York Central’s New England States, 1949-1960s

Fred Klein, 2015

The New England States was New York Central’s superior train from Boston to Chicago on the water level route via Albany, Buffalo and Toledo. The NES started in 1938 as the Pullman train that carried Boston sleepers to Chicago as a sister to the 1938 Twentieth Century Limited that travelled New York to Chicago. It was re-launched as a streamliner after the war in 1949 mostly with new Budd and some Pullman Standard stainless steel cars. The new streamliner carried both coaches and sleepers. After the war in 1948, Pullman Standard was forced to give up its monopoly on sleeper service, and Budd built (but did not staff) the streamlined sleepers as well as most cars in the NES. Thus the cars carried the “New York Central” owners name in the letterboard instead of Pullman. Lettering was black on stainless steel, but in the 1960s the letterboards were painted dark grey with white New York Central lettering. Just like the western streamliners California Zephyr and Super Chief, plain all-stainless steel Budd cars was the “color” of choice for the conservative New York Central.

 

The observation car was withdrawn in 1956 to save money. A slumbercoach was added in 1959 for economy passengers. The New England States was consolidated with other NYC passenger trains in the 1960s and it lost its identity.

 

The New England States at South Spencer Massachusetts on June 8, 1949. Power in the photo was three F3 units geared for passenger service. NYC publicity photo from Doughty’s New York Central passenger cars, trains and travel.

 

The Budd observation car Babbling Brook in a publicity photo before the 1949 launch of the New England States. NYC photo from NYCSHS collection.

 

The New England States in March 1950 In Englewood near Chicago. Pennsylvania Railroad tracks are to the right. NYC photo.

 

Newtonville Massachusetts sees the westbound New England States in May 1961.

 

The New England States in Newtonville Massachusetts in August 1966 powered by two E8s and an E7. By this time, the lightning stripe paint scheme had been repainted in the simpler cigar band scheme on these diesels.

 

 

The consist is from Wayner’s Passenger train consists, 1923-1973, for a train at South Bend Indiana on August 12, 1949. The train did not have a fixed consist and the types and number of sleepers varied. The 10-roomette 6-bedroom sleepers were the most common Budd sleeper type in the 1950s. Most of the cars are not made exactly in N scale and numerous substitutions have to be made. The Budd cars as modeled by Concor are not exact matches to the prototypes ordered by the New York Central for the New England States, but the 10-6 car made by Kato is a closer match to the NES prototype. Some of these passenger cars are factory decorated and some are decaled. The original prototype consist did not have a baggage car, but I added one because they are common in photographs.

 

 

 

 

Power section

 

The power here is a trio of lightning stripe E7s as used on the prototype train consist. These diesels are Life Like models. The baggage car was not in the original Wayner consist, but was common in NES trains in the late 1950s and 60s as seen in photos. Baggage cars were originally painted in two-tone grey, but solid grey was used for repaints starting in the later 1950s. The baggage car is a factory painted Centralia-Intermountain model.

 

Coach section

 

The first passenger car had a baggage compartment with a dormitory section for the crew. I do not have a model of the prototype Budd car, but use a model of a 1947 Pullman Standard baggage dorm instead. Next was a group of four Budd coaches with a grill dining car for budget meals aimed at coach passengers in the center of the coach section. The coach models are of 1948 California Zephyr Budd prototype similar to but not identical in window detail to the 1949 NES Budd prototype. The NES Budd grill-dining car is represented by a Concor model of a 1948 Budd diner.

 

More coaches and a dining car

 

After two other coach cars, the NES had a dining car between the coach and first class sleeper sections. The diner model is from Kato. The prototype 10-6 sleepers were made by Budd in the Valley series, but the cars here are improperly named in the River series until I can get the correct decals. The River cars were similar 10-6 sleepers made by Pullman Standard and delivered at the same time, but primarily used on other streamlined NYC trains.

 

Sleeper section

 

As an overnight train, the New England States had more sleepers than coaches. After the war, the public did not want to stay in curtained Pullman sections, and the 10-roomette 6-bedroom car was the most common streamlined sleeper. Five of the 10-6’s are Concor models of the 1948 California Zephyr car, which has 6+6 large windows on both sides. The 10-6 cars used on the 1949 NES had 6+6 windows on one side and 6+3 on the other corridor side of the car, like the two Kato models pictured here. A buffet-lounge-6 double bedroom car was in the middle of the sleeper section. I substitute a Concor model of a Budd parlor car for the lounge car

 

Sleeper and observation section

 

Three more 10-6 sleepers followed. The prototype observation car had a lounge and 5 bedrooms, but the Concor model has a tavern-lounge, though both have similar round ends. Each train has a unique tail sign but the Concor model has a red New York Central oval herald like the nose of the train. The train withdrew the observation car in 1956 due to declining revenues.

 

In 1959, NYC added economy sleepercoaches (other railroads called them slumbercoaches) with 16 duplex roomettes and 10 bedrooms. Some of the sleepercoaches were made from rebuilt 22 roomette Harbor series cars and some were factory built as slumbercoaches. This is a Concor model.

 

 

 

REFERENCES

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_England_States

 

Abbey, Wallace, New York Central’s New England States, article in TRAINS magazine, September 1951, reprinted in Geoffrey Doughty’s New York Central passenger cars, trains and travel, TLC Publishing, 1997.

Doughty, Geoffrey, New York Central passenger cars, trains and travel, TLC Publishing, 1997.

Swteeland, Wallace, New York Central color pictorial, volume 1, Chicago to Boston, Four Ways West, 2000.

 

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