Hal Lewis, who was a student at Purdue University during the last years of Hudson service on the Big Four Cincinnati-Chicago passenger trains, noted that the Hudsons outfitted with PT tenders (as opposed to the 12 wheel tanks) had a heck of a time surmounting the grade out of Lafayette, IN, and the Wabash R valley. He described how a 2400 horsepower Fairbanks Morse Trainmaster on tests, performed the same as the Hudsons, despite the Hudson's posessing greater horsepower. Of course, the Hudsons' horsepower was expressed at a higher speed, and this demonstrated the diesel locomotive's power advantage at lower speeds.
Hal's experiences were written up in an article in "Railfan Magazine" about 20 years ago.
