The Dreyfuss...just how many?

I'm hoping that someday someone makes the Dreyfuss version of the 5344, particularly since #5344 has such prestige in the 3-rail O gauge hobby.

And I saw someone ask about 5246 and 5249 in Mercury service, which I believe happened when the front ends were re-painted all black and "The Mercury" was added where "Empire State Express" used to be.

Very informative discussion regarding the various Dreyfus Hudsons and their manufacturers/importers. I just want to add that KTM/Westside also imported a 2-rail Dreyfus Hudson in brass many years ago which was semi-streamlined and operated without sheet metal skirts covering the firebox sides plus a long distance PT-4 tender. The shop personnel quickly got rid of those skirts to facilitate their routine maintenance work. The combination of partial streamlining and long distance tender represented the 'actual' operational configuration of these Dreyfus Hudsons post WWII up to their final demise in the mid 1950's. 

The Dreyfus Hudson's and their NYC cousins were obviously great steam locomotives but unfortunately no match for newer diesel efficiency and ever increasing maintenance costs. And those photos of dirty looking Dreyfus Hudson's looked absolutely horrible!

There were 5 different numbers of the Lionel Smithsonian Hudson.   One number was used on the builders sample and is unique.  The other numbers were 1 2-rail westbound, 1 eastbound 2-rail,  1 westbound 3-rail and 1 eastbound 3-rail. 

There were 500 13 car sets in the Lionel Smithsonian collection; all 2-rail.  250 sets were Westbound and 250 were Eastbound.  Fine Art Models also did an additional 500 13 cars sets under their own name.  In my opinion they are the nicest passenger cars ever built in any scale, maybe only surpassed by the same cars done in 1/32 scale, also by FAM.

According to the person who has all 5 separate locomotive numbers and is putting together 5 13 car sets to go with them, there were 750 locomotives done. 500 3-rail and 250 2-rail.   This person has told me the individual numbers several times when we have spoken but I am not a steam or Hudson fan so that knowledge has not stuck with me.

On a tangent,

FAM also was going to do 500 O Scale sets of the '38 Broadway in Fleet of Modernism but they were never completed.  The sleepers were completed.  They were the same sleepers as were done for the '38 Century but finished in FoM.  The RPO and the Diner, both streamlined heavyweights, were never done.   Mr Kohs states there were also problems with the lounge and observation cars that were done but as I have never seen them I do not know what that might have been.

Richard

Hey, guys I was just looking at this, and I have a few questions...

Was K-Line's Empire State Hudson #5429 "scale" or "semi-scale"?  Can I swap parts between the #5429 and a scale K-Line 5344, such as the boiler, motor, drivers, pilot truck?

Btw... If you're looking for a shot of the ESE pulling a PT Tender, check out the opening sequence of the NYC film, "Within the Oval"...

Thanks,

Mario

Did anybody ever notice that the Iron Giant's head looks like a Dreyfus Hudson?

I just won an MTH 20-3045-1 NYC Dreyfuss Hudson on that famous auction site we dare not speak its name....

I was kinda excited into it by another forum member here talking about the lighted drivers and all.  For $400 I figured it wasn't a bad deal.  I've never been into the "art deco" look (oh crap I used quotations) but the drivers on that model were awesome looking so I took a shot and low-and-behold won!  

Also, the freight train the Iron Giant accidenatlly derailed also had a Dreyfuss inspired locomotive.

Rusty

I have a Lionel Smithsonian 2 rail Dreyfuss. There were a quantity built in order of reservation date for each of five road numbers for the Scullin driver/Timken rod engines, which were 5450-5454. I have 5453.

(Note: When #5450 blew up at Canastota, NY in Sept 1943 on the EB 20TH Century, the running gear including Scullin wheels and Timken rods was applied to a Boxpok equipped Dreyfuss, No. 5447. When 5450 received its new boiler, it was destreamlined and Scullin drivers with standard rods were applied. At a later date, it received Boxpok drivers and ended its service looking like most of the other J-3A Hudsons. Engine 5447 was destreamlined and kept the Scullin drivers and Timken rods from 5450 until it was retired.)

I see that there is a "dead" K-Line ESE Hudson at auction right now, but I know it is semi-scale... Do you think that if I got this for parts, I could take the TMCC/Railsounds and drivers from this engine and transfer them to a K-Line scale hudson to make a sweet drivered J-1e out of a SignalSounds equipped one?

Thanks,

Mario

The K-Line ESE hudson is not full scale. K-Line called it semi-scale. It was not full length.

I just noticed that there are SIX Fine Arts and two Lionel Smithsonian NYC O scale passenger cars on eb*y right now.  They are used.

Jan