MTH ELECTRIC TRAINS

As public interest in aerodynamics increased in the 1930s, the railroads faced pressure to be--or at least look--faster and more modern. Their answer was the streamliner, a smooth cover for the utilitarian and bulky steam engine. Henry Dreyfuss's 1938 design for the New York Central's Hudson was one of the twentieth century's most successful efforts at streamlining a steam engine. Rather than replicating the shroud-like drapes previous designers had used to cover, and try to disguise, the steam engines, Dreyfuss chose to work with the lines of the engine itself. He left most of the lower running gear exposed to make routine maintenance easier to perform, and he kept the shape of the cover close to the engine's body. It was his elegant, sleek touches--the spherical front, covered domes, and extended tender--that gave this handsome streamliner its distinctively modern look and made it the symbol of the NYC, used in emblems and advertising for years to come Did You Know? Ten J-3 Hudsons, numbered 5445-5454 were given the distinctive Dreyfuss shrouding.