2023 O Scale Premier Dreyfuss and Empire State Hudson Locomotives Announced

July 25, 2023 - M.T.H. Electric Trains will be releasing the 2023 Premier O Scale New York Central Dreyfuss and Empire State Express 4-6-4 Hudson Steam Locomotives in seven different livery schemes this Winter. Each of these offerings are limited in production and expected to begin shipping to M.T.H. Authorized Retailers in March 2024.

Check out each of the offerings in the list on the left.

CUSTOM RUN 4-6-4 DREYFUSS & EMPIRE OFFERINGS

In addition to the M.T.H. releases, you can find all the 2023 Custom Run models of the Premier O Scale 4-6-4 Dreyfuss Steam Locomotive offerings that M.T.H. is producing for M.T.H. Authorized Retailers by going HERE. and all the Premier O Scale 4-6-4 Empire State Steam Locomotive offerings HERE

PROTOTYPE HISTORY

Before it was eclipsed by the Twentieth Century Limited, the Empire State Express was the New York Central's flagship passenger run. In 1893, it was the Empire State Express, led by a hot-rod 4-4-0 with outlandishly large drivers, that became the first man-made vehicle to exceed 100 mph and made the New York Central famous around the world. Beyond the record-setting run, the Empire State Express gained recognition as a pioneer in high-speed rail service on its New York-Buffalo-Cleveland route. Scientific American noted in 1898 that the Empire State Express "opened the present remarkable era of fast, long distance express trains. [It] will always figure conspicuously in the annals of the world's railroads as being the first to maintain a regular schedule speed of over 52 miles an hour for an unprecedented distance and for runs of unprecedented length between stops."

But by the Roaring Twenties, most high-class rail travel was by Pullman, and coach trains on daytime runs, like the Empire State Express, were often seen as a less desirable way to travel. High-quality coach travel made a comeback during the Depression, however, as railroads sought to attract customers by offering less-expensive fares combined with upgraded amenities. So it was that on December 7, 1941, with much fanfare, the New York Central launched a newly equipped Empire State Express with two Henry-Dreyfus-styled Hudsons and gleaming, streamlined Budd-built train sets. Passengers on the inaugural run were surprised at the scarcity of trackside observers - until they heard about the event halfway around the world that had overshadowed all other news that December Sunday.

The 1938 edition of the Twentieth Century Limited is often regarded as the high water mark of the American passenger train. Thirty-six years to the day after passengers strode down a red plush carpet to the first run of the Century - inspiring the phrase "red carpet treatment" - the new incarnation of America's most famous train pulled out of Grand Central Station behind a homely boxcab electric. Thirty-three miles later, at Harmon, New York, the train was turned over to a streamlined Hudson with a prow reminiscent of a Roman gladiator's helmet, and the effect was complete. From engine to observation car, in every detail down to the dining car china and matchbook covers, the train had been styled by Henry Dreyfus, a giant in the then-new profession of industrial design. The design was so handsome and striking that it became a symbol of the New York Central railroad and, later, of the entire Art Deco era. Decades later, Time magazine selected the locomotive as its single symbol of the twentieth century.

Advertised as "the first all-room train in America, 16 hours between New York and Chicago," the 1938 Century was the last word in luxury travel. Every afternoon the famous red carpet was unfurled in Grand Central Station, welcoming passengers aboard. Taking aim at Pennsy's rival Broadway Limited, which had to cross the Allegheny Mountains to make the same trip, the New York Central promoted itself as "The Water Level Route… You Can Sleep."

Leading the train was one of the best examples of streamlining ever applied to a locomotive. Unlike Raymond Loewy's design for the Broadway Limited's Pacifics, which largely hid the engine under a streamlined shroud, Dreyfuss' styling clung tightly to the locomotive, glorifying rather than hiding its shape and boldly displaying the wheel and rod motion that make a steam engine so exciting. No wonder the Dreyfus Hudson has been a favorite image of graphic artists ever since.

M.T.H. returns the most fun-to-operate O scale model of both of these landmark locomotives ever made. Our Dreyfus Hudson is offered in several prototypical versions with either the original 1938 paint scheme with blue edging on the stripes, or the cleaner, more simplified 1940 scheme. Play the departure announcements for the Twentieth Century Limited and begin your trip so smoothly that your passengers won't realize they're moving. Listen to the chuff sounds and synchronized puffs of smoke accelerate as your train picks up speed. If you're operating with the M.T.H. DCS system, you can even make your own signature sounds with the quillable whistle feature. In model railroading, it doesn't get any better than this.

The 1941 ESE was a train with one foot in the past and the other in the future. Its reserved-seat, stainless steel Budd coaches and parlor cars presaged the postwar streamliners, America's last hurrah of luxury passenger travel. But its two specially styled Hudsons, Nos. 5426 and 5429, were clearly a bridge - albeit a beautiful one - between a dying technology and cars that belonged behind a diesel. Designer Henry Dreyfus blended the stainless fluting of Budd's streamliners with his design for the 1938 Twentieth Century Hudsons, arguably among the best-looking streamlined steamers ever built. After the war, however, more powerful Niagaras bumped the ESE Hudsons to lesser trains, and by 1949 their streamlining had been removed.

Check out each of the offerings in the list on the left.