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NYC's 4-8-2 "Mohawk" Steam Locomotives

Published: July 26, 2025

By: Adam Burns

New York Central's 4-8-2s, which the railroad referred to as "Mohawks", played a significant role in the railroad's operations during the first half of the 20th century.

These locomotives were introduced in 1916 to address the need to handle heavier and larger passenger and freight trains across the NYC's network. 

The Mohawks were renowned for their ability to maintain high speeds over long distances, making them ideal for the railroad's prestigious passenger services, including the famous 20th Century Limited.

There were several classes of 4-8-2s, ranging from the L-1's to L-4's (constructed in 1942), each featuring various design improvements during that time. These steam engines became symbols of modernity and power for the railroad, showcasing advanced engineering and craftsmanship.  Today, two examples are preserved.

A Lima Locomotive builder's photo featuring freshly out-shopped New York Central 4-8-2 "Mohawk" #3122 (L-4a), taken on February 3, 1943. Like nearly all of NYC's late-era steam designs they were fine, reliable machines with an abundance of power.

In 1916, New York Central took an interest in upgrading their fast freight capabilities and put the 4-8-2 arrangement to test on its Mohawk Division, acquiring a single example that year from the American Locomotive Company, numbered 2500. Impressed with its capabilities, they opted to rename it "Mohawk" to better reflect the nature of their river level routes.

By the end of the same year, Alco had delivered twenty-nine additional Mohawks, numbered 2500-2529, which the railroad listed as Class L-1a. These locomotives boasted 28 x 28 cylinders, 69 inch drivers, a boiler pressure of 200 psi, Walschaerts valve gear, an expansive firebox grate nearly 67 square feet in size, and a tractive effort of 54,084 pounds.

In the mid-1920s, Alco introduced the concept of a three-cylinder, simple locomotive for enhanced power and efficiency. The NYC experimented with this between 1922 and 1924, modifying two L-1s into three-cylinder models.

Even though the trials showed promise, the railroad opted against expanding this design and instead invested in conventional two-cylinder examples. By 1925, Alco rolled out the first Class L-2a's.

While they shared many attributes with the L-1's, the L-2a's included enhancements like a 75.3 square-foot firebox grate, larger 27 x 30-inch cylinders, a higher boiler pressure of 225 psi, an added weight of 21,000 pounds, Elesco feedwater heaters positioned above the headlights, and booster engines.

These advancements enabled these engines to achieve a tractive effort of 60,620 pounds—or an impressive 73,280 pounds when the booster engine was in play—surpassing the power of its predecessors. New York Central continued to expand their fleet with more L-2's, receiving additional batches (L-2b through L-2d) from Alco in 1929 and 1930.

Between 1925 and 1930 the railroad had acquired a total of 300 additional 4-8-2s, numbered 2700-2999.  The L-2's were originally numbered 2450-2499 and later renumbered 2950-2999 in 1936.

During the 1940s the railroad would acquire an additional 115 engines, bringing their final total to 600.  This began with the first 65 acquired between 1940-1941, dual-service L-3's purchased from Alco and Lima. These were crafted using insights from previous modifications on two L-2's and the proven success of the J-3a Hudson.

The L-3's were bulkier than their predecessors, yet offered a shorter piston stroke, higher boiler pressure, and sported lightweight alloy steel for their moving parts. Timken roller bearings were a significant addition, featured on both the locomotive wheels and moving parts, including most tenders. While they didn't quite match the L-2's in tractive effort, their drawbar horsepower was notably higher.

The achievements with the L-3's prompted NYC to order a fourth and final series of Mohawks—comprising 50 dual-service Class L-4's, all built by Lima.

These were designed for speed and power, boasting 72-inch drivers and 26 x 30-inch cylinders. As the heaviest Mohawks, the L-4a model weighed 396,000 pounds, while the L-4b tipped the scales at 401,000 pounds, in part due to wartime restrictions on lightweight metals that had been used in the L-3s.

Spanning over two decades, NYC would amass the largest fleet of 4-8-2s in the nation. By the time those new L-3s and L-4s rolled out, some older L-1s had already been retired.

Data Sheet

Preservation

Central’s collection represented about a quarter of all the 4-8-2s manufactured for domestic service. They saw action across the mainlines, though exclusively freight Mohawks were seldom sent to the Boston & Albany.

As the steam era neared its end, the remaining Mohawks, along with other big steam engines, were mainly channeled towards Central’s western routes. Today, there are two surviving examples; 2933 at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis and 3001 at the National NYC Railroad Museum in Elkhart, Indiana.