New Haven Steam Roster (Post 1900)

Published: October 10, 2026

The New Haven's modern steam was a low, light fleet built for a Shore Line that was almost level and for bridges that set the weight. Between 1900 and 1910 the road bought 226 Moguls. The freight engines that followed were 18 Consolidations inherited with the Central New England, then 33 Mikados, 50 Santa Fes, and 70 Mountains. Passenger power closed with ten Baldwin 4-6-4s in 1937. The official last steam run was an excursion in April 1952. Mikado 3016 drew a fan trip on July 19, 1953.

New Haven 4-8-2 3557 at Southhampton Street in Boston in 1948

New Haven 4-8-2 #3557 (R-3) is seen here between assignments at Southampton Street in Boston on March 6, 1948. Lawson Hill photo. These Mountains were built by Alco in 1927 and carried an interesting three-cylinder design while the Elesco feedwater heater on the smokebox gave them a fordmidable appearance.

The class grid below is the post-1900 roster in George H. Drury's Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, pages 250 through 254, headed "New York, New Haven & Hartford steam locomotives built since 1900." The company history is the New York, New Haven & Hartford. Diesels, serials and order numbers included, are the diesel roster.

On this page: At a glance · Moguls to Santa Fes · Mountains · From Americans to Hudsons · Switchers · Union Freight and the Climaxes · Roster built since 1900

At a glance

Item	Detail
Railroad	New York, New Haven & Hartford. Mark NH. Company page: New Haven
This roster	903 locomotives in the post-1900 class grid. Union Freight and the Central New England Climaxes sit in their own tables
Freight, 1900–1910	226 Moguls, classes K-1-b, K-1-c, and K-6
Later freight	18 Consolidations, 33 Mikados, 50 Santa Fes, 70 Mountains
Passenger	75 Americans, 12 Atlantics, 72 Ten-Wheelers, 141 Pacifics, 10 Hudsons
Switchers	142 six-wheel switchers and 54 eight-wheel switchers
Newest steam	I-5 4-6-4s 1400–1409, Baldwin, 1937
Last trips	Excursion, April 1952, Pacifics 1372 and 1388. Fan trip, July 19, 1953, Mikado 3016

Class, numbers, quantity, builder, and dates follow Drury's revised-edition grid, pages 250–254. Information compiled October 9, 2026.

Moguls, then a low Mikado

The Shore Line was nearly gradeless. Drury's exception is about five miles of 0.7 percent against southbound trains through Sharon, Massachusetts. The early freight engine for that railroad was the Mogul. Two hundred twenty-six of them arrived between 1900 and 1910: K-1-b 260–299 and 325–479, K-1-c 300–324, and six K-6s that had been Central New England 125–130. The Central New England stayed a separate operation under New Haven control until the merger of January 1, 1927. Its own Consolidations came with it, three Rogers F-3s and fifteen Schenectady F-5s.

The light Mikado was class J-1, numbers 3000–3024, Schenectady, 1916, with 63-inch drivers. They were a little smaller than a United States Railroad Administration light Mikado, and the profile was kept low for the Dorchester Branch between Readville and Boston. Eight more 2-8-2s, class J-2, numbers 3100–3107, came from Schenectady the same year on the same size of driver. Drury's note on that row reads that Nos. 3105–3107 are ex-Central New England 180–182. In the late 1920s nearly the whole Mikado group received Elesco feedwater heaters and thermic syphons, and a few received Boxpok drivers. By the Second World War five of the class were being cannibalized. Five hulks were later put back together. Mikados 3006, 3016, and 3020 stayed on as snow melters until 1956 and were scrapped in the spring of 1958. No. 3016 appeared in It Happened to Jane.

The Santa Fe type was class L-1, fifty engines, 3200–3249, Schenectady, 1918. Counterbalancing held them to 25 miles an hour. Most of them moved to the Maybrook line, the freight road to the Poughkeepsie Bridge.

Seventy Mountains, the last of them three-cylinder

The United States Railroad Administration's first ten light 4-8-2s were New Haven class R-1, numbers 3300–3309, Richmond, 1919. Thirty-nine copies followed: R-1-a 3310–3339, Schenectady, 1920, and R-1-b 3340–3348, Schenectady, 1924.

Schenectady then built an experimental single, R-2 No. 3500, in 1924. Drury gives it 360,000 pounds, 16,000 more than the R-1-b, 230 pounds of pressure, and 63,390 pounds of tractive effort, with a McClellon watertube firebox. Seven two-cylinder R-2-a engines, 3501–3507, followed in 1926, about 3,000 pounds heavier, at 265 pounds, with duPont-Simplex stokers that gave trouble and were replaced by HT-2 stokers in the 1930s. Southern valve gear on that group later became Baker or Walschaerts.

The three-cylinder Mountains are a different row. Three R-3s, 3550–3552, came in 1926, three 22-by-30-inch cylinders at 265 pounds, where the earlier Mountains had used 27-by-30. Ten R-3-a engines, 3553–3562, followed in 1928, with one-piece cast-steel smokeboxes associated with W. L. Bean. The next year all 21 McClellon-boilered engines, the single R-2, the seven R-2-as, the three R-3s, and the ten R-3-as, went back to Schenectady for conventional boilers. The middle cylinder stayed a maintenance problem. The engines worked through the war as three-cylinder machines. The last new steam freight was the R-3-a group. Drury illustrates No. 3558. They pushed until 1950, and afterward one of them helped at Hopewell Junction.

From Americans to the I-5

Passenger power at the turn of the century was still the American. Drury's post-1900 rows are A-1 1250–1284, built in 1896 and 1903, C-3-c 1525–1549 from Rhode Island in 1903, the last 4-4-0s the road purchased, and C-15 1500–1514, built in the railroad's own shops in 1901–1904. Many of the A-1s were rebuilt in the 1920s. A-1 No. 1275 outlasted the rest in wire-train service.

Twelve Atlantics, 1100–1111, came from Schenectady in 1907, class F-1 and later H-1, the letter changed in 1928 so it would clear the Central New England's 2-8-0s. They had 79-inch drivers. The Pacifics that followed had 73. They were built for the extra-fare New York–Boston trains. Steel cars soon moved them to lighter trains. Superheat and piston valves came in 1912–1922. After 1935 one or two of them protected the Comet with a pair of lightweight coaches. Drury's retired cell for the class reads 1900–1947, beside a built date of 1907. The cell is printed as the book prints it.

Branch freight Ten-Wheelers were the G-3s, 950–969, Rhode Island, 1903–1904. The passenger Ten-Wheelers were Baldwin, 1904–1907: fifty G-4-a engines, 800–849, and two G-4-b engines, 858 and 859, the pair Drury marks as balanced compounds. They were converted to two-cylinder simple engines, superheated, and given outside valve gear between 1912 and 1924, and later received new frames.

The Pacifics came in five classes. I-1s, 1000–1031, were relatively light, 229,500 to 232,000 pounds: Schenectady 1000–1008 in 1907, Baldwin 1009–1029 later that year, and Schenectady 1030 and 1031 in 1910. Superheat in 1912–1923 enlarged the cylinders an inch, to 23 by 28. They stayed clear of feedwater heaters and mechanical stokers. I-2s, 1300–1349, Brooks, 1913, had 73-inch drivers, 24-by-28-inch cylinders, superheat, and 251,500 pounds. I-3s, 1090–1095, Baldwin, 1913, used the same cylinders on 79-inch drivers and were the engines meant to take the Atlantics' job. Both the I-2s and the I-3s left fast mainline passenger service when the I-4s arrived in 1916.

The I-4s, 1350–1399, Schenectady, 1916, were the top passenger engines for twenty years: 79-inch drivers, 26-by-28-inch cylinders, and a relatively light 266,000 pounds because of the Thames River bridge at New London. Large boilers with combustion chambers made them good steamers. A new bridge at New London in 1918 let the road strengthen the frames and drivers. Between 1922 and 1930 the class received Elesco feedwater heaters. Air reservoirs atop the boiler replaced the original equipment between the frames, and some of the stubby tenders gave way to 12-wheel tenders. By the mid-1930s the engines were wearing out under longer trains. In 1936 the road tested four I-4s toward a specification for new power, and two of those engines failed the tests.

What Baldwin delivered was a 4-6-4, class I-5, numbers 1400–1409, in 1937. Drury's figures are 80-inch drivers, 22-by-30-inch cylinders, 285 pounds, and 365,300 pounds, painted black and silver, with the shrouding kept to the end. Eight engines covered twelve trips each way every day between Boston and New Haven, 157 miles. Two were spares, and the spares worked. The class retired in 1951. The official last steam run, the April 1952 excursion, was behind I-4 Pacifics 1372 and 1388.

Three earlier Pacifics, class P-1, numbers 50–52, were Schenectady engines of 1909 from the Central New England, still carrying those numbers. Drury gives them a built year and the Central New England origin, and leaves the retirement year off the grid.

Switchers, including three cylinders

The century opened with cross-compound 0-6-0s. Drury's T-1 row is twenty engines, 2300–2319, Rhode Island and Schenectady, 1900 and 1902. Ten more from Rhode Island were later simple engines, reclassed as the work went on from 1907 to 1917. The T-2s are the next fleet: nineteen T-2-a engines, 2325–2343, Rhode Island, 1904, whose main rods drove the second axle, and ninety-seven T-2-b engines, 2373–2469, from Cooke, Rhode Island, and Richmond, 1906–1913. Six T-3s, 2350–2355, were Schenectady's, 1904–1910. All of these six-wheel switchers were saturated, with slide valves and Stephenson gear.

The 0-8-0s begin with three Y-2s, numbers 10–12, Schenectady, 1913, former Central New England engines. Thirty-five copies of the USRA 0-8-0 followed in 1920–1923, the Y-3s: fifteen numbered 3400–3414, lettered New Haven, and twenty numbered 3415–3434 that had been lettered Central New England and later joined the New Haven roster. They were somewhat lighter than the USRA copies, saturated, with piston valves and Walschaerts gear.

The road's first three-cylinder engines were 0-8-0s. Ten Y-4s, 3600–3609, Schenectady, 1924, had 57-inch drivers and 22-by-28-inch cylinders, all of which drove on the third axle, at 247,000 pounds, about 15 tons over the USRA copies. Drury's note reads "Ex-CNE 28-32, 13-27." Six more, Y-4-a 3610–3615, arrived in 1927 for the Central New England, lighter, saturated, piston-valved, with arch-window cabs, built for Maybrook. After they became New Haven engines they moved to Boston. They worked well in low-speed switching. The large 12-wheel tenders on the three-cylinder switchers were soon swapped with 4-8-2s. Drury's likely reason is delivery: a tender is easier to move with a coupler at each end than a road engine is.

Union Freight and the Climaxes

Two oddities sit in the chapter and outside the road-number grid. In 1897 the New England, successor to the New York & New England, sent a wood passenger car to Schenectady, where a vertical-boiler 0-4-0 with 42-inch drivers was fitted into one end. It worked until 1904, was stored, and was sold in 1907. In 1936 the Besler Systems put a two-car steam lightweight on the Bridgeport–Waterbury–Hartford run. The power unit, a vertical flash boiler and a four-cylinder truck, rode in one end of each car. The train came off in 1943, and the cars went back to ordinary passenger equipment.

The Union Freight Railroad, a New Haven subsidiary, ran freight along the streets of Boston between South Station and North Station, the link with the Boston & Maine, and served the industries on that line. Four box-cab Climax geared locomotives, built 1923–1928, held the job until 1946, when GE 44-ton diesels took it. Drury prints the two earlier Union Freight 0-4-0Ts, and the four Climaxes under a Central New England heading, as their own rows. Those six locomotives are below the main table.

Roster built since 1900

Type	Class	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Retired	Notes
0-6-0	T-1	2300–2319	20	Rhode Island, Schenectady	1900 and 1902	1935–1946	Cross-compound
0-6-0	T-2-a	2325–2343	19	Rhode Island	1904	1935–1946
0-6-0	T-2-b	2373–2469	97	Cooke, Rhode Island, Richmond	1906–1913	1935–1950
0-6-0	T-3	2350–2355	6	Schenectady	1904–1910	1935
0-8-0	Y-2	10–12	3	Schenectady	1913	1948	Ex-CNE 10–12
0-8-0	Y-3	3400–3414	15	Schenectady	1920 and 1923	1949–1952
0-8-0	Y-3	3415–3434	20	Schenectady	1922	1949–1952
0-8-0	Y-4	3600–3609	10	Schenectady	1924	1949–1952	Ex-CNE 28–32, 13–27
0-8-0	Y-4-a	3610–3615	6	Schenectady	1927	1950–1951	Three cylinders
2-6-0	K-1-b	260–299	40	Baldwin, Cooke	1907	1927–1951
2-6-0	K-1-b	325–479	155	Baldwin, Schenectady, Rhode Island	1900–1905	1927–1951
2-6-0	K-1-c	300–324	25	Rhode Island	1902	1927–1949
2-6-0	K-6	550–555	6	Brooks	1910	1935	Ex-CNE 125–130
2-8-0	F-3	110, 117, 118	3	Rogers	1905 and 1907	1928	Ex-CNE 110, 117, 118
2-8-0	F-5	150–164	15	Schenectady	1912	1946–1950	Ex-CNE 150–164
2-8-2	J-1	3000–3024	25	Schenectady	1916	1947–1956	3006, 3016, and 3020 were the snow melters. 3016 drew the July 19, 1953 fan trip
2-8-2	J-2	3100–3107	8	Schenectady	1916	1946	Nos. 3105–3107 are ex-CNE 180–182
2-10-2	L-1	3200–3249	50	Schenectady	1918	1946–1950
4-4-0	A-1	1250–1284	35	Rhode Island, Schenectady	1896 and 1903	1935–1949	1275 outlasted the class on the wire train
4-4-0	C-3-c	1525–1549	25	Rhode Island	1903	1925–1935
4-4-0	C-15	1500–1514	15	NYNH&H shops	1901–1904	1925–1935
4-4-2	F-1 (H-1)	1100–1111	12	Schenectady	1907	1900–1947	Reclassed H-1 in 1928. The retired cell is Drury's
4-6-0	G-3	950–969	20	Rhode Island	1903–1904	1926–1944
4-6-0	G-4-a	800–849	50	Baldwin	1904–1907	1935–1948
4-6-0	G-4-b	858–859	2	Baldwin	1904	1935	Balanced compound
4-6-2	P-1	50–52	3	Schenectady	1909	—	Ex-CNE 50–52
4-6-2	I-1	1000–1031	32	Schenectady and Baldwin	1907 and 1910	1944–1951
4-6-2	I-2	1300–1349	50	Brooks	1913	1948–1952
4-6-2	I-3	1090–1095	6	Baldwin	1913	1947–1948
4-6-2	I-4	1350–1399	50	Schenectady	1916	1939–1952	1372 and 1388 drew the April 1952 excursion
4-6-4	I-5	1400–1409	10	Baldwin	1937	1951	80-inch drivers. Shrouding retained
4-8-2	R-1	3300–3309	10	Richmond	1919	1946 and 1948	USRA
4-8-2	R-1-a	3310–3339	30	Schenectady	1920	1947–1951	USRA copies
4-8-2	R-1-b	3340–3348	9	Schenectady	1924	1947–1951	USRA copies
4-8-2	R-2	3500	1	Schenectady	1924	1949	McClellon watertube firebox
4-8-2	R-2-a	3501–3507	7	Schenectady	1926	1949 and 1951
4-8-2	R-3	3550–3552	3	Schenectady	1926	1949	Three cylinders
4-8-2	R-3-a	3553–3562	10	Schenectady	1928	1949–1951	Three cylinders. 3558 is the engine Drury illustrates

The quantity column sums to 903. Six-wheel switchers are 142. Eight-wheel switchers are 54. Moguls are 226. Consolidations are 18. Mikados are 33. Santa Fes are 50. Americans are 75. Atlantics are 12. Ten-Wheelers are 72. Pacifics are 141. Hudsons are 10. Mountains are 70.

Union Freight Railroad

Type	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Notes
0-4-0T	5	1	Rhode Island	1907	Boston street freight, South Station to North Station
0-4-0T	6	1	Cooke	1914

Central New England Climaxes

Type	Numbers	Qty	Builder	Built	Notes
Climax	8–11	4	Climax	1923–1928	Box-cab geared locomotives on the Union Freight until 1946

Those six locomotives are outside the 903. CNE Central New England. USRA United States Railroad Administration.

Sources

George H. Drury, Guide to North American Steam Locomotives, revised edition, "New York, New Haven & Hartford," pp. 250–254. The class grid, the 226 Moguls, the 18 Consolidations, the 33 Mikados and the Dorchester Branch clearance, the 50 Santa Fes and the 25-mile-an-hour counterbalancing, the USRA R-1s and the 39 copies, R-2 No. 3500 at 360,000 pounds and 63,390 pounds tractive effort, the McClellon boilers sent back to Schenectady, the three-cylinder R-3 and R-3-a, the I-4 weight of 266,000 pounds and the 1918 New London bridge, the Elesco heaters and 12-wheel tenders, the 1936 I-4 tests, the I-5 dimensions and the 157-mile Boston–New Haven diagram, the April 1952 excursion behind 1372 and 1388, the July 19, 1953 trip with 3016, the snow melters scrapped in the spring of 1958, the T-class and Y-class switchers, the 1897 railcar, the Besler train withdrawn in 1943, and the Union Freight Climaxes
Drury's own further reading on p. 254: New Haven Railroad Historical & Technical Association, nhrhta.org; J. W. Swanberg, New Haven Power (Alvin F. Staufer, 1988); Railroad magazine, January 1939, p. 95, and February 1939, p. 113; Trains, February 1950, p. 26
The Comet that the Atlantics protected is the Goodyear-Zeppelin trainset of 1935. This roster uses Drury's sentence about that protection and leaves the trainset's own dates on that page

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