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No. 5344 |
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| It’s a roster number worn by a thousand different locomotives of all types on railroads over North America, and yet we all know which one I mean. Number 5344, New York Central’s last J1e Hudson, was the “Most Famous of The Most Famous,” wearing two different shroud versions, the name “Commodore Vanderbilt,” and the pride of a railroad which helped to design and perfect her. I knew about No. 5344, of course, but with so many locomotives to study and appreciate, she was just another modern steam locomotive. Then three things happened. First, Broadway Limited Import’s HO scale 5344 came to live with me. I don’t own a lot of steam models and tend to lean toward massive articulated machines, but this high-wheeled beauty began to grow on me. Then DCC came into my life and gave the BLI Hudson even greater value. Not only does she have a decoder built right in, she also has sound. Under DC, it all works, but not as slick as it does under DCC. Wow! I can blow the whistle, trigger various sounds when I want them, and I set the momentum so that she starts up very slowly, the way passenger steam locomotives did. Then came another No. 5344, and you’ll find her in an MRN super-review this month. This one is three times as big in every direction, 15 times heavier, and a good deal more expensive, but she also has a sound system and a puffing smoke generator. She is simply the most deluxe, most accurate, most complete production model I’ve seen this side of brass — and there’s more than a few brass units which cannot compete with her. My history with the Hudson locomotive goes back a bit to when I was around nine. My dad and I went into nearby Chicago and dropped by the yards where Central’s locomotives were serviced. There I saw this tall, handsome machine, fresh from the washrack and awaiting her crew. It was a Hudson, though I don’t suppose it was actually 5344. Still, it was one of a number of influences which led me into model railroading a year later. As happened with some of us who adopted this hobby, I took more than a few uncharitable cracks about “playing with toy trains.” When I was 12, I had polio and was shut in for most of a year. Books and my model railroading helped me through this time of lonely confinement. I found the worth of this hobby in those tough times, and I still find happiness and quiet enjoyment here. All of which brings me back to this pair of No. 5344 Hudsons. I used to think that I bought models because the prototypes spurred my interest. While that has been true, the reverse is equally possible. In this case, the presence of these two grand ladies has sparked a personal quest to learn more about the Hudson and the New York Central of that time period. I didn’t recall the number of that Hudson, but could it have been 5344, deshrouded in her postwar glory? Only the guys who know about the operations of the Central would know if she ever came to Chicago during 1951. I have heard questions from people asking if any plastic HO locomotive could be worth over $200 or any production locomotive this side of the Grand Scales could be worth over $2,000. Ah, but I know what they are really asking: “How come a man your age is still playing with toy trains?” To that, I can only offer the words of Julius Caesar. De gustibus non es disputandum. Freely translated, this means, “You can’t argue about what people like.” Me? I like trains, and I think each 5344 is worth every penny of its price. I wonder if Julius played with toy chariots? |
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John Sipple, Editor |
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| To respond to this month's Editorial, send comments to: Editorial@modelrailroadnews.com | |
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