Empire State Express No. 999
Built: 1893
Retired: May 1952
The Empire State Express begain in 1891, becoming the world's first high-speed passenger train. The initial journey from New York City to Buffalo was quickly extended as far west as Chicago, Illinois. No. 999 was a 37-foot-long American-type 4-4-0 steam locomotive, built especially to haul the train. On May 10 1893, it was recorded traveling at 121.5 mph (195.5 km/h) during an exhibition run between Batavia and Buffalo, making No. 999 the fastest-moving manmade invention of its time and the first object on wheels to exceed 100 mph (160 km/h). When new engine designes made no. 999 obsolete, it was relegated to yard switching service in western New York shuttling express service milk cars. The New York Central donated the locomotive to the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry in 1962, where it has been preserved and placed on static display.