History
In short order, the train would gain worldwide celebrity, and its route would later stretch to 620 miles (998 kilometers), with Cleveland, Ohio as its western terminus. In addition to its other notable accomplishments, the Empire State was the first passenger train to maintain a regular schedule speed of over 52 mph (84 km/h), and the first to make runs of 142.88 miles (230 km) between stops (between New York City and Albany: the longest scheduled nonstop run ever attempted).
On December 7, 1941, the New York Central inaugurated a new, all-stainless-steel streamlined (Budd) train, powered by a streamlined J-3a Hudson (4-6-4) steam locomotive. Passengers on the inaugural run, who had expected significant crowds to greet them en route, were very surprised at the low turnout at trackside, before they learned later that same day that Pearl Harbor had just been bombed by the Japanese. As were many similar long haul express passenger trains through the mid 1960s, the "Empire State Express" carried a 60-foot stainless steel East Division (E.D.) Railway Post Office (R.P.O.) car operated by the Railway Mail Service (RMS) of the United States Post Office Department which was staffed by USPOD clerks as a "fast mail" on each of its daily runs. The mails received by, postmarked, processed, sorted, and dispatched from the "Empire State's" RPOs were either canceled or backstamped (as appropriate) during the trip by hand applied circular date stamps (CDS) reading "N.Y. & CHICAGO R.P.O." and the train's number: "TR 50" (eastbound) or "TR 51" (westbound).
Read more about this topic: Empire State Express
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