During the winter of 1936-1937, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co.
conducted in conjunction with the magazine “The Model Craftsman” a
contest among model builders for the construction of a model of the
railroad’s Washington-to-Jersey City lightweight, streamlined train, the
“Royal Blue,” first placed in operation on June 24, 1935.
[Illustration: Figure 76.—Model of B & O Hudson-type locomotive
_Lord Baltimore_, 1935.]
The contest, with a first prize of $500, was won by Fletcher G. Speed of
New Rochelle, N. Y., and his prize-winning train (figure 76) was
presented by the Baltimore and Ohio in 1937 to the National Museum (USNM
311191). The train consists of the Hudson-type, or 4-6-4, steam
locomotive _Lord Baltimore_ and tender, together 2 feet long, plus five
cars. Beautiful in workmanship, and powered with a small electric motor,
the model is built to a scale of ¼ inch to the foot.
The original locomotive _Lord Baltimore_ was designed by the Baltimore
and Ohio, and was constructed at the company’s Mount Clare shops in
Baltimore. The weight of the locomotive and tender in working order was
527,000 pounds, and the tractive force was 38,000 pounds. The driving
wheels were 84 inches in diameter, and the driving wheelbase was 178
inches. The bore and stroke of the cylinders were 20 and 28 inches,
respectively, Walschaert valve gear was used, and a steam pressure of
350 pounds per square inch was employed. The fuel was bituminous coal.
On September 11, 1935, an average speed of 59.28 miles an hour was
obtained between Washington and Jersey City while pulling a dynamometer
car and five other cars. Although designated as _No. 2_ when built in
1935, the locomotive was changed to _No. 5340_ in 1942. As it was not
designed to handle standard weight trains, the locomotive was later
removed from service, and after being in storage for several years was
scrapped on July 19, 1949.