#4-6-4

What are they doing?

They're express engines. They're discussing the state of the railway (gossiping)

but fun thing, there are only 4 A4s here

far right isn't an A4, it's Hush Hush

yep, the LNER's rebuilt white elephant. By all acounts I've found, post rebuild she was just a non-standard A4. Although it is worth noting Gresley was considing rebuild the A4s with the boiler fit to no.10000, so he was impressed with that at part of the rebuild at least.

heading left, we have Golden Eagle

Empire of India (my beloved)

Golden Shuttle, who was later renamed Dwight D. Eisenhower and Preserved

and Dominion of New Zealand

With the United States coming out of the Great Depression, the railroads were in need of something to make passenger rail travel popular again. In response to the Diesel-Powered Pioneer Zephyr of the Burlington Route that came a few months prior, Carl F. Kantola designed an Art Deco streamlined shroud for New York Central 5344, the last of the J-1E Hudsons built for that railroad. Debuting on December 27th 1934, the locomotive was displayed at Grand Central Terminal marking a new era of locomotive design and earning it's name "Commodore Vanderbilt".

Hailed as the world's first streamlined steam locomotive, the Commodore Vanderbilt would go on a tour to major cities of the New York Central before being put to use on the 20th Century Limited. The streamlining of the locomotive would be followed up by similar designs on several other North American railroads. In fact, L-2A Mohawk No. 2873 would be equipped with a similar streamlining for the Million-Dollar Rexall Streamlined Train in 1936.

With the advent of J3A Hudsons No. 5445-5454, No. 5344 would lose it's shroud in favor of the Henry Dreyfuss streamlining that was used for the last ten J3As and was reassigned to the Mercury in 1939. But as streamlining would only increase the maintenance, the 5344 would become a regular Hudson again but would eventually gain a centipede tender. No. 5344 would continue to serve the New York Central until it was eventually retired and scrapped alongside all the other Hudsons in the late 1950s.

Although the locomotive was lost to history, its legacy carries on with model railroading, various forms of media, and a tender from No. 5313 that was converted into a steam generator car and can be seen on static display Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton, Pennsylvania. In addition, a few steam locomotives from the NYC have made it into preservation such as L-3A Mohawk No. 3001, which The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society plans to restore to oprating condition once enough funds are raised.

in general or specifically the NYC ones? In general they're a good wheel arrangement. I personally prefer pacifics, but 4-6-4s are nice

On the NYC ones, how was one not saved? They're possibly the most iconic American Locomotive (and I saw that as a PRR fan)