The Hudson came into being because the existing 4-6-2 Pacific power was not able to keep up with the demands of longer, heavier trains and higher speeds.

Lima Locomotive Works' conception of superpower steam as realized in the 2-8-4 Berkshire type was the predecessor to the Hudson.

5344 (the last J-1e) was fitted with an Art Deco streamlined shroud designed by Carl F. Kantola and was named Commodore Vanderbilt on December 27, 1934.

They were poor performers at low speed and the presence of a booster engine on the trailing truck was an absolute necessity for starting.

The Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway also had 16, while the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad had 10 (#1400-1409) streamlined I-5 4-6-4s built by Baldwin in 1937 (nicknamed "Shoreliners").

5450 suffered a boiler explosion in Canastota, New York, killing three enginemen and putting it out of service until the end of World War II due to a steel shortage.

In 1944, NYC received permission from the War Production Board to build a new, high-speed locomotive of the 4-8-4 type, combining all the advantages of the Hudson with those of the Mohawk.

This was caused by the direct order of then-NYC president Alfred E. Perlman, albeit not completely due to opposing preservation.

The financial situation of the New York Central was critical when Perlman became the chairman, and the scrap value of all the steam locomotives was enough to bring the railroad back from the brink.

[8] Two J-1d class Hudsons, numbers 5311 and 5313, were sold to the Toronto, Hamilton and Buffalo Railway in 1948 and were renumbered 501 and 502 respectively.

The generator car still survives today and is part of the Steamtown National Historic Site collection.