I snapped this photo of Niagara No. 6003 at the Englewood terminal in Chicago in July 1954, about a year before this locomotive was taken out of service and consigned to the scrapyard. Sadly, the Niagaras had little chance to prove their mettle before the NYC opted for diesel power. By the time of this photo they had been bumped from the Central's premier varnish and relegated to local or mail and express trains, or placed in freight service. As they neared retirement many of the Central's modern steam locomotives lost their cylinder head caps, as shown here.