Incredible Otto Kuhler Alco New Haven 1400 / I-5 Steam Locomotive Proposal Sketch w/ Remarque This is another one of those peices of railroad history that upon first inspection you're impressed by what it is, but the more you study it, the more you realize just how many layers of history that it encompasses and how special it really is. This is a preliminary sketch by Otto Kuhler for the New Haven 1400 4-6-4 locomotive which eventually became the Baldwin I-5 class. Kuhler is recognized as a leading industrial designer, especially in the railroad space. He influenced the Milwaukee Road Hiawatha, Alco PA, implemented Baltimore and Ohio's famous blue and gray color scheme, and many other significant projects throughout his career. The exception to this was the failed I-5 proposal. This sketch is dated January of 1937 and at the time the New York, New Haven & Hartford was soliciting bids for a new class of 4-6-4 locomotives. Kuhler's employer at the time, The American Locomotive Works / ALCO" was in the running and created this design sketch for the New Haven to show off Kuhler's design prowess on the proposed 4-6-4. Ultimately the New Haven went with a Baldwin designed locomotive but retained many of Kuhler's design cues. Below the sketch is the notation DRWG J.H.B. Jan. 1937 and then is hand signed Kuhler. The story does not end with just the sketch though. In the margins, the sketch takes a comical turn. Sketched below is a rendering of rival designer Raymond Lowey's famed New York Central Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive, to the right is a sketch of Kuhler's Dachshund dog "Shnaps". The drawings poke fun at the Commodore Vanderbilt and Shnaps sharing the same shape nose and dog ears have been added to the Commodore. There is also a more detailed sketch of the front section of the I-5 boiler showing the headlight, bullet nose, cowling, class lights, and number boards. Although the Alco proposal failed, the design lived on in the final I-5, and this exact sketch is well documented in the book New Haven power. The sketch appears to have remained in Kuhlers possession until August of 1965 when he presented it to his friend Freeman Hubbard. Hubbard was the editor of Railroad Magazine for 42 years and was well known in the railroading world. There is a notation again in Kuhlers writing at the bottom on the date he presented the sketch to Freeman. The frame is non original to the piece and due to the loose glass, we may remove it before shipping in order to better protect the sketch from damage.