A mainstay of the New York Central's fast passenger fleet as the twentieth century opened, the Atlantic or 4-4-2 type soon found itself unequal to the larger, heavier trains that could be hauled by the newly introduced Pacific or 4-6-2 type. By 1940 the number of Atlantics still on the system's roster had dwindled to a mere six, including the five engines of class I40a. Here, No. 4322 pauses with a local at the depot in Three Rivers, Michigan. She was a 1907 product of the American Locomotive Company. Class I40a weighed 167,500 pounds and rolled on 69-inch drivers. These engines had 19x26-inch cylinders and a boiler pressure of 180 pounds per square inch. With dimensions of this size, they exerted a mere 20,810 pounds of tractive effort. Given the Central's heavy investment in larger passenger power since the appearance of this I40 class — an investment being renewed in 1937-38 with the marvelous J3 4-6-4s as well as the dual-service L3 4-8-2s a few years later — it is easy to understand why No. 4322's days were numbered when an unknown photographer recorded her on film on May 28, 1937.