The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, it moved to nearby

Eddystone, Pennsylvania Eddystone is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,410 at the 2010 census. History The area at the mouth of Ridley Creek was first called "Tequirassy" by Native Americans. The land was owned by Olof Persson Stille, ...

, in the early 20th century. The company was for decades the world's largest producer of steam locomotives, but struggled to compete as demand switched to diesel locomotives. Baldwin produced the last of its 70,000-plus locomotives in 1951, before merging with the Lima-Hamilton Corporation on September 11, 1951, to form the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation. The company has no relation to the E.M. Baldwin and Sons of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia, a builder of small diesel locomotives for sugar cane railroads.

History: 19th century

Beginning

The Baldwin Locomotive Works had a humble beginning. Matthias W. Baldwin, the founder, was a

jeweler A bench jeweler is an artisan who uses a combination of skills to make and repair jewelry. Some of the more common skills that a bench jeweler might employ include antique restoration, silversmith, Goldsmith, stone setting, engraving, fabrica ...

and whitesmith, who, in 1825, formed a partnership with machinist David H. Mason, and engaged in the manufacture of bookbinders' tools and cylinders for calico printing. Baldwin then designed and constructed for his own use a small stationary engine, the workmanship of which was so excellent and its efficiency so great that he was solicited to build others like it for various parties, and thus led to turn his attention to steam engineering. The original engine was in use and powered many departments of the works for well over 60 years, and is currently on display at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

in Washington, D.C. In 1831, at the request of the Philadelphia Museum, Baldwin built a miniature locomotive for exhibition which was such a success that he received that year an order from a railway company for a locomotive to run on a short line to the suburbs of Philadelphia. The

Camden and Amboy Railroad The United New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company (UNJ&CC) was a railroad company which began as the important Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A), whose 1830 lineage began as one of the eight or ten earliest permanent North AmericanList of Earliest Am ...

Company (C&A) had shortly before imported a locomotive (''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

'') from England, which was stored in

Bordentown, New Jersey Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,924.Isaac Dripps (under the direction of C&A president

Robert L. Stevens Colonel Robert Livingston Stevens (October 18, 1787 – April 20, 1856) was an American inventor and steamship builder who served as president of the Camden and Amboy Railroad in the 1830s and 1840s. Early life Stevens was born in Hoboken, New ...

) when Baldwin visited the spot. He inspected the detached parts and made notes of the principal dimensions... Aided by these figures, he commenced his task. The difficulties attending the execution of this first order were such that they are not easily understood by present-day mechanics. Modern

machine tool A machine tool is a machine for handling or machining metal or other rigid materials, usually by cutting, boring, grinding, shearing, or other forms of deformations. Machine tools employ some sort of tool that does the cutting or shaping. All ...

s simply did not exist; the cylinders were bored by a chisel fixed in a block of wood and turned by hand; the workmen had to be taught how to do nearly all the work; and Baldwin himself did a great deal of it with his own hands. It was under such circumstances that his first locomotive, christened '' Old Ironsides'', was completed and tried on the

Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad The Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad (PG&N) was a railway company in the United States. It was incorporated in 1831 and opened its first line in 1832, making it one of the oldest railroads in North America. The Philadelphia and Rea ...

on November 23, 1832. It was at once put in active service, and did duty for over 20 years. It was a four-wheeled engine, weighing a little over five tons; the driving wheels were in diameter, and the cylinders were of bore by stroke. The wheels were of heavy cast iron hubs, with wooden spokes and rims, and wrought iron tires, and the frame was made of wood placed outside the wheels. It had a diameter boiler which took 20 minutes to raise steam. Top speed was .

Early years

Baldwin struggled to survive the Panic of 1837. Production fell from 40 locomotives in 1837 to just nine in 1840 and the company was heavily in debt.. As part of the survival strategy, Matthias Baldwin took on two partners, George Vail and George Hufty. Although the partnerships proved relatively short-lived, they helped Baldwin pull through the economic hard times. Zerah Colburn was one of many engineers who had a close association with Baldwin Locomotive Works. Between 1854 (and the start of his weekly paper, the '' Railroad Advocate'') and 1861, when Colburn went to work more or less permanently in London, England, the journalist was in frequent touch with M. W. Baldwin, as recorded in Zerah Colburn: The Spirit of Darkness. Colburn was full of praise for the quality of Baldwin's work. In the 1850s, railroad building became a national obsession,. with many new carriers starting up, particularly in the Midwest and South. While this helped drive up demand for Baldwin products, it also increased competition as more companies entered the locomotive production field. Still, Baldwin had trouble keeping pace with orders and in the early 1850s began paying workers piece-rate pay.. By 1857, the company turned out 66 locomotives and employed 600 men. But another economic downturn, this time the Panic of 1857, cut into business again. Output fell by 50 percent in 1858..

1860–1899

The

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

at first appeared disastrous for Baldwin. According to John K. Brown in ''The Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831–1915: A Study in American Industrial Practice'', at the start of the conflict Baldwin had a great dependence on Southern railways as its primary market. In 1860, nearly 80 percent of Baldwin's output went to carriers in states that would soon secede from the Union.. As a result, Baldwin's production in 1861 fell more than 50 percent compared to the previous year. However, the loss in Southern sales was counterbalanced by purchases by the U.S. Military Railroads and the Pennsylvania Railroad, which saw its traffic soar, as Baldwin produced more than 100 engines for carriers during the 1861–1865 war. By the time Matthias Baldwin died in 1866, his company was vying with

Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works was a 19th-century manufacturer of railroad steam locomotives based in Paterson, in Passaic County, New Jersey, in the United States. It built more than six thousand steam locomotives for railroads around the ...

for the top spot among locomotive producers.. By 1870 Baldwin had taken the lead and a decade later, it was producing 2 times as many engines as its nearest competitor, according to the U.S. Manufacturing Census.. Baldwin Locomotive Works 1882 ad

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Erecting Floor, 1896

In 1897 the Baldwin Locomotive Works was presented as one of the examples of successful shop management in a series of articles by Horace Lucian Arnold. The article specifically described the Piece Rate System used in the shop management. Burton (1899) commented, that "in the Baldwin Locomotive Works... piecework rates are seldom altered... Some rates have remained unchanged for the past twenty years, and a workman is there more highly esteemed when he can, by his own exertions and ability, increase his weekly earnings. He has an absolute incentive to increase his output as much as he possibly can, because he knows that he will not, by increasing his own income, lead to cutting piece-work rates, and so be forced to make still further exertions in order to maintain the same weekly wage."*

Francis G. Burton Francis George Burton (1840 – 19 September 1915)''Incorporated Accountants' Journal.'' Vol. 26. 1915. p. 5 was a British engineer, incorporated accountant and general manager of the Milford Haven Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. in Pembroke Dock ...

.
The Commercial Management of Engineering Works
'' (1899). p. 148.

History: 20th century

Initially, Baldwin built many more steam locomotives at its cramped Broad Street Philadelphia shop but would begin an incremental shift in production to a site located at Spring Street in nearby

, in 1906. Broad Street was constricted, but even so, it was a huge complex, occupying the better part of 8 square city blocks from Broad to 18th Streets and Spring Garden Street to the

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

tracks just past Noble Street. Eddystone on the other hand was spread out over 600 acres. Its capacity was well over 3000 locomotives per year. The move from Broad Street was completed in the late 1920s.

Gilded age

Steamtown Baldwin Rahway Valley 15 Locomotive

The American railroad industry expanded significantly between 1898 and 1907, with domestic demand for locomotives hitting its highest point in 1905.. Baldwin's business boomed during this period while it modernized its Broad Street facilities. Despite this boom, Baldwin faced many challenges including the constraints of space in the Philadelphia facility, inflation, increased labor costs, Labor tensions, the substantial increase in the size of the locomotives being manufactured and the formation of the American Locomotive Company, an aggressive competitor which eventually became known simply as

Alco The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

.. Baldwin also made most of the locomotives for the East Broad Top Railroad, some of the consolidations of the Huntingdon And Broad Top Mountain Railroad, and locomotive 11 of the Morehead And Northfork Railroad, although the

Everett Railroad The Everett Railroad is a shortline and heritage railroad that operates on ex-Pennsylvania Railroad trackage in the Hollidaysburg area of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It runs freight trains over two separate lines, one from Brooks Mill and ...

only has a reproduction of the name plate currently. Because Baldwin made the locomotives of both the H&BTRR and the EBTRR around the same time in the early 20th century before

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the locomotive number plates of the locomotives were made identical having diameter of 16 3/4", a maximum width of 5/8" and a minimum width of 3/16" with the decorations welded onto the larger plate, all being made of brass. From 1904 to 1943, Baldwin and Westinghouse marketed Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotives and A.C. electrification of railroads, particularly to the New Haven Railroad. In 1906 the Hepburn Act authorized greater governmental authority over railroad companies, and revitalized the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), which stepped up its activities. The ICC was given the power to set maximum railroad rates, and to replace existing rates with "just-and-reasonable" maximum rates, as defined by the ICC. The limitation on railroad rates depreciated the value of railroad securities, and meant that railroads stopped ordering new equipment, including locomotives. This may have been a factor in precipitating the Panic of 1907, which in turn disrupted finance and investment in new plants. Both of these events had a direct negative effect on the railroad industry, especially the locomotive builders. . Baldwin's locomotive output dropped from 2,666 in 1906 to 614 in 1908. The company cut its workforce from 18,499 workers in 1907 to 4,600 the following year.. Baldwin's business was further imperiled when William P. Henszey, one of Baldwin's partners, died. His death left Baldwin with a US$6 million liability. In response, Baldwin incorporated and released US$10 million worth of bonds. Samuel Vauclain wanted to use these funds to expand Baldwin's capacities so it would be prepared for another boom. While other Baldwin officers opposed this expansion, Vauclain's vision won out; Baldwin would continue to expand its Eddystone plant until its completion in 1928. By 1928, the company moved all locomotive production to this location, though the plant would never exceed more than one-third of its production capacity..

World War I

Baldwin was an important contributor to the Allied war effort in World War I. Baldwin built 5,551 locomotives for the Allies including separate designs for Russian, French, British and United States

trench railways Trench railways represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of soldiers and artillery at the f ...

. Baldwin built

railway gun A railway gun, also called a railroad gun, is a large artillery piece, often surplus naval artillery, mounted on, transported by, and fired from a specially designed railway wagon. Many countries have built railway guns, but the best-known are ...

carriages for the United States Navy and manufactured 6,565,355 artillery shells for Russia, Great Britain and the United States. From 1915 to 1918, Remington Arms subcontracted the production of nearly 2 million

Pattern 1914 Enfield The Rifle, .303 Pattern 1914 (or P14) was a British service rifle of the First World War period. A bolt action weapon with an integral 5-round magazine, it was principally contract manufactured by companies in the United States. It served as ...

and M1917 Enfield rifles to the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Baldwin expanded their

, shop opened in 1905 into the

Eddystone Arsenal Eddystone Arsenal was a Baldwin Locomotive Works subsidiary located in Eddystone, Pennsylvania that produced military hardware for the Allies of World War I. As orders from combatants exceeded the production capacity of Baldwin's Philadelphia factor ...

which manufactured most of these rifles and artillery shells before being converted to locomotive shops when the war ended.. After the end of World War I Baldwin continued to supply export orders, as the European powers strove to replace large numbers of locomotives worn out by the war effort and European locomotive factories were still re-tooling from armaments production back to railroad production. In 1919 and 1920 Baldwin supplied 50 4-6-0 locomotives to the Palestine Military Railway that became the Palestine Railways H class..

Decline

Steamtown Baldwin Grand Trunk Western 6039 Locomotive

After the boom years of World War I and its aftermath, Baldwin's business would decline as the Great Depression gripped the country and

diesel locomotives A diesel locomotive is a type of railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine. Several types of diesel locomotives have been developed, differing mainly in the means by which mechanical power is conveyed to the driving wheels ...

became the growth market on American railways towards the end of the 1930s. During the 1920s the major locomotive manufacturers had strong incentives to maintain the dominance of the steam engine.. The Baldwin-Westinghouse consortium, which had produced electric locomotives since 1904, was in fact the first American locomotive builder to develop a road diesel locomotive, in 1925. Its twin-engine design was not successful, and the unit was scrapped after a short testing and demonstration period. Westinghouse and Baldwin collaborated again in 1929 to build switching and road locomotives (the latter through Baldwin's subsidiary Canadian Locomotive Company). The road locomotives,

Canadian National class V1-a Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

, No. 9000 and No. 9001, proved expensive, unreliable, frequently out of service, and were soon retired. Westinghouse cancelled its efforts in the diesel locomotive field with the onset of the Great Depression, opting to supply electrical parts instead. The early, unsuccessful efforts of Baldwin-Westinghouse in developing diesel-electric locomotion for mainline service led Baldwin in the 1930s to discount the possibility that diesel could replace steam.. In 1930 Samuel Vauclain, chairman of the board, stated in a speech that advances in steam technology would ensure the dominance of the steam engine until at least 1980.. Baldwin's vice president and Director of Sales stated in December 1937 that "Some time in the future, when all this is reviewed, it will be found that our railroads are no more dieselized than they electrified". Baldwin had deep roots in the steam locomotive industry and may have been influenced by heavy investment in its Eddystone plant, which had left them overextended financially and operating at a fraction of capacity as the market for steam locomotives declined in the 1930s. In contrast,

ALCO The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO, ALCo or Alco) was an American manufacturer of locomotives, diesel generators, steel, and tanks that operated from 1901 to 1969. The company was formed by the merger of seven smaller locomo ...

, while remaining committed to steam production, pursued R&D paths centered on both steam mainline engines and diesel switch engines in the 1920s and '30s, which would position them to compete in the future market for diesel locomotives.. In 1928 Baldwin began an attempt to diversify its product line to include small internal combustion-electric locomotives but the Great Depression thwarted these efforts, eventually leading Baldwin to declare bankruptcy in 1935. At the invitation of the owners of the

Geo D. Whitcomb Company The Geo D. Whitcomb Company was founded by George Dexter Whitcomb (1834–1914), of Chicago, Illinois, who started a modest machine shop in 1878, and began the manufacture of coal mining machinery, laying the foundation for the concern that beca ...

, a small manufacturer of gasoline and diesel industrial locomotives in Rochelle, Illinois, Baldwin agreed to participate in a recapitalization program, purchasing about half of the issued stock. By March 1931 the small firm was in financial trouble and Baldwin filed a voluntary bankruptcy for Whitcomb with Baldwin gaining complete control and creating a new subsidiary, the Whitcomb Locomotive Company. This action would lead to financial losses, an ugly court battle between Baldwin and William Whitcomb, the former owner of the company, and bankruptcy for both parties. Baldwin lost its dominant position in electric locomotives when the Pennsylvania Railroad selected

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable en ...

's PRR GG1 instead of Baldwin's design in 1934. When Baldwin emerged from bankruptcy in 1938 it underwent a drastic change in management. The new management revived their development efforts with diesel power but the company was already too far behind. In 1939 Baldwin offered its first standard line of diesel locomotives, all designed for yard service. By this time, GM-EMD was already ramping up production of diesel passenger locomotives and developing its first diesel road freight locomotive.. As the 1930s drew to a close, Baldwin's coal-country customers such as Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio, and

Norfolk and Western The Norfolk and Western Railway , commonly called the N&W, was a US class I railroad, formed by more than 200 railroad mergers between 1838 and 1982. It was headquartered in Roanoke, Virginia, for most of its existence. Its motto was "Precisi ...

were more reluctant than other operators to embrace diesel technology, which could undermine the demand for one of their main hauling markets. All three continued to acquire passenger steam locomotives into the early postwar years, as dieselization was gaining momentum elsewhere in the rail industry. In the late 1930s Baldwin and the Pennsylvania Railroad made an all-in bet on the future of steam in passenger rail service with Baldwin's duplex-drive S1 locomotive. It proved difficult to operate, prone to slipping, costly to maintain, and unsuited for its intended service. Baldwin developed a revision of the same basic design with the T1, introduced in 1943. While the T1s could operate on more tracks than the S1, they still had many of the problems of the S1 and additional mechanical problems related to their unique valve design. The whole S1-T1 venture resulted in losses for PRR and investment in a dead-end development effort for Baldwin at a critical time for both companies. In the early 1940s Baldwin embarked upon its efforts to develop steam turbine power, producing the S2 direct-drive turbine locomotive in 1944. Baldwin's steam turbine program failed to produce a single successful design. Baldwin's steam-centered development path had left them flat-footed in the efforts necessary to compete in the postwar diesel market dominated by EMD and ALCO-GE.

World War II

Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 at Illinois Railway Museum (MNS 21)

The United States' entry into World War II impeded Baldwin's diesel development program when the War Production Board dictated that

and Baldwin produce only steamers and diesel-electric yard switching engines. The General Motors

Electro-Motive Division Progress Rail Locomotives, doing business as Electro-Motive Diesel (EMD), is an American manufacturer of diesel-electric locomotives, locomotive products and diesel engines for the rail industry. The company is owned by Caterpillar through its sub ...

was assigned the task of producing road freight diesels (namely, the FT series). EMD's distinct advantage over its competitors in that product line in the years that followed World War II, due to the head start in diesel R&D and production, is beyond doubt, however, assigning it solely to WPB directives is questionable. Longtime GM chairman Alfred P. Sloan presented a timeline in his memoir that belies this assumption,. saying that GM's diesel-engine R&D efforts of the 1920s and 1930s, and its application of model design standardization (yielding lower unit costs) and marketing lessons learned in the automotive industry, were the principal reason for EMD's competitive advantage in the late 1940s and afterward (clearly implying that the wartime production assignments were merely nails in a coffin that Baldwin and Lima had already built for themselves before the war). In his telling, the R&D needed to adapt earlier diesels (best suited to marine and stationary use) to locomotive use (more flexible output; higher power-to-weight ratio; more reliable given more vibration and less maintenance) was a capital-intensive project that almost no one among the railroad owners or locomotive builders was willing (latter) or able (former) to invest in during the 1920s and 1930s except for the GM Research Corporation led by Charles F. Kettering, and the GM subsidiaries Winton Engine Corporation and Electro-Motive Corporation. Baldwin made steam engines for domestic US railroads, the US Army, British Railways, and made around one thousand E or Ye type engines for the Soviet Union in the Lend Lease arrangement (of an order of 2000 or so engines with other builders contributing to the total). Baldwin obtained a short-term market boost from naval demand for diesel engines and the petroleum crisis of 1942–43, which boosted demand for their coal-fired steam locomotives while acquisition of EMD's diesel locomotives was in its most restricted period. In 1943 Baldwin launched its belated road diesel program, producing a prototype "Centipede" locomotive which was later rebuilt to introduce their first major product in the postwar market. During World War II Baldwin's contributions to the

war effort In politics and military planning, a war effort is a coordinated mobilization of society's resources—both industrial and human—towards the support of a military force. Depending on the militarization of the culture, the relative si ...

included not only locomotives and switchers but also

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s. Baldwin was one of the manufacturers of several variants of the M3 tank (M3 Lee, M3A2, M3A3, M3A5) and later the

M4 Sherman } The M4 Sherman, officially Medium Tank, M4, was the most widely used medium tank by the United States and Western Allies in World War II. The M4 Sherman proved to be reliable, relatively cheap to produce, and available in great numbers. It ...

(M4, M4A2). A Baldwin subsidiary, the Whitcomb Locomotive Company, produced hundreds of 65-ton diesel electric locomotives for the Army and received the Army–Navy "E" award for production. Baldwin ranked 40th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts.

End

1954 Baldwin 0-4-4-0 Diesel-Electric Switcher at Texas Transportation museum

Between 1940 and 1948, domestic steam locomotive sales declined from 30 percent of the market to 2 percent.. By 1949, there was no demand for steam locomotives. Baldwin's attempts to adapt to the changed market for road locomotives had been unsuccessful; the reliability of their offerings was unsatisfactory, epitomized by notorious failures such as their " Centipede" diesel locomotives and their steam turbine-electric locomotives, which proved to be money pits unsuited for their intended service. In July 1948

Westinghouse Electric The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...

, which had teamed with Baldwin to build diesel and electric locomotives and wanted to keep their main customer in the rail industry afloat, purchased 500,000 shares, or 21 percent, of Baldwin stock, which made Westinghouse Baldwin's largest shareholder. Baldwin used the money to cover various debts. Westinghouse vice president Marvin W. Smith became Baldwin's president in May 1949. In a move to diversify into the construction equipment market, Baldwin merged with Lima-Hamilton on December 4, 1950, to become Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton. However, Lima-Hamilton's locomotive technology was unused after the merger and market share continued to dwindle. By January, 1952 Baldwin closed its factory in Rochelle, Illinois and consolidated Whitcomb production at Eddystone. In 1953 Westinghouse discontinued building electrical traction equipment, so Baldwin was forced to reconfigure their drive systems based on

equipment. In 1954, during which time they were being virtually shut out of the diesel market, Baldwin delivered one steam turbine-electric locomotive to the Norfolk and Western Railway, which proved unsatisfactory in service. After locomotive production ended, Hamilton continued to develop and produce engines for other purposes. Baldwin engine production was shifted to the Hamilton plant, but in 1960 the Hamilton engines ceased production, the plant was shuttered, and Baldwin engine production moved back to Eddystone. The last locomotives produced by Baldwin were three experimental RP-210 dual power passenger locomotives for the New York Central and New York, New Haven, and Hartford rail lines in 1956. In 1956, after 125 years of continuous locomotive production, Baldwin closed most of its Eddystone plant and ceased producing locomotives. The company instead concentrated on production of heavy construction equipment. More than 70,500 locomotives had been built when production ended. In 1965 Baldwin became a wholly owned subsidiary of

Armour and Company Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's mo ...

. Greyhound Corporation purchased Armour and Company in 1970, and the decision was made to liquidate all production. In 1972 Greyhound closed Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton for good. The "replacement and renewal parts" business was acquired by Ecolaire Inc. and became the "Baldwin-Hamilton Company - A Division of Ecolaire Inc. and lasted till 1991 to receive license fees from other companies using their designs, which was lucrative. When the licenses ran out, all remaining parts were distributed, and the company dissolved. 5910 at Kiama

Locomotives

Later steam locomotives

Boston & Maine 0-4-0 locomotive by Baldwin, 1871

Baldwin built many 4-4-0 "American" type locomotives (the locomotive that built America). Surviving examples of which include the 1872 '' Countess of Dufferin'' and 1875's

Virginia and Truckee Railroad The Virginia and Truckee Railroad is a privately owned heritage railroad, headquartered in Virginia City, Nevada. Its private and publicly owned route is long. When first constructed in the 19th century, it was a commercial freight railroad ...

No.22 "Inyo", but it was perhaps best known for the 2-8-2 "Mikado" and 2-8-0 "Consolidation" types. It was also well known for the unique cab-forward

4-8-8-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a 4-8-8-2 is a locomotive with four leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a two-wheel trailing truck. Other equivalent classifications are: UIC classificat ...

articulateds built for the

Southern Pacific Company Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

and massive

2-10-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels, ten powered and coupled driving wheels, and two trailing wheels. In the United States of America and elsewhere the is ...

for the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison, Kansas, Atchison and Top ...

. Baldwin also produced their most powerful steam engines in history, the

2-8-8-4 A 2-8-8-4 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation, has two leading wheels, two sets of eight driving wheels, and a four-wheel trailing truck. The type was generally named the ''Yellowstone'', a name given it by the first owner, the Northern Pa ...

"Yellowstone" for the

Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway The Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Railway (DM&IR) , informally known as the Missabe Road, was a railroad operating in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin that used to haul iron ore and later taconite to the Great Lakes ports of Duluth and Two Harbor ...

. The Yellowstone could put down over of

Tractive force As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term tr ...

. They routinely hauled 180 car trains weighing over . The Yellowstones were so good that the DM&IR refused to part with them; they hauled ore trains well into the diesel era, and the last one retired in 1963. Three have been preserved. One of Baldwin's last new and improved locomotive designs were the

4-8-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and four trailing wheels on two axles. The type wa ...

"Northern" locomotives. Baldwin's last domestic steam locomotives were

2-6-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, a is a locomotive with one pair of unpowered leading wheels, followed by two sets of three pairs of powered driving wheels and one pair of trailing wheel ...

s built for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway in 1949. Baldwin 60000, the company's 1926 demonstration steam locomotive, is on display at the

Franklin Institute The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is named after the American scientist and statesman Benjamin Franklin. It houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memori ...

in Philadelphia. On a separate note, the restored and running 2-6-2 steam locomotive at

Fort Edmonton Park Fort Edmonton Park (sometimes referred to as "Fort Edmonton") is an attraction in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Named for the first enduring European post in the area of modern-day Edmonton, the park is the largest living history museum in Canada by ...

was built by Baldwin in 1919.

Preserved Baldwin steam locomotives

There are many Baldwin built steam locomotives currently operating in the United States, Canada, and several other countries around the world. Out of all the Baldwin built steam locomotives that are operational or have operated in recent years, the most recognized locomotives are Reading 2101, Reading 2102, Grand Canyon Railway 4960, Frisco 1522, Frisco 1630, Nickel Plate Road 587, Blue Mountain and Reading 425, Western Maryland Scenic Railroad 734, Southern Pacific 2467, Southern Pacific 2472, Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700, Southern Railway 4501, the oldest surviving

Northern type steam locomotive, Santa Fe 3751, and the last domestic steam locomotive Baldwin built, Chesapeake and Ohio 1309. In Australia, five of the twenty NSW 59 class Baldwin 2-8-2s which entered service in 1952-3 survive. NSW had several classes of 19th century Baldwin locomotives including the L.304 (later Z21) class 2-6-0s; the O.446 (later Z23) class 4-6-0s; and the J.483 (later Z29) class 2-8-0s, of which none survive. Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASUDECO) No. 2 is in static display as the ''Riverland Express'' at Riverbanks Center mall in

Marikina Marikina (), officially the City of Marikina ( fil, Lungsod ng Marikina), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 456,159 people. It is loca ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

as of October 2022. It is a

2-6-0 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and no trailing wheels. ...

built in 1928 by Baldwin and is one of the few surviving tender locomotives in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Narrow-gauge and unconventional

Baldwin built locomotives for narrow-gauge railways as well. Some of the more notable series built for the

Denver and Rio Grande The Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south from De ...

were outside-framed 2-8-2 "Mikados": Fifteen class K-27's, originally built as Vauclain compounds in 1903, ten class K-36's built in 1925, and ten class K-37's originally built as standard-gauge 2-8-0s in 1902 but rebuilt for narrow gauge in the D&RGW shops in 1928. Several of all these classes survive, and most are operating today on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, the

Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, often abbreviated as the C&TSRR, is a narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on of track between Antonito, Colorado, and Chama, New Mexico, in the United States. The railroad is named for two geogr ...

, while some are being restored on the East Broad Top Railroad. New Zealand Railways (NZR) was a major customer from 1879 when it imported six 2-8-0 based on the Denver and Rio Grande locomotives due to their similar rail gauge, these were given the road class of T. The next was a double emergency order of six 2-6-2 classed N and six 2-8-0 classed O after a British order for similar locomotives failed to meet on-time delivery and weight limitations specified in contract. Baldwins seized on the opportunity to impress the NZR with a prompt six-month delivery of all 12 locomotives. Thereafter NZR ordered Baldwin products to complement home built locomotives, including Tank versions 2-6-2 Wb and

2-6-4 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, a locomotive has two leading wheels, six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels. This arrangement is commonly called Adriatic. Overview With only a few known except ...

Wd classes. Another four of the hard working N class were purchased in 1901. The popular 4-6-0 class of 22 Ub locomotives consisting of 10 1898 flat valve and 10 1901 piston valve (Baldwins supplying all but two) proved themselves well at the turn of the twentieth century with the last retiring as late as 1958. A requirement for a larger firebox version of the class ended up creating a whole new locomotive with the birth of the

4-6-2 Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles, six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. The locomo ...

wheel arrangement, the Pacific was born. They were classed as Q in NZR service and remained in use until 1957. Being a new type of locomotive, the Q class had their shortcomings but eventually performed well. In 1914 a later larger improved version, and last Baldwin product to be purchased by NZR was classed as Aa. They lasted until 1959. Like all American locomotives produced at the time, the Baldwins had 'short' lifespans built into them but the NZR were happy to re-boiler almost their whole fleet to give them a longer life of hard work. NZR were generally happy with their Baldwin fleet. A private Railway operating in New Zealand at the time exclusively purchased Baldwin products after facing the same difficulties with British builders the NZR had. The Wellington and Manawatu Railway (1881–1909) operated small fleets of 2-8-0(4), 2-6-2(6), 2-8-2(1), 4-6-0(2) and a large

2-8-4 Under the Whyte notation, a 2-8-4 is a steam locomotive that has two unpowered leading wheels, followed by eight coupled and powered driving wheels, and four trailing wheels. This locomotive type is most often referred to as a Berkshire, thou ...

(1) tank locomotive. When the NZR took over the railway, its fleet was absorbed into sub-classes of those operating already in the main fleet. When NZR placed tenders for diesel locomotives in the 1950s, Baldwins applied but failed when EMD won the contract instead. Surprisingly only one NZR Baldwin product was operational, a class Wd

tank locomotive operated at the Ferrymead railway in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

until it was taken out of service for repairs, the remains of a WMR 2-6-2 N, NZR 4-6-0 Ub, and two NZR 2-6-2 Wb tank locomotives and one Wd tank locomotive are in the early stages of restoration. Another steam locomotive that is preserved is a steam dummy, built for Sydney Tramways, in 1891, and preserved in operational condition, at Auckland's Museum of Transport and Technology. A six-ton, 60-cm gauge 4-4-0 built for the

Tacubaya Railroad Tacubaya Railroad (''Ferrocarril de Tacubaya'') was a , narrow gauge line serving an amusement park in the Tacubaya district of Mexico City. The line was built by Fernando de Teresa in 1896. Passengers were carried in several designs of roofed ...

in 1897 was the smallest ever built by Baldwin for commercial use.. In the late 1890s, many British builders were recovering from an engineers' strike over working hours, leaving backlogs of orders yet to be fulfilled. This prompted British railways that were in immediate need for additional motive power to turn to Baldwin and other US builders. Examples of engines built in response include three batches of 2-6-0 tender engines for the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...

Great Central Railway The Great Central Railway in England was formed when the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway changed its name in 1897, anticipating the opening in 1899 of its London Extension. On 1 January 1923, the company was grouped into the ...

, and Great Northern Railway, respectively, as well as the Lyn, a 2-4-2T (tank locomotive) for the gauge

Lynton and Barnstaple Railway The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway (L&B) opened as an independent railway in May 1898. It was a single track, narrow gauge railway and was slightly over long running through the rugged and picturesque area bordering Exmoor in North Devon, ...

in England in 1898. The Cape Government Railways of South Africa also bought engines from Baldwin as a result of the strikes. Unfortunately, many of these engines were unpopular with the crews due to their designs being atypical, and many, including all of those built for the three standard gauge British railways and the Lynton and Barnstaple's Lyn, were scrapped when no longer needed. A replica of the latter locomotive has been constructed for the revived Lynton & Barnstaple Railway. Also during the late 1890s, two 2-6-2T "Prairie" tank engines were built for the

Victorian Railways The Victorian Railways (VR), trading from 1974 as VicRail, was the state-owned operator of most rail transport in the Australian state of Victoria from 1859 to 1983. The first railways in Victoria were private companies, but when these companie ...

(V.R.) who gave them an "NA" classification and road numbers of 1A and 2A. They were used as a trial on the new narrow-gauge railways. Fifteen more NA class locomotives were built by the V.R., numbered 3A–17A. Unfortunately, only six have survived and both of the original Baldwin engines were among those scrapped. To supply troops in France, 495 4-6-0PTs were built to the order of the British War Department in 1916/7. After the war surplus locomotives were sold, finding new uses in France, Britain and India. In Britain examples were used on the

Ashover Light Railway The Ashover Light Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Derbyshire, England that connected Clay Cross and Ashover. It was built by the Clay Cross Company to transport minerals such as limestone, fluorite, barytes and gritstone to its wor ...

Glyn Valley Tramway Glyn means "Valley" in Welsh and may refer to: *Glyn (name), including a list of people with the name *Baron Glyn, a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom *Glyn baronets, created for members of the Glyn family *Glyn Ceiriog, a former slate ...

Snailbeach District Railways Snailbeach District Railways was a British narrow gauge railway in Shropshire. It was built to carry lead ore from mines in the Stiperstones to Pontesbury where the ore was transshipped to the Great Western Railway's Minsterley branch line. Co ...

and the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations ...

. The

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

bought No 590, in 1923. It was apparently unpopular with crews although photographs show that it was used regularly until the railway was closed. It was scrapped in 1941 when the derelict railway's assets were requisitioned for the war effort. Some of the surviving examples in India have since been imported to the UK, one of which by the Welsh Highland Railway Ltd. who has restored it to represent the scrapped 590. Other Baldwin 4-6-0PT's imported from India include one owned by the Leighton Buzzard Railway-based Greensand Railway Trust that has been restored to working order, as well as two acquired by the Statfold Barn Railway in March 2013. Baldwin also built six engines for the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway, three of which were delivered in 1890, with the fourth being delivered in 1897. These engines featured steeply inclined boilers and used the Abt rack system to propel them up the average 16 percent grade. The last Baldwin engine was taken out of regular service in 1955. During the following years the engines were used as back-up engines and for snow removal. Three of the engines are currently on static display around

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

. One (No. 1) is located at the

Colorado Railroad Museum The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum. The museum is located on at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, Colorado. The museum was established in 1959 to preserve a record of ...

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountai ...

. The other two on display are located in Manitou Springs, Colorado: one (No. 2) near city hall and the other (No. 5) at the Manitou and Pike's Peak Railway depot. The engine No. 4 is still in limited operation for photo opportunities and special events. However, it no longer completes the journey to the top of

Pikes Peak Pikes Peak is the highest summit of the southern Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in North America. The ultra-prominent fourteener is located in Pike National Forest, west of downtown Colorado Springs, Colorado. The town of Manitou S ...

due to the fact that many of the water tanks along the line have been removed. Engines No. 3 and No. 6 were scrapped and used for parts over the years. MCRR Baldwin Mogul Number-6 001

Number 6 (builder plate number 12288), a 36"

was built by Baldwin in 1891 for the Surry Sussex & Southampton Railway in Virginia. The SS&S installed Southern valve gear, a graceful outside drive gear. The 6 was eventually sold to the Argent Lumber Company in South Carolina. In 1960, the 6 was purchased by southeastern Iowa's Midwest Central Railroad as part of a package deal including the 2 (below). It was the first locomotive to operate on a regular basis at the MCRR and was their main engine until 1971 when it was taken out of service for a major overhaul. Completed in 1988, this ground up rebuild included a new boiler and conversion to oil fire. A "medium" boiler repair was started in 2009, with the work completed in September 2010, in time for the 2010 Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion. The Midwest Central Railroad also owns Number 2, a 36"

, which was built for the New Berlin & Winfield Railroad in 1906. The NB&W operated an line in Pennsylvania for an agricultural community. The 2 hauled freight and passengers on this small operation until the mid-1910s. In 1917, the locomotive was sold to the Argent Lumber Company in South Carolina where it worked along with the 6 in swamp trackage, hauling logs to the mill in Hardeeville. Upon arrival at the MCRR in 1960, it received substantial repairs and was put into service by the early 1970s, replacing the 6 as the MCRR's main engine. In 1987, the 2 was taken out of service for a complete rebuild which is still in progress as of January 2011.

The

Walt Disney World Railroad The Walt Disney World Railroad (WDWRR) is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction located within the Magic Kingdom theme park of Walt Disney World in Bay Lake, Florida, in the United States. Its route is in length and encir ...

(WDWRR), which runs around the

Magic Kingdom Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

in Florida, has four operational Baldwin locomotives: a 1916 Class 8-C 4-4-0 No. 4 (The ''Roy O. Disney''), twin locomotives Nos. 1 and 3, both 1925 Class 10-D 4-6-0 designs (The ''Walter E. Disney'' and the ''Roger E. Broggie'', respectively) and a 1928 Class 8-D 2-6-0 No. 2 (The ''Lilly Belle'').Broggie, Michael. ''Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom'', 4th ed., pp. 316-325, The Donning Company Publishers, 2014. .. They all originally worked on the Ferrocarriles Unidos de Yucatán (UdeY), a railroad that operated in the state of

Yucatán Yucatán (, also , , ; yua, Yúukatan ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán,; yua, link=no, Xóot' Noj Lu'umil Yúukatan. is one of the 31 states which comprise the federal entities of Mexico. It comprises 106 separate mun ...

in Mexico. In the late 1960s, they were all purchased by Disney imagineers Roger E. Broggie and Earl Vilmer for $8,000 each and restored to operating condition, while significantly altered from their original appearance to resemble steam locomotives from the 1880s.. Three other operational Disney-owned Baldwin locomotives exist at

Disneyland Park Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

in California, where they operate on the

Disneyland Railroad The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United St ...

. Baldwin also built many boilers and stationary steam engines for heating and powering buildings and industry.

Street railways and tramway steam motors

As well as railway locomotives, Baldwin built street tramway steam motors in large numbers for operators in the United States and worldwide. There were three basic models, with 9-inch, 11-inch and 13-inch motors, the sizes being determined by the cylinder size rather than the boiler capacity. These were largely superseded by electric tramcars, but some were built and operated well into the 20th century for systems that were never electrified. There were well over 100 built for the New South Wales Government Tramways in Sydney Australia from 1879 to 1910. Mostly 11" and 0-4-0 in configuration. Two operational NSWGT surviving steam motors: * Baldwin 11676 of 1891 NSWGT No. 103 Valley Heights Locomotive Depot Heritage Museum, New South Wales, Australia. * Baldwin 11665 of 1891 NSWGT No. 100

Museum of Transport and Technology The Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) is a science and technology museum located in Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand. It is located close to the Western Springs Stadium, Auckland Zoo and the Western Springs Park. The museum has l ...

, Auckland, NZ. No.100 was latterly used in

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

, New Zealand 1910–1950. Other Baldwin steam motor operators included: *The Takapuna Tramways and Ferry Company, Auckland, New Zealand 1910–1927. Route was from Bayswater to Milford via

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

and

Lake Pupuke Lake Pupuke (traditionally known in Māori as Pupukemoana) is a heart-shaped freshwater lake occupying a volcanic crater (or maar) between the suburbs of Takapuna and Milford on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The heart shape is a re ...

. No surviving locomotives.

Electric locomotives

From the early years of the 20th century Baldwin had a relationship with the

Westinghouse Electric Company Westinghouse Electric Company LLC is an American nuclear power company formed in 1999 from the nuclear power division of the original Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It offers nuclear products and services to utilities internationally, includi ...

to build

electric locomotive An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or g ...

s for the American market. The electric locomotive was increasingly popular; electrification was expensive, but for high traffic levels or mountainous terrain it could pay for itself, and in addition some cities like New York, were banning the steam locomotive because of its pollution and the propensity for accidents in smoke-choked terminals. Baldwin built or subcontracted out the bodywork and running gear, and Westinghouse built the electrical gear. Both combined to have a similar arrangement with the Netherlands and

Werkspoor Werkspoor N.V. was the shortened, and later the official name of the Nederlandsche Fabriek van Werktuigen en Spoorwegmaterieel. It was a Dutch machine factory, known for rolling stock, (ship) steam engines, and diesel engines. It was a successor ...

for the foreign markets. Baldwin built the famed EP-1 (1906), EF-1 (1912) and EP-2 (1923) box cab electric locomotives for the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. Baldwin also delivered the EP-3 box cab electric locomotives to the Milwaukee Road for use on their line between Harlowton, Montana, and Avery, Idaho. Baldwin built several electric locomotive types for the Pennsylvania Railroad as well including the P5A, R1 and the famed GG1. Baldwin built the first GG1 prototype electric locomotive for use on the Pennsylvania Railroad's electrified line, which was completed in 1935 between New York and Washington, D.C.

Steam-turbine locomotives

Chesapeake and Ohio Railway steam turbine locomotive 500

In the waning years of steam Baldwin also undertook several attempts at alternative technologies to diesel power. In 1944 Baldwin outshopped an S2 class 6-8-6

steam turbine locomotive A steam turbine locomotive is a steam locomotive which transmits steam power to the wheels via a steam turbine. Numerous attempts at this type of locomotive were made, mostly without success. In the 1930s this type of locomotive was seen as a way ...

for the Pennsylvania Railroad. Between 1947 and 1948 Baldwin built three

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

-fired steam turbine-electric locomotives of a unique design, for passenger service on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), who numbered them 500 to 502 and classified them M-1. The units, which were equipped with Westinghouse electrical systems and had a 2-C1+2-C1-B wheel arrangement, were long, making them the longest locomotives ever built for passenger service. The cab was mounted in the center, with a coal bunker ahead of it and a backwards-mounted boiler behind it, the tender only carrying water. These locomotives were intended for a route from Washington, D.C., to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, but could never travel the whole route without some sort of failure.

Coal dust Coal dust is a fine powdered form of which is created by the crushing, grinding, or pulverizing of coal. Because of the brittle nature of coal, coal dust can be created during mining, transportation, or by mechanically handling coal. It is a form ...

and water frequently got into the traction motors. These problems could have been fixed given time, but it was obvious that these locomotives would always be expensive to maintain, and all three were scrapped in 1950. In May 1954 Baldwin built a steam turbine-electric locomotive for freight service on the Norfolk and Western Railway (N&W), nicknamed the "Jawn Henry" after the legend of John Henry, a steel-driver on a track crew who famously raced against a steam drill and won, only to die immediately afterwards. The unit was similar in appearance to the C&O turbines but very different mechanically; it had a C+C-C+C wheel arrangement, and an improved watertube boiler which was fitted with automatic controls. Unfortunately the boiler controls were sometimes problematic, and, as with the C&O turbines, coal dust and water got into the motors. "Jawn Henry" was retired from the N&W roster on January 4, 1958.

Diesel-Electric locomotives

Chander-Arizona Railroad museum-Baldwin Locomotive-1950

Though fairly successful in the marketplace, Baldwin diesels did not do so well as others. Thanks to their robust Westinghouse electrical gear, they were excellent haulers, but the diesel prime movers were less reliable than comparable EMD and Alco products. The company remained fond of steam power and was slow to make the jump to building reliable diesel road locomotives. By the late 1940s, Baldwin's main diesel competitors – Alco, EMD and

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...

– had each settled on four or five standard locomotive models, which were suitable for assembly-line construction. Baldwin, meanwhile, was the sole manufacturer to continue the steam-era practice of offering bespoke locomotive designs at the request of individual railroads. This resulted in a large number of diesel models, most of which had a small number of units (aside from switchers, only a few models had more than 50 examples). This put Baldwin at a competitive disadvantage since it was unable to benefit from

economies of scale In microeconomics, economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to their scale of operation, and are typically measured by the amount of output produced per unit of time. A decrease in cost per unit of output enables ...

, consistent quality control, or the evolution of each model, which its competitors enjoyed. Even the construction could vary between units of the same model, especially if they were not built in sequence.Morgan, D.P., "9th Annual Motive Power Survey", page 55, ''

Trains In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often know ...

'' magazine, May 1957 The last Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton diesels were delivered in 1956.

Gas turbine-electric locomotives

In April 1950, Baldwin and Westinghouse completed an experimental gas turbine locomotive, numbered 4000, known as the "Blue Goose", with a B-B-B-B

wheel arrangement In rail transport, a wheel arrangement or wheel configuration is a system of classifying the way in which wheels are distributed under a locomotive. Several notations exist to describe the wheel assemblies of a locomotive by type, position, and c ...

. The locomotive used two turbine engines fueled by Bunker C fuel oil, was equipped for passenger train heating with a steam generator that utilized the waste exhaust heat of the right hand turbine, and was geared for While it was demonstrated successfully in both freight and passenger service on the PRR, MKT, and CNW, no production orders followed, and it was scrapped in 1953.Lee, Thos. R.: "Turbines Westward", pages 48,49, T.Lee Publications, 1975,

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * *

External links

Preserved Baldwin Steam Locomotives

SteamLocomotive.com
– a large amount of information on steam locomotives.

Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.

Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. * Th
Baldwin Locomotive Works Records, 1825–1869
including correspondence, accounts, diagrams and illustrations, are available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a long-established research facility, based in Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chronicles, maps, press reports and v ...

.
A Brazilian Baldwin-Westinghouse electric box locomotive

Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation Records, 1854–1925
(5.5 linear ft.) are housed in th

a
Stanford University Libraries

Baldwin Locomotive Works: Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives, 1871
is located at th
Special Collections/Digital Library
i
Falvey Memorial Library
at Villanova University.
Information on Baldwin 590, one of the narrow-gauge engines that Baldwin builtInformation about the "590 Restoration ProjectMidwest Central RailroadBaldwin Locomotive Works engine specifications, 1869–1938
78 manuscript volumes digitized from microfilm reels containing engine specifications of locomotives built for various United States and foreign railroad companies. DeGolyer Library holds Volumes 5-82.
Baldwin Locomotive Works builders cards
held by the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
Baldwin Locomotive Works Engineering Drawings
held by the DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University. * * {{Authority control Defunct locomotive manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Delaware County, Pennsylvania History of Philadelphia Manufacturing companies based in Philadelphia Spring Garden, Philadelphia American companies established in 1825 Manufacturing companies established in 1825 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1972 1825 establishments in Pennsylvania 1972 disestablishments in Pennsylvania Former components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average American companies disestablished in 1972 Defunct manufacturing companies based in Pennsylvania