Baker control
The Baker control , also engl. known as Baker valve gear , is a steam engine control named after the AD Baker Company.
The principle originated in the AD Baker Company in Swanton (Ohio) , a manufacturer of locomobiles . The design came from an employee named Gifford, but was patented by the company in its own name in 1903. The control caught on in the United States and is widely used in locomotives made there.
Difference to the angle lever control
The Baker control is a further development of the angle lever control , which in turn represents an improvement of the Heusinger control (known outside the German-speaking area as the Walschaerts control).
Since it is made entirely of levers with hinge pins, it is mechanically easier to maintain and, moreover, more precise in steam distribution than the Heusinger control.