Baldwin Locomotive Works

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Baldwin Locomotive Works

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founding 1831
Seat Eddystone, Pennsylvania
Branch Locomotive manufacturer

The Baldwin Locomotive Works , abbreviated BLW , were the world's largest manufacturer of steam locomotives . They were founded in 1831 by Matthias William Baldwin in Philadelphia , USA . In 1902 the company moved to Eddystone, Pennsylvania . In 1926 the 60,000 locomotive was delivered, the Baldwin 60,000 .

history

With the advent of diesel locomotives, Baldwin Locomotive Works were just as unable to use their market power as the other major US locomotive factories American Locomotive Company (Alco) and LIMA Locomotive Works (Lima). Even after the successful introduction of mainline diesel locomotives by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in the mid-1930s, Baldwin was firmly convinced that nothing could displace steam traction. The 1950 merger to form the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation with the intention of producing diesel locomotives came too late. With the end of the steam locomotive era , the company's history ended in 1956. At the time of departure, it was the oldest locomotive factory in the USA.

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

Baldwin supplied tens of thousands of locomotives to numerous railroad companies in North America as well as numerous other countries around the world. Practically all of the usual axle sequences were represented. Baldwin was always looking for new solutions with improved efficiency. These included, for example, the Baldwin 60000 test locomotive built in 1926 with a high-pressure boiler and Vauclain compound engine or the C&O class M-1 built in 1947 , the largest and heaviest steam locomotive ever built with a turbine drive.

Typical locomotives from Baldwin's production, 19th century:

  • Narrow gauge locomotives

  • 4-4-0 American

  • 2-6-0 Mughal

  • 2-8-0 Consolidation

Typical locomotives from Baldwin's production, 20th century:

  • 2-8-2 mikado

  • 4-6-2 Pacific

  • 4-8-2 mountain

  • 2-8-8-4 Yellowstone

Other locomotives manufactured by Baldwin

Electric locomotives

Baldwin worked with Westinghouse Electric and General Electric to build electric locomotives . Electric locomotives were delivered to New Haven , Milwaukee Road, and the Pennsylvania Railroad . This also included the well-known GG1 express train locomotives . In Spain, the RENFE 7800 series was built under a license from Baldwin .

Until 1945

Baldwin Locomotive Works gradually took over the Geo D. Whitcomb Company , which specialized in mining equipment and small industrial diesel locomotives, in the 1930s . In 1931 Baldwin bought the diesel engine manufacturer I.P. Morris & De La Vergne . Baldwin's first diesel locomotive was the four-axle VO series, which was equipped with a four-stroke diesel engine. It was manufactured as VO-660 with 660 hp or as Baldwin VO-1000 with 1000 hp.

During the Second World War , Baldwin was not allowed to develop new diesel locomotives by order of the War Production Board and had to continue building the existing types.

  • VO-1000

1945-1950

The first diesel mainline locomotive developed by Baldwin was the DR-12-8-1500 / 2 . These two-part locomotives with the 2'Do + Do2 'wheel arrangement were not particularly reliable because the details of their construction were not identical and they were difficult to maintain. Because of their regularly arranged numerous axes, these locomotives were called Centipede (German millipede ).

Various four- and six-axle locomotives in road switcher design were built with the designation DRS , as was the heavy shunting locomotive DT-6-6-2000 . The shunting locomotives of the VO series continued to be produced under the name DS .

The DR-4-4-1500 was offered for passenger train traffic. The locomotive was referred to as the Babyface (German: Babyface ) because of its large windshield and the small, strongly flattened front end . Later series were designed by the well-known streamline designer Raymond Loewy , who provided the locomotive with a protruding nose, which of these series earned the name Sharknose (German: Haigesicht ).

  • DS-4-4-660

  • DRS-4-4-1000

  • DRS-6-4-1500

  • DT-6-6-2000

Designations

The Baldwin diesel locomotives were designated from 1946 to 1950 according to the following scheme, which is explained using the example DS-4-4-660 for the former VO-660. She let down as follows: DS stood for D iesel S witcher ( shunting ), the first four of the total number of axles, the second 4 for the number of driven axes 660 specified for the engine performance in hp, which later divided by hundreds has been.

The following letter designations were used:

  • DS for D iesel S witcher, a switch engine
  • DRS for D iesel R oad S witcher, a six-axis diesel locomotive with a Endführerhaus and stems for line service
  • DR for D iesel R oadunit, a distance locomotive with Endführerstand and structures over the entire width
  • DT for D iesel T ransferlocomotive, a heavy shunting locomotive with a front end and a central driver's cab.

From 1950

After the merger with the Lima-Hamilton Corporation , the existing models will be revised and equipped with more powerful engines:

  • DS-4-4-660 becomes S-8 (original VO-660)
  • DS-4-4-1000 becomes S-12 (original VO-1000)
  • The DT-6-6-2000 becomes the RT-624 , a twin-engine, six-axle heavy shunter with a central driver's cab
  • DRS-4-4-10 becomes RS-12 , road switcher, four-axle, 1200 hp
  • DRS-4-4-15 becomes AS-16 , Road-Switcher, four-axle, 12600 HP
  • DRS-6-4-15 becomes the AS-416 , Road-Switcher, six-axle, 1600 HP, the middle axle of the bogies is not driven
  • DRS-6-6-15 becomes AS-616 , road switcher, six-axis, 1600 hp
  • DRS-6-6-15 becomes RF-16 , passenger locomotive, four-axle, 1600 hp

  • S-12

  • RS-12

  • AS-616

Designations

The letters meant the following:

  • S stood for S witcher (shunting locomotive)
  • RT stood for R oad T ransfer Locomotive (heavy shunting locomotive)
  • RS stand for four-axle R oad S witcher
  • AS stood for six-axis road switchers
  • RF stood for R oad F reight Locomotive (mainline locomotive for freight traffic)
  • RP stood for R oad P assenger Locomotive (mainline locomotive for passenger transport with steam heating)

Behind the hyphen is the power divided by ten in horsepower.

See also

literature

  • John K. Brown .: The Baldwin Locomotive Works. 1831-1915. A Study in American Industrial Practice (= Studies in Industry and Society. Vol. 8). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD et al. 2001, ISBN 0-8018-6812-2 .
  • J. Thomas Scharf, Thompson Westcott: Baldwin Locomotive works. In: J. Thomas Scharf, Thompson Westcott: History of Philadelphia. 1609-1884. Volume 3. LH Everts & Co., Philadelphia PA 1884, pp. 2255 ff.
  • Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation (Ed.): Baldwin locomotive works. Illustrated catalog of locomotives. Press of JB Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia 1871, digitized .

Web links

Commons : Baldwin Locomotive Works  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Centipede, DR-12-8-3000. In: american-rails.com . Retrieved October 14, 2013 .
  2. ^ The Baldwin Locomotive Works. In: american-rails.com . Retrieved April 28, 2013 .