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124-455: Over the years, its innovative steel castings products made Commonwealth an increasingly important manufacturer and supplier to the rail industry. By 1928, "practically all locomotives and passenger cars built in the United States" were using Commonwealth products. The significance of the company to the rail industry became evident when two locomotive manufacturers, and customers of Commonwealth,

248-461: A 616-acre (2.49 km ) site located at Spring Street in nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania , 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 tracks just past Noble Street. Eddystone had a capacity of well over 3000 locomotives per year. The move from Broad Street

372-596: 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 Wb class and Wd class . Another four of the N class were purchased in 1901. The Ub class class of 22 locomotives consisting of 10 1898 flat valve and 10 1901 piston valve (Baldwins supplying all but two) proved themselves well at

496-771: 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,

620-415: A drastic change in management, which revived the company's development efforts with diesel power, but it was already too far behind. In 1939 Baldwin offered its first standard line of diesel locomotives, all designed for yard service. By this time, Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) was already ramping up production of diesel passenger locomotives and developing its first diesel road freight locomotive. As

744-621: A feat of casting that has at once made its business unique and added immensely to the safety of railroad travel." The importance of Commonwealth Steel to the railroad industry was not ignored by the industry and was underscored when two major locomotive companies, the American Locomotive Company and the Baldwin Locomotive Company , along with American Steel Foundries , formed General Steel Castings Corporation in 1928. The April 1929 issue of The Commonwealther printed

868-473: A fraction of capacity as the market for steam locomotives declined in the 1930s. In contrast, ALCO , 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

992-420: A healthy fleet of Alcos DL540 running commuter and cargo trains. The Glenbrook Vintage Railway New Zealand, has a 2-4-4-2 articulated compound mallet, built by Alco in 1912. Only four mallets with this wheel arrangement were ever built; the other three by Baldwin. This unique loco is currently out of service awaiting overhaul. During the 1970s, Romania's UCMR Resita made licensed engines from ALCo, putting

1116-576: A later larger improved version, and last Baldwin product to be purchased by NZR was the Aa class . 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

1240-536: A prototype gas-turbine–electric locomotive to address the concerns of operators such as Union Pacific that sought to minimize the number of locomotive units needed for large power requirements. In 1949, ALCo embarked on a clean-sheet design project to replace the 244. 1949 also saw the introduction of the EMD GP7 road–switcher, a direct challenge in ALCo's bread-and-butter market. In 1953, General Electric , dissatisfied with

1364-524: 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 EMC and Alco-GE . The United States' entry into World War II impeded Baldwin's diesel development program when the War Production Board dictated that Alco and Baldwin produce only steamers and diesel-electric yard switching engines. The General Motors Electro-Motive Corporation

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1488-410: A small quantity of ALCO DL-109 dual-service engines and its proven steam designs, while EMD (formerly EMC) was allocated the construction of mainline road freight diesels (the production of straight passenger-service engines was prohibited by the War Production Board ). Still, ALCo ranked 34th among United States corporations in the value of wartime production contracts. Alco's RS-1 road switcher

1612-602: A small stationary steam engine for his own use. This proved so successful and efficient that he was asked to build others like it. 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 in Washington D.C. In 1831. Baldwin built a miniature locomotive for exhibition at the request of the Philadelphia Museum, which

1736-476: A statement from the president of the company, Clarence Howard, that Commonwealth Steel was "working out a plan of unification" with General Steel Castings Corporation. With a capitalization of $ 10 million, Commonwealth Steel was acquired by General Steel Castings Corporation for a reported $ 35 million. The merger became effective "definitely on July 30, 1929", and the Commonwealth Steel Company became

1860-731: A subsidiary of Nitram Energy. Following the sale of these assets, Smithco remained in business, manufacturing other heat exchange products. In 1985, the assets acquired from Smithco were assigned by Bos-Hatten to its parent, Nitram. In 2008, Nitram was acquired by Peerless Manufacturing Co In 2015, Peerless sold its heat exchanger business to Koch Heat Transfer Co. After the closure of Alco's Schenectady works, locomotives to Alco designs continued to be manufactured in Canada by Montreal Locomotive Works and in Australia by AE Goodwin . In addition, Until 2022, Alco-derived locomotives accounted for most of

1984-514: A time. At some later point, some of the heat exchanger products were manufactured by the Alco Products Division of Smithco Engineering in Tulsa, Oklahoma (Smithco). In January 1983, certain assets of the Alco Products Division of Smithco, namely double-pipe and hairpin-type heat exchanger products sold under the "Alco Twin" name, mark and style, were sold in an asset sale by Smithco to Bos-Hatten,

2108-686: A trial on the new 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) narrow-gauge railways . Fifteen more were built by the VR. Both were 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 , Glyn Valley Tramway , Snailbeach District Railways and

2232-701: 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 's design for what became its GG1 class instead of Baldwin's design in 1934. When Baldwin emerged from bankruptcy in 1938 it underwent

2356-532: A wholly owned subsidiary of Armour & Company . Greyhound Corporation purchased Armour & 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

2480-496: Is currently being used by Fairbanks Morse Engine for their FM|ALCO line. The company was created in 1901 from the merger of seven smaller locomotive manufacturers with the Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York : The consolidation of the seven manufacturers was the brainchild of financier Pliny Fisk Sr. of the brokerage house Harvey Fisk & Sons. The consolidated ALCO

2604-572: Is notable chiefly as a step in the automotive career of Walter P. Chrysler , who worked as the plant manager. In 1911 he left Alco for Buick in Detroit, Michigan , where he subsequently founded the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Alco made 60-ton center-cab electric freight motors from 1912 through the 1920s for electric railway lines in Oregon. Already a leader in steam locomotives , Alco produced

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2728-799: Is now being restored by the Railroad Heritage of Midwest America museum. Alco and MLW locomotives still work on many regional and tourist railroads across the United States and Canada, including the Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad in Scranton, Pennsylvania , the Catskill Mountain Railroad in Kingston ; the Livonia, Avon and Lakeville Railroad family of lines based in Lakeville, New York ,

2852-607: Is now occupied by a large industrial park. Alco diversified into areas other than automobiles with greater success. During World War II , Alco built munitions for the war effort, in addition to locomotive production; this continued throughout the Korean War . After the Korean War, Alco began making oil production equipment and heat exchangers for nuclear plants. In 1955, the company was renamed Alco Products, Incorporated. By this stage, locomotive production only accounted for 20% of

2976-594: Is on display at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. On a separate note, the restored and running 2-6-2 steam locomotive at Fort Edmonton Park was built by Baldwin in 1919. 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,

3100-553: Is one of the few surviving tender locomotives in Luzon . Baldwin built locomotives for narrow-gauge railways as well. Some of the more notable series built for the Denver & Rio Grande Western 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

3224-542: Is preserved at the Finnish Railway Museum . Though the dual-service 4-8-4 steam locomotive had shown great promise, 1948 was the last year that steam locomotives were manufactured in Schenectady. These were the seven A-2a class 9400-series Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad 2-8-4 "Berkshires." Their tenders had to be subcontracted to Lima Locomotive Works , as Alco's tender shop had been closed. The building

3348-726: Is preserved is a steam dummy, built for Sydney Tramways, in 1891, and preserved in operational condition, at Auckland 's Museum of Transport & Technology . A six-ton, 60-cm gauge 4-4-0 built for the Tacubaya Railroad 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

3472-582: Is still manufactured by Fairbanks-Morse of Beloit, Wisconsin , a company which also manufactured diesel locomotives. Additionally, Alco diesel engines are used to power the NASA Crawler Transporter . Some Alcos survive on Australian networks, as well as in Bangladesh and Pakistan. Another fleet of Alco Bombardier locomotives run in rugged terrain on the Sri Lanka railway network. Argentina also has

3596-400: The 630 (the first AC/DC transmission), the 430 and the 636 , the first 3,600 horsepower (2.7 MW) locomotive, failed to keep the enterprise going. Third-place in the market proved to be an impossible position; ALCo products had neither the market position nor reputation for reliability of EMD's products, nor the financing muscle and customer support of GE. It could not earn enough profits. In

3720-773: The Arcade & Attica Railroad in Arcade, New York. It returned to service in May 2009 after a six-year overhaul to bring it into compliance with the FRA's new steam locomotive regulations. Great Western 60 , a 2-8-0 built in Schenectady in 1937, currently operates in passenger service on the Black River & Western Railroad in Ringoes, NJ. Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad in Garibaldi, Oregon . This railroad owns

3844-573: The Baldwin Locomotive Company and the American Locomotive Company , formed General Steel Castings Corporation in 1928 and incorporated Commonwealth and its products as the Commonwealth Steel Division. Clarence H. Howard, who controlled the Double Body Bolster Company, received orders for cast-steel bolsters for railroad passenger cars to be used in an exhibit at the upcoming 1904 St. Louis World's Fair but his company

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3968-827: The Delaware & Hudson Railway , the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad , the New York Central Railroad , the Union Pacific Railroad and the Milwaukee Road . Among Alco's better-known steam locomotives were the 4-6-4 Hudson , 4-8-2 Mohawk , and the 4-8-4 Niagara built for the New York Central; and the 4-8-4 FEF and the 4-6-6-4 Challenger built for the Union Pacific. Alco built many of

4092-654: The Golden Rule through the Fellowship Club. The company established the Commonwealth School in 1906 to serve the educational needs of "Commonwealthers". Apprentices would be given up to four hours a week, on company time, to study mathematics, mechanical drawing and blue print reading. The company's educational offering expanded with the addition of a high school program in December 1923. Conducted in cooperation with

4216-737: The Hellenic Railways Organisation (OSE) in Greece. The oldest of them (class A.201, DL532B) were delivered to the former Hellenic State Railways (SEK) in 1962. In addition to a variety of standard gauge locomotives, the fleet includes 11 metre gauge Alco locomotives, mainly used for departmental trains in the Peloponnese network. The MX627 and MX636 locomotives have been extensively rebuilt at Piraeus Central Factory of OSE. The remaining Alco locomotives are also being rebuilt, starting with models DL532B and DL537. The ALCO 251 diesel engine

4340-611: 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. The Panic of 1907 in turn disrupted finance and investment in new plants. Both of these events had

4464-651: 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 , Australia, a builder of small diesel locomotives for sugar cane railroads. Matthias W. Baldwin , the founder, was a jeweler and whitesmith , who, in 1825, formed a partnership with machinist David H. Mason, and began making bookbinders' tools and cylinders for calico printing . Baldwin then designed and constructed

4588-527: The McCloud Railway 25 . One of only 4 prairie type (2-6-2) locomotives ever built by ALCO. This locomotive is operational, and is used in daily service six months of the year and weekend service an additional four months of the year. This locomotive appeared in the film " Stand by Me ". While regular production of steam locomotives by Alco ended in the 1950s, Alco-built steam engines have been preserved in locations across North America. They can be found on

4712-565: The Midland Railway , Great Central Railway , and Great Northern Railway , respectively, as well as the Lyn , a 2-4-2T (tank locomotive) for the 1 ft 11.5 in (597 mm) gauge Lynton & Barnstaple Railway 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

4836-602: The Palestine Railways H class . 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 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,

4960-448: 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 & Machine Works for the top spot among locomotive producers. By 1870 Baldwin had taken the lead and a decade later, it was producing 2 1 ⁄ 2 times as many engines as its nearest competitor, according to

5084-464: The RS-1 , the first road–switcher locomotive. The versatile road–switcher design gained favor for short-haul applications, which would provide ALCo a secure market niche through the 1940s. The entry of the United States into World War II froze ALCo's development of road diesel locomotives. During that time, ALCo was allocated the construction of diesel switching locomotives, their new road–switcher locomotives,

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5208-539: The Studebaker corporation in 1967 to form Studebaker-Worthington , Alco remaining a wholly owned subsidiary. Former divisions of Alco became semi-independent subsidiaries in 1968. After the termination of locomotive production in 1969, the locomotive designs (but not the engine development rights) were transferred to the Montreal Locomotive Works , which continued their manufacture. The diesel engine business

5332-663: 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 and M1917 Enfield rifles to the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Baldwin expanded its Eddystone, Pennsylvania works into the Eddystone Arsenal , which manufactured most of these rifles and artillery shells before being converted to locomotive shops when

5456-611: The Welsh Highland Railway . The Welsh Highland Railway in Wales 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

5580-717: 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 did a great deal of it himself. The locomotive Old Ironsides was completed and successfully tested on the Philadelphia, Germantown and Norristown Railroad on November 23, 1832. It worked the line for over 20 years. It weighed a little over five tons with four 54 inches (1.4 m) diameter driving wheels and 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches (24 cm) bore by 18 inches (46 cm) stroke cylinders. The wheels had heavy cast iron hubs, with wooden spokes and rims and wrought iron tires, and

5704-739: The "Commonwealth Division" of General Steel Castings Corporation. General Steel's "Eddystone Division" consisted of a new foundry, still under construction in 1929, on the banks of the Delaware River in Eddystone, Pennsylvania , near Baldwin Locomotive's facilities. Baldwin Locomotive Company 39°51′33″N 75°19′38″W  /  39.85917°N 75.32722°W  / 39.85917; -75.32722 The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW)

5828-424: 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 EMC'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,

5952-431: The 1930s and its established service infrastructure. ALCo would prove unable to overcome that lead. In 1946, ALCo controlled 26% of the diesel locomotive market. The ubiquitous S series ( 660 and 1000 horsepower) switchers and RS series ( 1000 and 1500 horsepower) road switchers represented ALCo well during the late 1940s. Much of its success in this period can be tied to its pioneering RS locomotives, representing

6076-421: The 1930s drew to a close, Baldwin's coal-country customers such as Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake & Ohio , and Norfolk & Western , were more reluctant than other operators to embrace a 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

6200-558: The 1950s, Baldwins applied but failed when EMD won the contract instead. Surprisingly only one NZR Baldwin product was operational, a class Wd 2-6-4 tank locomotive operated at the Ferrymead railway in Christchurch 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

6324-486: The Alco brand from 1905 to 1913. ALCO also produced nuclear reactors from 1954 to 1962. After World War II , Alco closed all of its manufacturing plants except those in Schenectady and Montreal. In 1955, the company changed its name to Alco Products, Incorporated. In 1964, the Worthington Corporation acquired the company. The company went out of business in 1969, although Montreal Locomotive Works continued to manufacture locomotives based on Alco designs. The ALCO name

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6448-452: The D&RGW shops in 1928. Several of all these classes survive, and most are operating today on the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad . New Zealand Railways (NZR) was a major customer from 1879 when it imported six T class based on the Denver & Rio Grande locomotives due to their similar rail gauge. The next was a double emergency order of six N class and six O class after

6572-422: 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 "Northern" locomotives. Baldwin's last domestic steam locomotives were 2-6-6-2s built for the Chesapeake & Ohio in 1949. Baldwin 60000 , the company's 1926 demonstration steam locomotive,

6696-399: The GM Research Corporation led by Charles 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

6820-439: 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 , 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

6944-514: The Lake Whatcom Railway in Wickersham, Washington and the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad in Middletown, Pennsylvania . The latter owns one of the last true ALCO switchers ever built, #1016. The 1016 is a T-6 type switcher engine. This and ALCO sister 151 (ex Western Maryland Railway S-6 ) provide daily service in Middletown. Two original Alco RS-2's that were delivered to the Nevada Northern Railway are still in operation. ALCO-Cooke 2-8-0 #18, built in 1920, survives in passenger service on

7068-552: The Locomotive and Machine Company of Montreal , Quebec, Canada; this company was eventually renamed the Montreal Locomotive Works . In 1905, Alco purchased Rogers Locomotive Works of Paterson, New Jersey , the country's second-largest locomotive manufacturer behind Baldwin Locomotive Works . Alco produced more than 75,000 locomotives, including more steam locomotives than any U.S. company except Baldwin Locomotive Works . (Alco outlasted Baldwin, in part by shifting more readily to diesel.) Railroads that favored Alco products included

7192-418: The No. 2 position from ALCo, and eventually eclipsed EMD in overall production. Despite continual innovation in its designs (the first AC/DC transmission among others), ALCo gradually succumbed to its competition, in which its former ally, General Electric, was an important element. India during 1960s began gradual withdrawal of Steam locomotives from Indian Railways so the Diesel electric locomotive WDM series

7316-405: 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

7440-472: 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

7564-422: The U.S. Manufacturing Census. 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

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7688-442: The United States" were made using products manufactured at the Commonwealth plant. An April 12, 1929 St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper article, reprinted in the April 1929 issue of The Commonwealther , noted "[t]he Commonwealth, largely because of its one-piece castings, does business with railroads all over the world. It is commonly thought not to have a competitor in the production of a one-piece frame for locomotives and coaches,

7812-445: 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 Light 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. American Locomotive Company The American Locomotive Company (often shortened to ALCO , ALCo or Alco )

7936-450: 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. 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

8060-440: The biggest locomotives ever constructed, including Union Pacific's Big Boy ( 4-8-8-4 ). Alco also built the fastest American locomotives, the Class A Atlantic and Class F7 Hudson streamliners for the Milwaukee Road 's Twin Cities Hiawatha run. Among the ambitious state-of-the-art designs of the late steam era, Alco's Challengers, Big Boys, and high-speed streamliners stood out for their success in operations. Alco built

8184-417: The business. The first nuclear power plant connected to the electrical grid, the SM-1, was built for the Army Nuclear Power Program at Fort Belvoir in Virginia in 1957. Another complete plant, the PM-2A, was shipped to and constructed at Camp Century in Greenland. The Camp Century plant was filmed by the U.S. Army. The company was purchased in 1964 by the Worthington Corporation , which merged with

8308-458: The changed market for road locomotives had been unsuccessful; the reliability of their offerings was unsatisfactory, epitomized by notorious failures such as its 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 , which had teamed with Baldwin to build diesel and electric locomotives and wanted to keep their main customer in

8432-429: The company finished the design and manufactured a one-piece underframe structure, or bed, for a steam locomotive, and delivered it to the New York Central Railroad. Also in 1924, the company embarked on a $ 1,500,000 ($ 25.7 million in 2022 dollars) expansion that included increasing the size of the foundry to a total length of 1,475 feet (450 m), making it "probably the largest open hearth steel foundry building in

8556-412: The company moved all locomotive production to this location, though the plant would never exceed more than one-third of its production capacity. 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 . Baldwin built railway gun carriages for

8680-525: The company produced cast steel frames for gun tractors and locomotive castings. The growth of the company meant that, by 1913, its payroll exceeded $ 110,000 ($ 3.25 million in 2022 dollars) for each pay period. The company's success in supplying large castings and other parts to the rail industry necessitated more capacity. Originally covering 16 acres (6 hectares), the plant grew to 47 acres (19 hectares) in 1915 to about 77 acres (31 hectares), with almost 18 acres (7 hectares) under roof, by 1924. In 1924,

8804-517: The company's profits. Meetings of the company's profit-sharing plan, known as the Commonwealth Plan, would start with the reciting of the Lord's Prayer and, in at least one meeting, the singing of "America". The Platform of the "Commonwealth Plan", read in part: "Fellowship is the Golden Rule in action, the motive power of human engineering, the life-blood of service, insuring equal opportunity for all. The Commonwealth Plan recognizes all problems as mutual, wherein and whereby absolute confidence exists in

8928-554: 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 tank engines N A class were built for the Victorian Railways (VR). They were used as

9052-489: 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

9176-544: The diesel market, Baldwin delivered one steam turbine-electric locomotive to the Norfolk & Western , which proved unsatisfactory in service. The last batch of conventional steam locomotives built by BLH were WG class 9100-9149 as BLH 76039-76088 built in 1955 for the Indian Railways broad gauge. After locomotive production ended, Hamilton continued to develop and produce engines for other purposes. Baldwin engine production

9300-722: The diesel power on the Indian Railways . Many thousands of locomotives with Alco lineage are in regular mainline use in India. Most of these locomotives were built by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW) at Varanasi, India . The Diesel Loco Modernisation Works (DMW) at Patiala, India, do mid-life rebuilding and upgrading the power of these locomotives, typically the 2,600 horsepower (1.94 MW) WDM-2 to 3,100 horsepower (2.31 MW). A number of Alco and MLW diesel–electric locomotives (models DL500C, DL532B, DL537, DL543, MX627 and MX636) are in daily use hauling freight trains of

9424-459: 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

9548-612: 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. The Civil War 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

9672-621: The engines 6&12R251 into naval gensets and also with the 6R251 in FAUR factory were made locomotives known as LDH 1500 CP. (CFR Classes 67/68/70/71 and CFR Class 61). They were also exported in Iran and Greece ( OSE ) Several Alco-built mainline engines are still operational, such as Union Pacific 844 , Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 , Milwaukee Road 261 , Soo Line 1003 , and Florida East Coast 148 . UP Challenger 3985 ran in UP excursion service until 2010, but

9796-776: The first commercially successful diesel–electric switch engine in 1924 in a consortium with General Electric (electrical equipment) and Ingersoll-Rand ( diesel engine ). This locomotive was sold to the Central Railroad of New Jersey . It built additional locomotives for the Long Island Rail Road and the Chicago and North Western Railway . The company bought the McIntosh & Seymour Diesel Engine Company in 1929 and henceforth produced its own diesel engines, though it always bought its electrical equipment from GE. The diesel program

9920-450: The first modern road–switcher, a configuration which has long-outlasted ALCo. The success of their switcher and road–switcher locomotives was not matched with the PA and FA -type mainline units, however. The 244 engine, developed in a crash program to compete with EMD's powerful 567 engine, proved unreliable and sales of ALCo's mainline units soon went into decline. In 1948, ALCo-GE produced

10044-429: The honesty of purpose and truth of character of each other; thus blending brotherly love in all activities and enabling each to develop his several talents." Commonwealth set the standard for innovation. In 1908, the company cast the first one-piece rectangular tender frame and, after developing special machining equipment, overcame problems of producing castings of up to 80 feet (24.38 m) long. During World War I ,

10168-516: The last domestic steam locomotive Baldwin built, Chesapeake and Ohio 1309 . In Australia, five of the twenty 59 class Baldwin 2-8-2s which entered service in 1952/53 survive. Pampanga Sugar Development Company (PASUDECO) No. 2 is in static display as the Riverland Express at Riverbanks Center mall in Marikina , Philippines as of October 2022. It is a 2-6-0 built in 1928 by Baldwin and

10292-511: The late 1960s, Alco gradually ceased locomotive production, shipping its last two locomotives, a pair of T-6 switchers to the Newburgh & South Shore Railroad (#1016 and #1017) in January 1969. ALCo closed its Schenectady locomotive plant later that year, and sold its designs to the Montreal Locomotive Works in Canada. The vast ALCo Schenectady plant was completely demolished by 2019, and its site

10416-588: The local high school, Community High School, and authorities of Granite City, Illinois and State educational authorities, the graduates of Commonwealth School's high school program received diplomas along with the regular graduates of Community High School. By the end of 1927, the Commonwealth School was offering the following programs with almost 200 employees enrolled: Apprentice School, Night School Drawing, Eighth Grade School, High School, University Extension Courses, Special Engineering Class, Trade Knowledge Courses, Scholarships, and School Dinners. Employees shared in

10540-460: The market for locomotives was declining after the height of the dieselization era and EMD's GP9 was on the market as a proven competitor backed by a service infrastructure that ALCo, since the dissolution of the GE partnership, lacked. Sales were disappointing and ALCo's profitability suffered. GE entered the export road-diesel locomotive market in 1956, then the domestic market in 1960, and quickly took

10664-418: 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 4-8-4 Northern type steam locomotive, Santa Fe 3751 , and

10788-421: The outside frame was made of wood. The 30 inches (0.76 m) diameter boiler took 20 minutes to raise steam. Top speed was 28 mph (45 km/h). 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

10912-413: The pace of ALCo's efforts to develop a replacement for the troubled 244 engine, dissolved their partnership with ALCo and took over the gas turbine–electric venture that had started series production the previous year. In 1956, ALCo made long-overdue changes, modernizing its production process and introducing road locomotives with its new 251 engine. However, the benefits to ALCo were negated by bad timing;

11036-660: 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

11160-601: 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." Initially, Baldwin built many more steam locomotives at its cramped 196-acre (0.79 km ) Broad Street Philadelphia shop but would begin an incremental shift in production to

11284-568: The plant itself covering approximately 30 acres (12 hectares). The foundry alone was over a third of a mile long, 1,875 feet or 572 meters. In 1926, the company produced a "one-piece locomotive bed with cylinders, steam chests, and saddle cast integral" and delivered it to the Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis and, during this same period, cast steel underframes and trucks were developed for electric locomotives. By 1928, "practically all locomotives and passenger cars built in

11408-626: The postwar market. During World War II Baldwin's contributions to the war effort included not only locomotives and switchers but also tanks . Baldwin was one of the manufacturers of several variants of the M3 tank (M3 Lee, M3A2, M3A3, M3A5) and later the M4 Sherman (M4, M4A2). The company also built the M6 Heavy Tank , a prototype trialed by the US Army which never saw operational use. A Baldwin subsidiary,

11532-517: 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 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

11656-590: 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

11780-525: The second production steam locomotive in North America to use roller bearings (after the Delaware & Hudson's 1924 addition of SKF roller bearings to the drivers and main and side rods of their own 4-6-2 locomotives). This was Timken 1111 , a 4-8-4 commissioned in 1930 by Timken Roller Bearing Company and ultimately used for 100,000 miles (160,000 km) on 15 major United States railroads before it

11904-602: 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 United States Military Railroads and

12028-679: 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 . 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

12152-458: The time exclusively purchased Baldwin products after facing the same difficulties with British builders the NZR had. The Wellington & 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 (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

12276-444: 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

12400-455: The turn of the 20th 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 wheel arrangement, the Pacific was born. They were classed as Q class and remained in use until 1957. Being a new type of locomotive, the Q class had their shortcomings but eventually performed well. In 1914

12524-525: The war ended. Following the war Baldwin continued to supply export orders, as the European powers strove to replace large numbers of locomotives either worn out or destroyed during the war, as 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

12648-607: The world". That increased plant capacity by 35% and allowed it to produce the "largest steel castings in the world". With the completion of the new General Office Building on the site of its plant at 1417 State Street in Granite City, Illinois, the company's headquarters was relocated from the Pierce Building in St. Louis, Missouri to Granite City beginning on February 23, 1926. By 1927, the facility expanded to 350 acres (142 hectares) with

12772-724: Was also well known for the unique cab-forward 4-8-8-2 articulateds built for the Southern Pacific Company and massive 2-10-2 for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway . Baldwin also produced their most powerful steam engines in history, the 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" for the Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway . The Yellowstone could put down over 140,000 lbf (622.8 kN) of Tractive force . They routinely hauled 180 car trains weighing over 18,000 short tons (16,071 long tons; 16,329 t). The Yellowstones were so good that

12896-422: Was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania , it moved to nearby Eddystone in the early 20th century. The company was for decades the world's largest producer of steam locomotives , but struggled to compete when demand switched to diesel locomotives . Baldwin produced the last of its 70,000-plus locomotives in 1951, before merging with

13020-564: Was an American manufacturer that operated from 1901 to 1969, initially specializing in the production of locomotives but later diversifying and fabricating at various times diesel generators, automobiles, steel, tanks, munitions , oil-production equipment, as well as heat exchangers for nuclear power plants . The company was formed by the merger of seven locomotive manufacturers and Schenectady Locomotive Engine Manufactory of Schenectady, New York . A subsidiary, American Locomotive Automobile Company, designed and manufactured automobiles under

13144-522: Was assigned the task of producing road freight diesels (namely, the FT series). EMC'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 Sloan presented a timeline in his memoir that belies this assumption, saying that GM's diesel-engine R&D efforts of

13268-443: Was completed in the late 1920s. 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,

13392-466: Was converted to make diesel locomotives to compete with those of the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors. Joseph Burroughs Ennis (1879–1955) was a senior vice president between 1917 and 1947 and was responsible for the design of many of the company's locomotives. The company diversified into the automobile business in 1906, producing French Berliet designs under license. Production

13516-488: Was developed by Banaras Locomotive Works with help of American Locomotive Company (ALCO) for Indian Railways. In 1962 Alco locomotives entered in service and since then Thousands of Alco class Locomotive WDM-2 , WDM-3A , WDM-3D would be manufactured and rebuilt which would make most successful locomotives of Indian Railways serving both passenger and freight trains and still retain operational status for Indian railways today A new line of Century locomotives including

13640-449: 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

13764-578: 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 , No. 9000 and No. 9001, proved expensive, unreliable, frequently out of service, and were soon retired. Westinghouse cancelled its efforts in

13888-468: Was intended to compete with Baldwin Locomotive Co. which controlled two-fifths of the industry. The new company was headquartered in Schenectady. Samuel R. Callaway left the presidency of the New York Central Railroad to become president of Alco. When Callaway died on June 1, 1904, Albert J. Pitkin succeeded him as president of Alco. In 1904, the American Locomotive Company acquired control of

14012-775: Was largely overseen by Perry T. Egbert , vice president in charge of diesel locomotive sales and later president of the company. In the early to mid-1930s, ALCo was the pre-eminent builder of diesel–electric switch engines in the United States. It was slower than its competition to develop reliable diesel power for full-size mainline trains, though it did provided motive power for the Gulf, Mobile and Northern Railroad 's Rebel streamliners in 1935. In 1939, ALCo started producing passenger diesel locomotives to compete with General Motors ' Electro-Motive Corporation . The following year, ALCo teamed up with General Electric ( Alco-GE ) for much-needed support in competing with EMC. In 1941, ALCo introduced

14136-645: Was located at Alco's Rhode Island Locomotive Works in Providence, Rhode Island . Two years later, the Berliet license was abandoned, and the company began to produce its own designs instead. An Alco racing car won the Vanderbilt Cup in both 1909 and 1910 and competed in the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911, driven on all three occasions by Harry Grant . ALCO's automotive venture was unprofitable, and they abandoned automobile manufacture in 1913. The Alco automobile story

14260-425: Was lucrative. When the licenses ran out, all remaining parts were distributed, and the company dissolved. 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 & Truckee Railroad No.22 "Inyo" , but it was perhaps best known for the 2-8-2 "Mikado" and 2-8-0 "Consolidation" types. It

14384-673: Was purchased in 1933 by the Northern Pacific Railway . The Northern Pacific renumbered the Four Aces to No. 2626 and ran it on the North Coast Limited , as well as its pool trains between Seattle, Washington , and Portland, Oregon , and excursions, through 1957. During World War II, Alco produced many 2-10-0 Decapods for the USSR . Many went undelivered, and ten of these were sold to Finland in 1947. One, Alco builder's No. 75214,

14508-733: Was selected by the United States Army for a vital task: rejuvenating the Trans-Iranian Railway and extending it to the Soviet Union. This gave the U.S. ally a new supply line at a time when the German air force and navy had reduced Allied shipments to the Soviet port of Murmansk . The U.S. Army chose as locomotives the RSD-1 , a six-axle, six- traction motor variant of the light ALCo RS-1. Not only

14632-784: 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, & 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

14756-564: Was sold to White Motor Corporation in 1970, which developed White Industrial Power . In 1977 White Industrial Power was sold to the British General Electric Company (GEC) which renamed the unit Alco Power. The business was subsequently sold to the Fairbanks-Morse corporation, which continues to manufacture Alco-designed engines in addition to their own design. The heat exchanger business continued as Alco Products for

14880-487: Was such a success that he received an order from a railway company for a locomotive to run on a short line to the suburbs of Philadelphia. The Camden & Amboy Railroad (C&A) had already imported their John Bull locomotive from England, and it was stored in Bordentown, New Jersey awaiting assembly when Baldwin inspected it, noting the principal dimensions of the parts. Without the benefit of modern machine tools

15004-485: Was supportive of Americanization (helping foreigners adapt to the American way of life) efforts among the large immigrant population at Lincoln Place , providing free English-language classes to non-English speakers, and was strongly in favor of Prohibition . An article in the December 1915 issue of The Commonwealther was titled: "A saloon is sometimes called a bar - and so it is!" The company also encouraged fellowship and

15128-440: Was the company prevented from selling these locomotives to mainline U.S. railroads, but the 13 RS-1s that had already been built were commandeered for Iranian duty and converted to RSD-1s. The postwar era saw ALCo's steam products fall out of favor while it struggled to develop mainline diesel locomotives competitive with EMD's E and F series road locomotives, which were well-positioned from GM-EMC's large development efforts of

15252-631: Was unable to produce bolsters of the specified size. Cast steel bolsters of that size had not been previously manufactured. Howard negotiated with the Commonwealth Steel Company to produce the new steel bolsters and he assisted during the production process. Along with his former schoolmates, H. M. Pflager and G. K. Hoblitzelle, Howard assumed control of Commonwealth in 1904. He headed the company for 23 years, retiring in April 1931, two years after Commonwealth merged with General Steel Castings Corporation, and only months before his death in December 1931. The company

15376-471: 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 General Electric equipment. In 1954, during which time they were being virtually shut out of

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