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Reference \ Locomotive Builders \ Baldwin Locomotive Works

The Baldwin Locomotive Works.

Baldwin Locomotive Works Factory Engraving
Engraving Of The Baldwin Locomotive Works.

The Baldwin Locomotive Works was founded in 1831 by Matthias Baldwin. The original plant was on Broad street in Philadelphia, PA where the company did business for 71 years until it moved in 1912 to a new plant in Eddystone. Various partnerships during this period resulted in a number of name changes. It was known as Baldwin, Vail & Hufty (1839-1842); Baldwin & Whitney (1842-1845); M. W. Baldwin (1846-1853); and M. W. Baldwin & Co. (1854-1866). After Baldwin's death in 1866 the firm was known as M. Baird & Co. (1867-1873); Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co. (1873-1890); Burnham, Williams & Co. (1891-1909); it was finally incorporated as the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909. Westinghouse Corporation bought Baldwin in 1948. In 1950 the Lima-Hamilton Corporation and Baldwin merged. In 1956 the last of some 70,541 locomotives was produced.


The Baldwin Class System

The Baldwin Locomotive works utilized its own nomenclature for classifying locomotive designs. While this system is not detail specific, the data it does provide is more than useful to the modeler. As an example, we'll use the 8-18C class for a basic primer in this system

8 - Indicates there are a total of eight wheels on the engine.

18 - Indicates the cylinder diameter. Divide this number by 2 and add three any you will find the cylinder diameter is 12 inches (18 divided by two is 9, plus three is 12).

C - Indicates there are four driving wheels. D would indicate six, E would indicate eight, etc.

So an 8-18C class locomotive would have four driving wheels, a cylinder diameters of 12 inches.

While this system gives us a footprint of the locomotive in question, locomotives would also vary by driver diameter, cylinder stroke, wheelbase, weight and a number of other factors. Further Technical information for the locomotive would be outlined on the Spec Sheet.


Reference Material Available Online:

Catalogs.

Baldwin 1872 Locomotive Catalog
From Archive.Org

1877 Narrow Gauge Catalog (Part A) - 1877 Narrow Gauge Catalog (Part B)

Baldwin 1881 Locomotive Catalog
From Archive.Org

Baldwin 1885 Narrow Gauge Catalog.
Digitalized for Microsoft Corporation by the Internet Archive in 2007 From University of California Libraries. From The Bancroft Library University of California. Berkeley.

1900 Narrow Gauge Catalog (Export Locomotives)
Contains descriptions and diagrams of many standard baldwin components, and excellent reference.

Baldwin - Details of Locomotives and Cable Code for Replacement Parts, 1895..
Digitalized for Library of Congress by the Internet Archive in 2012. From The Library of Congress.

Baldwin - Details of Locomotives and Cable Code for Replacement Parts, 1906..
Digitalized for Library of Congress by the Internet Archive in 2012. From The Library of Congress.

Baldwin - Details of Locomotives and Cable Code for Replacement Parts, 1907..
Digitalized for Library of Congress by the Internet Archive in 2012. From The Library of Congress.

Locomotive Paint Styles.

The Baldwin Styles - The Colour & Architecture of US Locomotives. by David Fletcher.
From the William Mason's influence over American locomotive design, the historic architechtural designs of the 19th century, and Baldwin's development of the style system, David Fletcher provides a look into Baldwin's locomotive paint choices and explains their style system in detail.

Baldwin Paint Styles - Reference Illustrations by David Fletcher.
Not sure what "Style 1" looks like? These handy color references will help answer your questions for many basic Baldwin paint styles including exports.

Paint Style Index. The Baldwin style system is broken down into numbered cards with painted references to what a shop painter should apply to specific parts of the locomotive. This index outlines which card numbers make up each paint style. Transcribed by Andrew Brandon from the original Baldwin records at Stanford University.

Photographs.

Collected Baldwin Builders Photographs.
Builders photographs of Baldwin locomotives in our gallery.

Baldwin locomotive photographs.
Images with the keyword "Baldwin" in our gallery.


Reference Data.

Locomotive Data - Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation. The Edgell Press, 1912.

Baldwin Narrow Gauge 8-18C Data - Compiled By Randy Hees.
Compiled data on 8-18Cs built originally for American roads.

Surviving Baldwin 8-18C Drawings. Compiled by Curtis Ferrington.

Baldwin Locomotive Works engine specifications, 1869-1938.
Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from 1 to 4999, January 1833 to April 1880.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from March 1880 to May 1889, Nos. 5000 to 9999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from May 1889 to July 1896, Nos. 10000 to 14999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from August 1896 to January 1902, Nos. 15000 to 19999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from January 1902 to January 1905, Nos. 20000 to 24999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from January 1905 to January 1907, Nos. 25000 to 29999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from January 1907 to July 1910, Nos. 30000 to 34999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from July 1910 to July 1913, Nos. 35000 to 39999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from June 1913 to January 1917, Nos. 40000 to 44999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from January 1917 to September 1918, Nos. 45000 to 49999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from September 1918 to August 1921, Nos. 50000 to 54999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from September 1921 to May 1927, Nos. 55000 to 59999.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Baldwin Locomotive Works, Index of Companies, Construction Numbers from May 1927 through 1956, Nos. 60000 to 76149.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

1906 Employee's Book.
Employee book, 1906-1912, with index. Lists name, address, date engaged, education, age, and other information.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records. Call Number: MSS 0061, Box 9, Folder 9. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.

Articles.

History Of The Baldwin Locomotive Works 1831 - 1897.
Published by J. P. Lippincott Company 1897.

Some Features of the Labor System and Management at the Baldwin Locomotive Works Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 21.

Apprenticeship System at the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Volume 33.

AMERICAN INDUSTRIES—Baldwin Locomotive Works - Scientific American-May 31, 1884

Collections.

Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records, 1856-1956.
Southern Methodist University, Central University Libraries, DeGolyer Library.

Reference \ Locomotive Builders \ Baldwin Locomotive Works
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