This is a Baldwin S-12 switcher engine on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in the town of Strasburg.
(James St. John, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
BALDWIN-LIMA-HAMILTON S12 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE
The BLH S12 was a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive manufactured by Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton. Utilizing a turbocharged 6-cylinder version of the powerful 606A diesel prime mover, S12s were known for their "lugging" power, despite being temperamental. Like most BLH switchers, the S12 had AAR Type-A switcher trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. 451 units were built between 1951 and 1956, when BLH left the locomotive market.
Southern Pacific Baldwin S12 1506, date, location and photographer unknown.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50569798847/in/photostream/)
Previous models
Baldwin made a number of switchers with similar dimensions and body styles. The first body style, used in VO models, had a slightly pointed nose with a round radiator opening. The second and third body style, almost indistinguishable and used interchangeably, had a flat nose and rectangular radiator opening. Various exhaust stacks were used, and are not an effective spotting feature, except that turbocharged models always had one large stack offset to the side.
The VO-660 was built between April 1939 and May 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated six cylinder engine rated at 600-horsepower (450 kW). 142 were built. Baldwin replaced the VO-660 with the model DS-4-4-660 in 1946.
The VO-1000 was built between January 1939 and December 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated eight cylinder engine rated at 1,000-horsepower (750 kW). Some had the Batz truck originally developed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for steam locomotives. 548 VO-1000s were built.
The DS-4-4-660 was built between 1946 and 1949. It replaced the 600-horsepower (450 kW) VO-660 as the low power companion to the DS-4-4-1000 models. 139 were built.
The DS-4-4-1000 was a 1,000-horsepower (750 kW) model built between 1946 and 1951. The first units (56 locomotives) were powered by an 8-cylinder normally aspirated prime mover, but from 1948 a change was made to a 6-cylinder turbocharged engine. A total of 502 were built.
Milwaukee Road Baldwin S12 923 at Minneapolis, Minnesota, June, 1975. Photographer unknown.
Built by Baldwin in December, 1950, as Milwaukee Road 1908. It was renumbered Milwaukee Road 923 in July, 1959.
It was retired in April, 1976, and scrapped at the Milwaukee shops in September.
(Craig Garver, Public domain, https://www.flickr.com/photos/digitalrailartist/50576654478/)
Original Buyers
| Railroad | Quantity | Road number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baldwin-Lima-Hamiton (demonstrators) | 2 | 1200–1201 | to Rock Island 758–759 |
| Atlanta and West Point Rail Road | 1 | 678 | |
| Akron and Barberton Belt Railroad | 2 | 27-28 | |
| American Smelting and Refining Company | 2 | 1954–1955 | |
| Apache Railway | 1 | 600 | |
| Armco Steel, Hamilton, Ohio | 1 | 706 | |
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad | 5 | 463–467 | Renumbered 9274–9278 |
| Calumet and Hecla Mining Company | 1 | 203 | |
| Central of Georgia Railway | 4 | 311–314 | |
| Central Railroad of New Jersey | 7 | 1053–1059 | |
| Chicago and North Western Railway | 16 | 1073–1076, 1106–1109, 1117–1121, 1126–1128 | |
| Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“Milwaukee Road”) | 21 | 1905–1925 | Renumbered 900–914, 920–925 (not in order) |
| Copper Range Railroad | 1 | 200 | |
| Erie Railroad | 12 | 617–628 | |
| Erie Mining Company | 4 | 400–403 | |
| Great Northern Railway | 5 | 24–28 | |
| Kansas City Southern Railway | 4 | 1160–1163 | |
| Lehigh Valley Railroad | 14 | 230–243 | |
| Michigan Limestone | 2 | 116–117 | |
| Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad | 15 | 1201–1210 | Renumbered |
| Monongahela Railway | 27 | 400–426 | |
| Missouri Pacific Railroad | 20 | 9200–9219 | Renumbered 1260–1279 |
| Missouri Pacific (International-Great Northern Railroad) | 10 | 9220–9226, 9230–9232 | |
| Missouri Pacific (St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway) | 3 | 9227–9229 | |
| Missouri Pacific (Union Railway of Memphis) | 7 | 9233–9239 | |
| McCloud River Railroad | 2 | 30–31 | No. 31 built as 800 hp; convertible to 1,200 hp (but never converted) |
| New Orleans Public Belt Railroad | 2 | 61–62 | |
| New York Central Railroad | 21 | 9308–9328 | |
| Oliver Iron Mining Company | 1 | 933 | |
| Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad | 3 | 345–347 | |
| Pennsylvania Railroad | 87 | 8100–8104, 8732–8796, 8976–8993 | PRR Class BS-12m |
| Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines | 11 | 6017–6021, 6028–6033 | |
| Rayonier, Inc. | 2 | 201–202 | |
| Seaboard Air Line Railroad | 10 | 1462–1465, 1476–1481 | to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 203–206, 217–222 |
| Sierra Railroad | 2 | 40, 42 | |
| Southern Railway | 10 | 2290–2299 | |
| Southern Pacific Company | 56 | 1442–1513, 1539–1550 | |
| Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad) | 3 | 105–107 | |
| Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company | 8 | 1200–1207 | |
| Tennessee Valley Authority | 4 | 1–3, 200 | |
| Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis | 4 | 1250–1253 | |
| United States Air Force | 2 | 1841–1842 | |
| United States Army | 1 | 65-11391 | |
| United States Navy | 13 | 65-00292–65-00294, 65-365–65-00374 | |
| U.S. Steel, Geneva Steel Works | 3 | 33–35 | |
| U.S. Steel, Homestead Steel Works | 1 | GE1 | |
| U.S. Steel, Morrisville, Pennsylvania Works | 9 | GE2–GE8, GE17–GE18 | |
| Wabash Railroad | 5 | 305–309 | |
| Total | 451 |
Central of New Jersey 1058 (Baldwin S12) at the Elizabeth, NJ Shops on November 8, 1969.
(Roger Puta, railfan 44 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/129679309@N05/22528677335/, Public Domain)
Surviving units
At least six intact examples of the S12 are known to survive at railroad museums. SMS Lines operates S12 No. 301 at the Penn Warner industrial park at Morrisville, Pennsylvania. One unit that was converted from a Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 is in service on the Whitewater Valley Railroad.
Southern Pacific Baldwin S12 units 2148 and 2146 bring a transfer run past the Santa Fe Tower in Los Angeles. Photo by Richard G. Nash.
(Audio-Visual Designs, Earlton, NY, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Model: S12
Build date: January 1951–October 1956
Total produced: 451
Specifications
Configuration: AAR B-B
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Trucks: AAR type A
Wheel diameter: 40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve: 44° (133.47 ft or 40.68 m radius)
Wheelbase: 30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
Length: 48’
Width: 10’
Height: 14’
Locomotive weight: 240,000 lb (108,862 kg)
Prime mover: 606A
RPM range: 625 rpm max
Engine type: Four-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Turbocharger -: Elliott Company H503 (215 hp)
Displacement: 1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder; 11,874 cu in (194.58 L) total
Generator: Westinghouse YG40D
Traction motors: Westinghouse 362D (x 4)
Cylinders: 6
Cylinder size: 12+3⁄4 in × 15+1⁄2 in (324 mm × 394 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed: 60 mph (97 km/h)
Power output: 1,200 hp (895 kW)
Tractive effort: Starting: 72,000 lbf (33,000 kgf) @30% / Continuous: 34,000 lbf (15,000 kgf) @10.8 mph (17.4 km/h)
Career
Disposition: 6 preserved, remainder scrapped
