Baltimore and Ohio 50 in 1972 at the EMD plant for EMC/EMD's 50th anniversary celebration..
(Audio-Visual Designs, Earlton, NY, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
EMC B&O No. 50
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad No. 50 was fundamentally identical to demonstrators 511 and 512 when delivered. In this form, it hauled the first Diesel-powered Royal Blue until the introduction of the EMC EA/EB units in 1937.
Baltimore & Ohio No. 50 at the National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, MO. J.J. Bothman photo.
(Argro Photo & Postcard, St. Louis, MO)
Shovel Nose
Following that, it had a semi-streamlined "shovel nose" applied to one end, and transferred to the Baltimore & Ohio-owned Chicago and Alton Railroad to haul the Abraham Lincoln. When the Alton left B&O control in the merger that created the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad, No. 50 entered the GM&O roster as No. 1200. After the 2nd world war, the shovel-nose treatment was removed, restoring the unit to its prior boxcab appearance. The locomotive was placed into local freight and passenger service until it was retired, upon which it was donated to the National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri, where it remains.
A postcard photo of the streamlined version, ca. 1935.
(Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
Overview
Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builder: General Electric (EMC design)
Serial number: 532
Build date: August 1935
Total produced: 1
Specifications
Career
Operators: Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; Chicago and Alton Railroad; Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad
Road Numbers: B&O 50; C&A 50; GM&O 1, 200
Official name: 1800 hp B-B
Locale: North America
Current owner: National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri
Disposition: Museum artifact on static display
The streamlined version of B&O No. 50 leading the Abraham Lincoln passenger train on the Alton Railroad in 1939.
(Alton Railroad, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)