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Archives Center, National Museum of American History
Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawings
Summary
- Collection ID:
- NMAH.AC.0353
- Creators:
-
Baldwin Locomotive Works
- Dates:
-
1870-1890
- Languages:
-
English.
- Physical Description:
-
9 Cubic feet4 drawers
- Repository:
Collection consists of 202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders, prepared to check the clearances and major component parts of the locomotive and retained for engineering reference.
Scope and Contents note
Scope and Contents note
202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders, prepared to check the clearances and major component parts of the locomotive. When work was slow, draftsmen hand-colored the drawings. They were not used in the shop but were retained for engineering reference.
Biographical/Historical note
Biographical/Historical note
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was the largest and most successful locomotive building firm in the world. It was begun as a machine shop owned and operated by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. Baldwin turned out its first locomotive engine from its shop in Philadelphia in 1832; within a few years the company was producing two a month and employed 240 men. By 1852, 500 engines had been produced; by 1861, 1,000; and by 1868, 2,000. At that point, the company employed between 1,600-1,700 men, and was one of the very largest machine works in the nation. In 1906 Baldwin began construction of a large auxiliary plant in Philadelphia suburb of Eddystone. In 1928 the Broad Street plant was closed and all work transferred to the Eddystone Plant.
Baldwin had been forced by hard financial times to take on a series of partners between 1839 and 1846, and the firm's name changed repeatedly as a result. 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.
The company's phenomenal growth ended with in the mid-1920s as the U.S. railroad industry began its long decline. Despite various mergers and acquisitions--and an increased attention to the development of diesel engines--a slow but sure decline set in. Baldwin declared bankruptcy in 1935. World War Two brought a temporary respite, but after the war the steam locomotive was obsolete and orders rapidly diminished. The Westinghouse Corporation bought Baldwin in 1948 but was unable to turn the company around. In 1950 the Lima-Hamilton Corporation and Baldwin merged but in 1956 the last of some 70,500 locomotives were produced and the company's long history came to an end.
Sources
History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1902
A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era, John H. White, (1982).
Administration
Author
Mark Seggel
Immediate Source of Acquisiton
Collection donated by H.L. Broadbelt, July 1959-November 1960.
Custodial History
Collection transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Transportation, now the Division of Work and Industry, April 1987.
Processing Information
Processed by Mark Seggel (volunteer), April 2007; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
Digital Content
Using the Collection
Restrictions on Access
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment.
Preferred Citation
Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawings, 1870-1890, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Related Archival Materials
Related Archival Materials
Archives Center #157, the Baldwin Locomotive Works Collection, consists of Engine Registers and Order Books for locomotives, 1833-1956. In addition, a six-reel microfilm edition of collection #157 is located in the NMAH Library (mfm-720).
Photographs relating to Baldwin are in the Railroad and Firefighting History Photographic Collection, Division of Work and Industry.
The DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University has a collection of 8,500 original Baldwin engineering drawings and has published three guides to their records.
More Information
Keywords
Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu
