IRM: Baldwin Center Cab (Centercab) DT-6-6-2000

Update: more pictures of Baldwin DT6-6-2000: Griffith and Joliet. More information on the centercab in "Baldwin DT 6-6-2000."

IRM's Baldwin Center Cab was part of a switching class for volunteers when I visited June 27. This allowed me to get a decent profile shot of Minneapolis, Northfield & Southern Railway #21.

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Otherwise I would have only the picture taken while it was in Barn 9. The description of the switching class activity has several more pictures and a short video of this unit as it was moved from Barn 9 to the south lead of their steam engine service yard.

Since Baldwin was one of the major steam locomotive manufacturers, in the 1940s they did not believe that diesels would be used for mainline freight. But they were willing to concede that diesels made sense for switching so they built a large switcher for transfer service. (Transfer service is hauling large cuts of cars between yards in an urban area at rather slow speeds.) #21 was built in 1948 and arrived at the museum in 1983. With the dimensions of 74'3"x9'6"x16'8" and a weight of 356000 pounds, it was bigger than most diesel locomotives. A quick scan of IRM's roster of 50 diesels has only two longer diesels --- a passenger, EMD E5 at 80', and UP's special EMD DDX at 98'5". None of the other diesels are taller. Most are 15' or less. It ran on Cw trucks with WH 730F traction motors. Most of the units manufactured were powered by two 606SC engines, each of which produced 1000 horsepower. It did successfully achieve its goal of high tractive effort --- 105,000 pounds starting and 62,250 pounds continuous. But the large hoods on both ends significantly reduced visibility. #21 is the only remaining unit of the 46 that were built. (IRM Roster, AmericanRails)

Baldwin learned the same lesson that Fairbanks-Morse did --- the railroad locomotive market is a harsh environment for diesel engines. The are a lot of vibrations in a locomotive. And switchers frequently spool up and then idle. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern was the largest customer with 26 units. Some were rebuilt by EJ&E with 1200hp Baldwin 606A engines and some by EMD with their proven 1200hp 567C engines. I would have thought that "SC" in the original engine's designation meant "supercharged." But Wikipedia indicates they were turbocharged. The letter "A" in the replacement engine designation probably means normally aspirated. So I assume that some of their reliability issues involved the turbocharger. (Wikipedia)