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| 20150627 2187c I first discussed Baldwin center cab transfer engines when I saw some at the IRM. But Bill's comments and those of others have provided enough information that it is worth revisiting these monster engines. There are several more photos of this beast at "IRM: Baldwin Center Cab (Centercab) DT-6-6-2000". |
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| Bill Molony posted Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 #920 passing through Griffith, Indiana back in August of 1965.This locomotive was delivered by Baldwin in August of 1948 as EJ&E #120.It was rebuilt with EMD 567C prime movers and modified EMD switcher hoods at La Grange in February of 1958, and renumbered to #920 at that time. Darryl Van Nort: The frames couldn't stand up to the loads and weight and eventually broke. The J then scrapped them pretty much when / where they failed. The units were originally built by Baldwin expressly for th he J. As transfer locos, they were luggers and were full-series machines... no transition. Jeff Delhaye: Another issue was the fact that these rebuilds retained the original Westinghouse main generators. It took some experimentation to find governor settings that didn't overspeed the generators, or lug the new 567 prime movers. Gary Sprandel: Only saw one once as a young boy,maybe 10ish. Dad of one of my friends from the neighborhood took us over to the DQ in neighboring Barrington (can't remember why we didn't do the Palatine one) but as we were on line I start hearing crossing bells clanging and horns blowing so I turn to look south to the C&NW (guess having never seen anything on The J it never occurred to me) and after a few moments wondering why the signals weren't active but I clearly heard bells,horn and the thrum of diesel engines it occurred to me to look north to see one of these rolling walls cross rt 59 with a SD38 trailing. [I presume that DQ was on Hough Street. EJ&E crossing C&NW crossing] |
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| Denis Johnston commented on Bill's post
Always enjoyed these monsters rolling by as a kid in Chicago Heights. Photo from Kevin Piper.
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| Kevin Piper posted EJ&E liked their big Baldwin DT6-6-2000 locos enough to have EMD install new 12-567C engines in twelve of them. They retained their rugged Westinghouse electrical equipment, including the generators, so they were still rated at 2000 HP, and also had MU connections added to be used in multiple. They were awesome pullers, and sounded similar to an EMD E7 at full throttle. Up to three were often used on heavy iron ore trains, a pretty potent combination. 921 was at Normantown (near Plainfield), IL, on 12-16-67. LOUIS CERNY PHOTO |
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| Kevin Piper posted This was scanned from an 8 X 10 color print I bought at the Wheaton show about 35 years ago. It is the only time I've seen three Centercabs together, although this was normal power on ore trains before SD38's arrived in 1970. They sounded like an EMD E7 at full throttle, which is most likely because they both shared the same pair of 12-567 engines. Waukegan, IL, 3-14-73 WILLIAM ELEY PHOTO/KEVIN PIPER COLLECTION Eric Bolton They were repowered with EMD prime movers? Michael Steffen Yes, you can tell by looking at the bottom of the hoods. They are wider than the walkway and taper in at the bottom to match were the Baldwin hoods were. This was because the EMD prime movers were wider than Baldwin's Michael Steffen When moving the ore trains out of Waukegan it took 3 engines on the head end and two helpers on the rear to get the 120 car train up the 1% grade without breaking a knuckle, or worse pulling out a drawbar. The trains were interchanged at Waukegan to the J by the C&NW. The interchange point for ore traffic was moved to Leithton, West Chicago or Eola depending on the shipping contract and the need for helper service was eliminated.. Kevin Piper I remember getting ore at Upton from C&NW. They came in with three C628's. Kevin Piper While we are on the topic of ore trains, I was firing for Stanley Douglas on 9 & 10. Early one morning, right after sunup, we were going along west of Barrington on a high fill. Halfway down the east embankment was a loaded taconite car, trucks still attached, laying on its side, pellets spilled all over. Here's what happened: A loaded taconite train had gotten a knuckle during the night, a few hours earlier. In emergency, the rear portion separated from the front and ran into the train so hard before stopping that it popped one car over the bank. In the darkness, a brakeman found the broken knuckle, replaced it, and coupled the air hoses back up. He never suspected, or even noticed, a car had been tossed out of his train! Off to Joliet the train then proceeded, nobody the wiser. |
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| Jake Jones posted Sorry I can't remember where I got the article from. Tom Barnes The car right behind the engine is an NP boxcar! |
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| Kevin Piper posted EJ&E liked their big Baldwin DT6-6-2000 locos enough to have EMD install new 12-567C engines in fourteen of them. They retained their rugged Westinghouse electrical equipment, including the generators, so they were still rated at 2000 HP, and also had MU connections added to be used in multiple. They were awesome pullers, and sounded similar to an EMD E7 at full throttle. Up to three were often used on heavy iron ore trains, a pretty potent combination. 921 was at Normantown (near Plainfield), IL, on 12-16-67. LOUIS CERNY PHOTO |
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| Kevin Piper posted At any angle, the DT6-6-2000 was a massive beast. What it would have been like to run one of these! EJ&E experienced their share of Baldwin engine problems with them over the years, but their rugged Westinghouse electrical system was virtually indestructable, and they were always run hard. Joliet, IL, 10-20-66. EJ&E RY. PHOTO Cruz Martinez They were still pure baldwin in this shot!! Michael Deming My favorite EJ&E paint scheme. Loved seeing them switch the CGW at Ingalton. Darryl Van Nort Full series lugger. Load regulated governor. The RPMs stayed at idle until the load required more HP. David Hahn there's a baldwin center cab at IRM Darryl Van Nort Correct... Minneapolis Northfield & Southern #21. I had the good fortune to actually operate the unit once... it doesn't operate very often. What a beast! It's powered by two 606-SC prime movers, each producing 1000 HP at I forget what RPM. Pistons are the size of waste baskets... when starting it, the whole car body rocks. Darryl Van Nort I understand that the problem that the J and most other roads that had these was the frames cracking. This was especially true after the EMD rebuilds, and when the frames cracked, they'd set 'em out and cut them up wherever they were set out... my understanding could be the result of incorrect stories, of course.  Kevin Piper The FRA granted EJ&E a temporary waiver on the cracking with the 900's until 7-31-76. All had to be retired by then. The purchase of the last group of SD38-2's in late 1975 sealed their fate. The 900's were outdated as road power regardless. They had 6BL brakes, and no dynamic brakes, which were starting to be preferred by EJ&E with the coming of new coal contracts. Never to waste anything, engines were salvaged from the 900's and used in thirteen IMS-rebuilt used EMD switchers. (EJ&E 446-458) Kevin Piper EJ&E 308 & 309 also had engines from 900's. |
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