The Baldwin Locomotive Works

Why do you state, "Also there are no super heaters on these engines"?  How did you determine that?

Looks like the SP 2-10-2's that were built in the 1920's.  A large group of them were shipped across country together as THE PROSPERITY SPECIAL.

Here's  more at this link: 

http://trainwatchersjournal.bl...cks-go-west.html?m=1

It's definitely a Western RR as #3671's tender appears to be oil based fuel instead of coal.

The order to Baldwin from Southern Pacific was for fifty [50]  2-10-2's .The first one rolled out in January  1922 and the fiftieth in May  1922 .  their number sequence started at 3668 and ended at 3717 . This was not uncommon for Baldwin to get a large order at that time .Indeed , the country was prosperous in the early twenty's. No. 3687 which is shown in the last picture was finished for delivery in January 1922 and sported the number 55268 on its builders plate .

Hello Prosperous people..... the roaring 20's and Prosperity ...happened began in 1922 ... America had a recession  that effected a good share of the country  after WW1 ...  the the huge SP order was to help boost spirits for a brighter tomorrow ...in this cause it worked .... the economy took off  ( roared) ... the roar was the automobile industry ... which spurred individual travel...suburban growth  better roads   ...ultimately to the determent of passenger rail travel . 

Here is link about the American economy in the 1920's

https://eh.net/encyclopedia/th...conomy-in-the-1920s/  

The roaring 20's is the birth period of the "Scale" model train world ...as kids who had early toy trains grew to desire something more realistic as adults ...

Ives brought out a standard gauge  Prosperity Special in gleaming cooper  in 1929 in the same hopes as the SP to boost economy ...it did not have the same effect as America sank in to a depression . 

for more info please click 

http://www.ivestrains.org/webo...erity/prosperity.htm

Cheers Carey

Maybe you were thinking of a feed water heater instead of a superheater, Bobby. (?)

Number 90 posted:

Maybe you were thinking of a feed water heater instead of a superheater, Bobby. (?)

The locomotives also have big ol' Worthington BL feedwater heaters on the left side:

Rusty

I have a question maybe Tom can answer. How did they move 50 steam engine together? I'm sure they didn't use 50 engineers and run all of them live. How many steamers would it take to pull that many locomotives? Don

scale rail posted:

I have a question maybe Tom can answer. How did they move 50 steam engine together? I'm sure they didn't use 50 engineers and run all of them live. How many steamers would it take to pull that many locomotives? Don

Dead in train with the main and valve rods removed. 

The Prosperity Special itself consisted of 24 locomotives.

Rusty

Bobby Ogage posted:

Some of the 70,000+ engines built by Baldwin most of which were steam engines. I found this photo on Facebook this morning. Can any of you identify these engines as to type and railroad?

Notice the semi-gloss finish, and that there is no silver smoke box paint on these new engines. Also there are no super heaters on these engines. The wings on the headlights are interesting. I think that these are freight engines.

The Espee referred to these big hogs as "Decs" as in Decapods. Even though the Decapod name was associated with a 2-10-0 type locomotive, the SP called its 2-10-2 locomotives "Decs" for two very good and compelling reasons:

1) The accepted name for a 2-10-2 was a "Santa Fe" type, named after SP competitor AT&SF.  SP was not about to refer to a class of its engines as "Santa Fe" types.

2) Espee bought and paid for them and could call them whatever it chose to call them.

Baldwin Locomotive Works.  Philadelphia, PA.  (Eddystone).   Interesting to see a large company go away.  Note that there was a small manufacturing plant, Grove City, PA., (Satec, now gone), that was closely related to Baldwin. 

Almost went under 1917, Russian revolution, when a large order of what are now call the Russian decapods, were produced, ready for shipment, and the international world turned upside down.  Our government stepped-in and required several different railroads to take these locomotives.  Note that Baldwin modified the tires from 5' to 4'8".

Just wasn't a diesel manufacturer.  Gone 1972.

I have a rather slender book that I bought titled "History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works -1831-1907"  published by the company in 1907. Not a lot of technical data, mostly about Baldwin running the company. Like so much of US industry, WW II was not good for them.

Odd that WWll did not provide lucrative defense contracts. With skills in desperately needed heavy industry, l would have thought so.  Ford, Kaiser, GM cranked out war materiel.

jim pastorius posted:

I have a rather slender book that I bought titled "History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works -1831-1907"  published by the company in 1907. Not a lot of technical data, mostly about Baldwin running the company. Like so much of US industry, WW II was not good for them.

Actually WWII was VERY good for Baldwin, as if it had not been for the war, which caused SERIOUS limitations on the production of EMD freight & passenger diesel units, the Baldwin Locomotive Works would have been "out of business" prior to 1942. Many U.S. railroads were FORCED (by the War Production Board) to continue purchasing new steam locomotives, since they could NOT purchase enough diesel units.

I knew if I got things wrong, you all would straighten me out with lots of facts. Thanks everyone!

And then there were those SP 2-10-2's . . .

Don, Rusty is correct.  The engines were moved dead-in-train with main rods removed (shipped on flat cars or the tender deck, properly blocked and secured).  An engine watchman, who could have been a promoted Fireman or a Machinist while off-line, and a Fireman when the engines hit home rails, would be assigned to ride each locomotive and oil around, at each stop.  Machinists would also ride all the way, to check grease cellars and journal bearings and to lubricate the rods, as well as -- if it became necessary -- making any incidental repairs capable of being done in the field.  There would be at least one brake rigging adjustment en route, and there was a check list to be gone over after a certain number of miles, short distances at first, then increasingly longer distances as the engines moved further west.  Steam locomotives in transit, whether single or in a group, were always in the care and under the observation of at least one employee per locomotive.

Might Find this interesting! 

I dug this info out of the internet.

The Southern Pacific Co. was very aware of the recession that the country was experiencing and early in 1921. In a move that would hopefully send a message of optimism and faith in the economy to their passengers, customers, shippers and the rest of the country, the Southern Pacific placed an unprecedented expensive order to the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Pennsylvania for 50 2-10-2 locomotives specifically designed for heavy mountain terrain.

Samuel Vauclain, President of the Baldwin Locomotive Works had a sense of what a train of new locomotives could do for the image of Baldwin, and the morale of the country. As the completion date of the locomotive order came near, Vauclain contacted every newspaper and radio station on the proposed delivery route to publicize the event. On May 27th, 1922, 24 of the 50 new locomotives went west out of the Baldwin Locomotive Plant to East St. Louis, took the Cotton Belt Line across Texas and was switched to Southern Pacific tracks in El Paso. Thousands of spectators lined the tracks to see an almost half mile long train made up entirely of new locomotives cross the country bound for California. A large sign was erected on the lead locomotive that read, ‘The Prosperity Special’. The special arrived at Taylor Yard in Los Angeles in early June.

Half of the order of 50 locomotives stayed in Los Angeles to run heavy freights over Beaumont Hill and Tehachapi Pass. The rest of the locos went to Sacramento for duty over the Sierra Nevadas.

Number 90 posted:

And then there were those SP 2-10-2's . . .

Don, Rusty is correct.  The engines were moved dead-in-train with main rods removed (shipped on flat cars or the tender deck, properly blocked and secured).  An engine watchman, who could have been a promoted Fireman or a Machinist while off-line, and a Fireman when the engines hit home rails, would be assigned to ride each locomotive and oil around, at each stop.  Machinists would also ride all the way, to check grease cellars and journal bearings and to lubricate the rods, as well as -- if it became necessary -- making any incidental repairs capable of being done in the field.  There would be at least one brake rigging adjustment en route, and there was a check list to be gone over after a certain number of miles, short distances at first, then increasingly longer distances as the engines moved further west.  Steam locomotives in transit, whether single or in a group, were always in the care and under the observation of at least one employee per locomotive.

Great info, Tom!

Would the valve gear be disconnected as well? If not, how would the piston valves be lubricated?

smd4 posted:

Number 90 posted:

And then there were those SP 2-10-2's . . .

Don, Rusty is correct.  The engines were moved dead-in-train with main rods removed (shipped on flat cars or the tender deck, properly blocked and secured).  An engine watchman, who could have been a promoted Fireman or a Machinist while off-line, and a Fireman when the engines hit home rails, would be assigned to ride each locomotive and oil around, at each stop.  Machinists would also ride all the way, to check grease cellars and journal bearings and to lubricate the rods, as well as -- if it became necessary -- making any incidental repairs capable of being done in the field.  There would be at least one brake rigging adjustment en route, and there was a check list to be gone over after a certain number of miles, short distances at first, then increasingly longer distances as the engines moved further west.  Steam locomotives in transit, whether single or in a group, were always in the care and under the observation of at least one employee per locomotive.

Great info, Tom!

Would the valve gear be disconnected as well? If not, how would the piston valves be lubricated?

Generally the valves themselves were disconnected, but the eccentric crank had to be reinstalled (with a wood spacer) in order to keep the side rods in place. The eccentric rod was also left in place in order to operate the mechanical lubricators, if so equipped. If no mechanical lubricators, then the eccentric rod could also be removed, to prevent valve movement.

Thanks Hot.

Number 90 posted:

And then there were those SP 2-10-2's . . .

Don, Rusty is correct.  The engines were moved dead-in-train with main rods removed (shipped on flat cars or the tender deck, properly blocked and secured).  An engine watchman, who could have been a promoted Fireman or a Machinist while off-line, and a Fireman when the engines hit home rails, would be assigned to ride each locomotive and oil around, at each stop.  Machinists would also ride all the way, to check grease cellars and journal bearings and to lubricate the rods, as well as -- if it became necessary -- making any incidental repairs capable of being done in the field.  There would be at least one brake rigging adjustment en route, and there was a check list to be gone over after a certain number of miles, short distances at first, then increasingly longer distances as the engines moved further west.  Steam locomotives in transit, whether single or in a group, were always in the care and under the observation of at least one employee per locomotive.

I have seen a number of references to the person riding the cab of a new locomotive, in transit from the builder to the purchasing railroad, as a "messenger".  If I recall correctly, that person was an employee of the builder, the locomotive not becoming the property of the railroad company until it reached the agreed upon place of  acceptance. Often, this would be a place on the purchaser's line that was in the lowest tax jurisdiction, so that the least amount of taxes would be applied to the purchase cost.