Manuscript Group 427: BALDWIN-HAMILTON COMPANY RECORDS [ca. 1834-1962]
The Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, founded in 1832, had built more steam locomotives than any other institution in the world by the time construction was phased out in the early 1950s. Late in the 1890s, in conjunction with Westinghouse Electrical Manufacturing Company, Baldwin built small electric locomotives for mining and industrial use. By the mid-1920s, the company started experimenting with "oil" and diesel engines, and by 1939, was producing diesel electric locomotives. In the early 1950s, Baldwin merged with the Lima-Hamilton Company and the Austin-Western Dump Car Company and became the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Company, which continued until 1972.
The collection consists primarily of the engineering drawings for the locomotives produced, as well as various related indexes, registers, order books and specification books. The indexing system is incomplete and complicated and some gaps exist in the collection. The drawings are semi-processed at this time. For an explanation of how drawing searches can and cannot be done within our collection, detailed searching instructions are available. *** Please note: These are not searches that you can do yourself on our website. We have no online indexes or databases or digitized images of Baldwin records available over the internet. The instructions merely explain what sorts of searches staff can do for you, or the types of searches you can do if you visit the State Archives yourself or acquire copies of our records.
Two truckloads worth of as-yet unprocessed materials, accessioned in the early 1990s and supplemental to the processed series listed below, have not yet been completely arranged or described. Drawings which arrived in metal cabinets have been removed, sorted and boxed. In the case of "subseries II drawings"--the ones from ca. 1941-1950s bearing three-part ID numbers such as: "24-7-840" or "12-F-100" --these drawings were fully processed into {series #427m.37}. Later and earlier drawings, as well as manuals and textual materials, remain unprocessed and in much the same state as described in the descriptive report used to justify the appraisal of the shipment. Since this appraisal report provides much detail about the records involved, it is presented here sectionally, in PFD format:
Electric Card Directories, 1906-1967. (3 volumes) {#427m.23} [Description]
Electric, Compressed Air and Gasoline Locomotive Order Books, 1907-1920. (5 volumes) {#427m.24} [Description]
Electric Locomotive Specification Books, 1904-1936. (11 volumes) {#427.m25} [Description]
Electric Truck Order Books, 1905-1914. (3 volumes) {#427m.26} [Description]
Electric Truck Specification Books, 1906-1924. (3 volumes) {#427m.27} [Description]
Engine and Material Record for Steam Locomotives and Tenders, Engine Class 2-8-0, 19S, Numbers 847-901 (U.S. Government War Department), [ca. 1944]. (1 volume) {#427m.28}
Engineering Publications (Operation and Maintenance Manuals, Inspection Sheets, Bills of Material, Parts List Indexes, etc.). 1907-1954. (404 boxes) {#427m.29} [Description]
Pattern Number Card File, [ca. 1900s]. (1 box) {#427m.68} [Description]
Patterns (Tracings) for Drawbars, Driving Rods, Springs, Wheels, etc.), 1909-1931. (32 cartons) {#427m.44} [Description]
Photographs of Locomotives, [ca. 1909-1949]. (1 box) {#427m.45} [Description]
Record of Revisions to United States Government Standard Sheets, 1918. (2 boxes) {#427m.46} [Description]
Register of Engines Made by M.W. Baldwin; Baldwin, Vail and Hufty; Baldwin and Vail; Baldwin and Whitney; M.W. Baldwin and Company; Baldwin Locomotive Works; and M. Baird and Company, 1834-1871. (1 volume) {#427m.47} [Description]
Registers of Locomotives Constructed for the Years 1854-1907. (14 volumes) {#427m.48} [Description]
Repair Order Book for C.H. Wheeler Equipment, 1961-1962. (1 volume) {#427m.49} [Description]
Repair Parts Division Index Card File, [ca. 1944-1953]. (2 boxes) {#427m.50} [Description]
Sales Order Books, 1942-1950. (23 volumes) {#427m.51} [Description]
Sales Order Change Notice Books, 1952-1953. (2 volumes) {#427m.71} [Description]
Tender Work Books, 1924-1930. (2 volumes) {#427m.58} [Description]
Tracing Directory Number 6, 1939-1962. (1 volume) {#427m.59} [Description]
Tracing Number Card File, undated (1 card index box) {#427m.60} [Description]
U.S.R.A. Alphabetical Parts Card File, undated. (9 box) {#427m.61}
U.S.R.A. Sheet Number Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.62}
Weights of Connecting Rods for Class D and E locomotives, undated. (3 volumes) {#427m.63}
Weights of Electric Locomotives, [ca, 1896-1926]. (1 volume) {#427m.64}
Yearly Record of Locomotives Shipped, 1890-1948 (formerly Steam Locomotives Built for Export and Domestic Use (Commission Reports)). (2 boxes) {#427m.67} [Description]
Test Department, Eddystone, Pa.
Repair Report Index Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.65} [Description]
