Baldwin S12
A preserved S-12 at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderBaldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation
ModelS12
Build dateJanuary 1951–October 1956
Total produced451
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
TrucksAAR type A
Wheel diameter40 in (1,016 mm)
Minimum curve44° (133.47 ft or 40.68 m radius)
Wheelbase30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
Length48’
Width10’
Height14’
Loco weight240,000 lb (108,862 kg)
Prime mover606A
RPM range625 rpm max
Engine typeFour-stroke diesel
AspirationTurbocharger Elliott Company H503 (215 hp)
Displacement1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder
11,874 cu in (194.58 L) total
GeneratorWestinghouse YG40D
Traction motorsWestinghouse 362D (4)
Cylinders6
Cylinder size12+3⁄4 in × 15+1⁄2 in (324 mm × 394 mm)
Performance figures
Maximum speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Power output1,200 hp (895 kW)
Tractive effortStarting: 72,000 lbf (33,000 kgf) @30%
Continuous: 34,000 lbf (15,000 kgf) @10.8 mph (17.4 km/h)
Career
Disposition6 preserved, remainder scrapped
Balwin DS-4-4-660 / DS-4-4-1000
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
ModelDS-4-4-660 / DS-4-4-1000
Build date660: June 1946 to May 1949
1000: January 1951 – November 1951
Total produced660: 139
1000: 446
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
TrucksAAR Type A truck
Wheel diameter36 in (914 mm)
Minimum curve44° (133.47 ft (40.68 m) radius)
Wheelbase30 ft 8 in (9.35 m)
Length46 ft 6+1⁄4 in (14.18 m)
Width9 ft 11+1⁄4 in (3.03 m)
Height14 ft (4.27 m)
Loco weight660: 196,600 lb (89,200 kg)
1000: 230,000 lb (100,000 kg)
Prime mover660: Baldwin 606NA
1000: 608NA later 606SC
RPM range625 rpm max.
Engine type606: Straight-6
608: Straight-8
Four-stroke diesel
Aspiration606NA and 608NA: Natural
606SC: Turbocharged
Displacement1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder
606: 11,874 cu in (194.58 L) total
608: 15,832 cu in (259.44 L) total
GeneratorWest’hse 480 DC
Traction motors(4) West’hse 362-D
Cylinders6
Cylinder size12+3⁄4 in × 15+1⁄2 in (324 mm × 394 mm)
Loco brakeAir
Train brakesAir
Performance figures
Power output660: 660 hp (492 kW)
1000: 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Tractive effort660: 56,500 lb (25,600 kg)
1000: 57,500 lb (26,100 kg)
Career
LocaleNorth America

The BLH S12 was a 1,200-horsepower (890 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive. Utilizing a turbocharged 6-cylinder version of the powerful 606A diesel prime mover, S12s were known for their "lugging" power, despite being temperamental. Like most BLH switchers, the S12 had AAR Type-A switcher trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. 451 units were built between 1951 and 1956, when BLH left the locomotive market.

Previous models

Baldwin made a number of switchers with similar dimensions and body styles. The first body style, used in VO models, had a slightly pointed nose with a round radiator opening. The second and third body style, almost indistinguishable and used interchangeably, had a flat nose and rectangular radiator opening. Various exhaust stacks were used, and are not an effective spotting feature, except that turbocharged models always had one large stack offset to the side.

The VO-660 was built between April 1939 and May 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated six cylinder engine rated at 600-horsepower (450 kW). 142 were built. Baldwin replaced the VO-660 with the model DS-4-4-660 in 1946.

The VO-1000 was built between January 1939 and December 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated eight cylinder engine rated at 1,000-horsepower (750 kW). Some had the Batz truck originally developed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for steam locomotives. 548 VO-1000s were built.

The DS-4-4-660 was built between 1946 and 1949. It replaced the 600-horsepower (450 kW) VO-660 as the low power companion to the DS-4-4-1000 models. 139 were built.

The DS-4-4-1000 was a 1,000-horsepower (750 kW) model built between 1946 and 1951. The first units (56 locomotives) were powered by an 8-cylinder normally aspirated prime mover, but from 1948 a change was made to a 6-cylinder turbocharged engine. A total of 502 were built.

Original buyers

RailroadQuantityRoad numberNotes
Baldwin-Lima-Hamiton (demonstrators)21200–1201to Rock Island 758–759
Atlanta and West Point Rail Road1678
Akron and Barberton Belt Railroad227-28
American Smelting and Refining Company21954–1955
Apache Railway1600
Armco Steel, Hamilton, Ohio1706
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad5463–467Renumbered 9274–9278
Calumet and Hecla Mining Company1203
Central of Georgia Railway4311–314
Central Railroad of New Jersey71053–1059
Chicago and North Western Railway161073–1076, 1106–1109, 1117–1121, 1126–1128
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“Milwaukee Road”)211905–1925Renumbered 900–914, 920–925 (not in order)
Copper Range Railroad1200
Erie Railroad12617–628
Erie Mining Company4400–403
Great Northern Railway524–28
Kansas City Southern Railway41160–1163
Lehigh Valley Railroad14230–243
Michigan Limestone2116–117
Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad151201–1210Renumbered
Monongahela Railway27400–426
Missouri Pacific Railroad209200–9219Renumbered 1260–1279
Missouri Pacific (International-Great Northern Railroad)109220–9226, 9230–9232
Missouri Pacific (St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway)39227–9229
Missouri Pacific (Union Railway of Memphis)79233–9239
McCloud River Railroad230–31#31 built as 800 hp; convertible to 1,200 hp (but never converted)
New Orleans Public Belt Railroad261–62
New York Central Railroad219308–9328
Oliver Iron Mining Company1933
Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad3345–347
Pennsylvania Railroad878100–8104, 8732–8796, 8976–8993PRR Class BS-12m
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines116017–6021, 6028–6033
Rayonier, Inc.2201–202
Seaboard Air Line Railroad101462–1465, 1476–1481to Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 203–206, 217–222
Sierra Railroad240, 42
Southern Railway102290–2299
Southern Pacific Company561442–1513, 1539–1550
Southern Pacific (Texas and New Orleans Railroad)3105–107
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company81200–1207
Tennessee Valley Authority41–3, 200
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis41250–1253
United States Air Force21841–1842
United States Army165-11391
United States Navy1365-00292–65-00294, 65-365–65-00374
U.S. Steel, Geneva Steel Works333–35
U.S. Steel, Homestead Steel Works1GE1
U.S. Steel, Morrisville, Pennsylvania Works9GE2–GE8, GE17–GE18
Wabash Railroad5305–309
Total451

Surviving units

At least six intact examples of the S12 are known to survive at railroad museums. SMS Lines operates S12 #301 at the Penn Warner industrial park at Morrisville, Pennsylvania. One unit that was converted from a Baldwin DS-4-4-1000 is in service on the Whitewater Valley Railroad.

References

  • Dorin, Patrick C. (1972). Chicago and North Western Power. Burbank, California: Superior Publishing. pp. 158, 161–163. ISBN 0-87564-715-4.
  • Pinkpank, Jerry A (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Kalmbach Books. pp. 282, 287–291. ISBN 0-89024-026-4. LCCN 66-22894.
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