Baldwin started building locomotives in the early 1830s in Philadelphia, PA. In 1906, he built an expansion in Eddystone. The last locomotive, estimated to be number 70,541, was built in 1954. The factory was then used to produce construction tools, but it was closed down for good in 1971. [pabook]
 |
| explorepahistory BaldwinParkPhilly "Aerial view of Eddystone in 1949. "Steam locomotives were being replaced with diesel and then diesel-electric locomotives starting in the 1930's. BLW never made the transition successfully. The Eddystone plant even at its maximum production had only used a third of its capacity, and after military contracts faded after World War II BLW closed its Philadelphia area factories in 1956. The Eddystone buildings were demolished except for two: the four-winged Baldwin Tower in the foreground of this photo; and the two-story manufactory seen on the middle left of this photo which now serves Aero Aggregates of North America." |
 |
| BaldwinParkPhilly "By 1907, BLW had maximized its use of the buildings it then had in our neighborhood. Adding extra floors to buildings still did not allow enough room for turning out six locomotives per day. Construction in Eddystone, just south of the current airport, began on 564 acres of land. The view here from 1918 shows access by rail and ships." |
The plant was obviously served by Pennsy and Reading. And then I saw the connector from the B&O that goes down along the Crum River to the plant.
 |
| 1944/44 Bridgeport Quad @ 31,680 |
 |
| Allan C Wirkkala posted At Baldwin Locomotive Factory. Shared. |
No comments:
Post a Comment