Baldwin Noiseless(?) Locomotive

[Anonymous]

What is a Baldwin Noisless Locomotive? Seems like an oxymoron. How could a steam loco be "noiseless?"

[edblysard]

May be the steam turbine that GE and Baldwin developed in the early 50s. It had a condenser system that captured, cooled and condensed used steam back into water for the boiler. Steam drove the turbine, turbine drove the generator, ect. Was supposed to be very quite as the only steam to escape was from over pressuer relife valves. Belive it was the precursser to UP Big Blows. Oil fired Gas Turbines, which were anything but quite. I think the Baldwin was given up on because of the limitation as to the amount of water/ fuel it could carry, and the lack of todays current technology in heat exchange/condenser materials.

[Anonymous]

Have learned Baldwin Noiseless was NOT fireless. Rather, it was a "dummy." That said, nobody has been able to explain why it was called "noiseless."
Photo at: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/imago/baldwin.html
Top row, far right picture.
Love to learn more.
Hank

[edblysard]

No way that could have been "noiseless" How could you muffle something like that? It would have to exhaust used steam and exhaust gas somehow, no way you could keep that quite. Somewhere out there is a baldwin affectionaido who can explain this one???

[dknelson]

At the risk of sounding off the wall ... wonder if there is a chance that "noiseless" really just meant "less noisy" -- some kind of muffling system perhaps? This is pure speculation but I remember my father had an old old typewriter, almost certainly from the "steam era" LOL, and it was called a "Remington Noiseless" -- it was extremely noisy! But I gather it was less noisy that the usual run of typewriters at the time.
"Noiseless" may have been simply an advertising man's term of art at the time. As I said pure speculation. Even a freight car rolling down the track makes noise after all -- too much to expect any railroad equipment to be literally noiseless.
Dave Nelson

[edblysard]

Not so off the wall, in fact, I bet your advertising man term is on the money. We all know about the truth in advertising..but I would love to see what they could come up with to muffle a steam engine. I have a remington product also, a remington recoiless shotgun, which will just about tear your arm off if your not careful.

[BRAKIE]

Could it br a ELECTRIC Locomotive as interurban boxcabs?? The just hum no other noise. Baldwin-Westinghouse made electric locomotives.Just a thought.

[CHESSIEMIKE]

It's a "Soda" engine. Pull out your 1887 BLE Magazine or try this link for more info:

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?board=RailroadPaper;action=display;num=1032044394;start=10
CHESSIEMIKE

[Anonymous]

No, dk, believe it or not, a freight car can be silent. A little bit of frost on the rail, and a car can quietly "sneak up" on you with out a sound. That's why you never-ever walk around between the gauge. And a Baldwin diesel can be noiseless. There is NOTHING more quiet than the air around a diesel that has just expired; especially when it wasn't supposed to.

[edblysard]

Hey Skeets
Try the middle of the night, middle of a yard with a light fog, welded rail, a flat car in front of a black tank car. It just appears, no warning, no creaking ties, no flange squeal, not a sound.
And your right, nothing is so quite as a motor that just quit.

[Anonymous]

Sound like you've been there too, brother!

[Anonymous]

Did Baldwin make diesel's? All the references I have only show steam engines. (Just a couple of books I checked out from the library.)If they did why are they not still in business? One of the books mentioned they left the business when diesils became popular.
TIM A

[dknelson]

Baldwin made exceptionally interesting diesels including the sharknose and the huge Centipedes, a centercab transfer engine that is pretty impressive (there is one at the Illinois RR Museum in Union IL) as well as some switchers that were successful and some might still be chugging away at a grain elevator somewhere, who knows?
But they used a multiple unit method that was unique to them so they could not be MUd with EMD or Alco. That (and some design flaws) kind of forced their mainline engines into early retirement.
By the way I suspect that the "noiseless" claim was probably of greatest commercial value to the street railroad industry
Dave Nelson

[edblysard]

Yeah, and thats a mistake you dont often get away with. Once bitten, twice shy....
Be safe,
ED

[Anonymous]

Find a copy of "B&O Power", or "Erie Power"...plenty of BLW diesel photos. They made a tough, brawling diesel. Their yard engines lasted longer...I know there's one at B&ORR Museum in Baltimore from Canton RR and P&BR. Look at a recent Model Railroader Magazine for Stewart Products' recent release of Baldwin yard diesels in HO scale.

[Anonymous]

No offense to Baldwins, for I love Baldwin diesels, for I love Baldwin diesels and my model railroad is loaded whith them, but a Baldwin would ocaisonally quit. That might be why their transfer units had two engines?

[Anonymous]

Oh, they had some problems all right. Al Stauffer writes about some of them in Erie Power. Their yard power was probably their strong suite; Pennsy had a large fleet of them right up to Penn Central. No, if BLW was flawless and pure, they would still be with us today. No doubt.

[Anonymous]

Did Baldwin merge with someone or did they go out of business? Can someone tell me what year this happend? Also, if railroads are still using Baldwins were do they get parts for them?

[Anonymous]

Baldwin hooked up with Lima Locomotive, the builders of the famous NKP Berkshires. Hamilton was involved also; they built heavy equipment. The new B-L-H expired, I think in the late 50's. There is a series of color photo books available now, if you're inclined; they show photos of the different Baldwin owner's stuff in color. The volumes are done by alphabet. Pick up an MR or Trains for an ad.

[Anonymous]

Thank-you sir, you all have been most helpful.
TIM A