From Baldwin Magazine Third Quarter 1944.









Steve

Steve

Excellent! Thanks for posting.

Steve

I'm glad you enjoyed it.

As a former machinist, I enjoy these articles the most. The Barnes equipment I believe was made here in Rockford.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Barnes-Dril ... 0831059938

Steve

Good stuff !!! There was an article in American Machinist (?) magazine circa 1951 detailing the production of the Alco 244 engine. Can't put my finger on it right now.

Dave

I don't suppose any ALCO internal correspondence regarding 241 vs. 244 and, later, the dire need to replace the 244 has been preserved. Who knows how history would have been different had they gone with the 241 or fully debugged the 244 before putting it into production. Maybe instead of severing their partnership and entering the business independently a few years later, GE would have simply bought out ALCO.

Steve

As a writer and editor, I'm amused by one major failure in that article.

Did anyone else catch it? (Hint: It's not a typo or grammatical error.)

Yes, Sandy - and not a very subtle screw-up - with the usage of "pin" in place of "shaft".

I am still trying to figure out where Baldwin diesels were built.

Nope. Something else. Something much more basic, which would earn you a demerit or lower grade in a college course on writing.

The article details the engine shop at Eddystone, PA. Later production was consolidated with the Hamilton Engine facility in Hamilton, Ohio.

Dave

Note all the cars in the parking lot, at the height of gas rationing. It only goes to show that people in some industries qualified for more gas stamps.

The article never mentioned where this Diesel shop was located. I assumed it was at Eddystone, Penn.

Also, the Ingersoll milling machine was another Rockford product.

http://www.rockfordil.gov/public-works/ ... (ingersoll).aspx



Steve

Would I love to get my hands on old American Machinist Magazines. What were thrown out back then as worthless trade magazines today would be fantastic historic documents.

Anyone have some they want to get rid of?

Steve

DINGDINGDING! We have a winner!

The article states the STOREROOM is in Eddystone. We are left to ASSUME the engine production facility is in Eddystone as well. But as any competent researcher, attorney, or political analyst will tell you, simply because they infer it without explicitly saying it doesn't mean that this is actually the case. For all we can actually tell from this article, the actual engine building (not locomotive, diesel engine) plant is in some "undisclosed" or "secret" location, possibly being built by a subsidiary, subcontractor or even a competitor.

The cynic/journalist in me instantly said "Why are they not telling me this? What are they hiding? There's a reason, isn't there?"

Such subterfuge is far too common in political discussion or speeches, where the objective is typically to answer the question you wish someone had asked, not the question(s) actually asked. At its best, this article is simply sloppy writing and a classic example of "insular thinking," where you assume everyone knows, thinks like, and/or agrees with your knowledge or viewpoint; at its worst, it can be a maliciously deceptive manner of presentation. Any expository-writing or composition teacher would nail an essayist for this, and rightfully so.

This can be a lesson in why you might want to recruit a trained writer, or former journalist if available, to write or review press releases or the like for your organization.