This forum receives many queries on where to find Baldwin records. Here is my comprehensive go-to guide, first written in 1997 and revised in 2020.

LOCATIONS OF BALDWIN LOCOMOTIVE WORKS RECORDS
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was founded by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831 to supply steam motive power for the railroad industry worldwide. In 1926 the company moved from its original Broad and Spring Garden streets factory in Philadelphia to Eddystone, Delaware County. At its apex, Baldwin was once the world’s largest manufacturer of steam locomotives whose production spanned the entire steam era, having built a total of 70,500 steam, diesel-electric, gasoline and electric locomotives by the time it ceased production in 1956.

Researchers seeking records of the defunct Baldwin Locomotive Works (1833-1956) have several institutions from which to choose. It must be noted that the majority of the BLW records were disposed of when locomotive production ceased in the mid-1950s at its Eddystone plant, and its engineering archives were subsequently destroyed. What little that exists today was the result of quick and random action on the part of former employees and enthusiasts, who in many cases singlehandedly rescued BLW records from the company’s dumpsters. Private collectors also retain much BLW memorabilia, albeit widely scattered, although this is becoming rarer as time moves forward.

From 1975 until 1991, the Baldwin-Hamilton Corporation placed its historical records in various repositories, among them the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, the Smithsonian Institution, the Ohio Historical Society and the California State Railroad Museum.

The following updated guide summarizes the preserved Baldwin records that exist in public and private archives across the United States:

1. Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 601, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012, (202) 633-3270, Email: archivescenter@si.edu
Baldwin Locomotive Works Engine Registers (9 Vols., 1833-1956, not inclusive) (NMAH.AC.0157)
Order Books (9 vols., 1854-1900) (NMAH.AC.0157); 6-reel microfilm collection of Engine Registers and Order Books (Microfilm roll #720) in NMAH Library; Drawings (1870-1890) consisting of 202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders (9 cubic feet, 4 drawers), donated by H.L. Broadbelt July 1959-November 1960 (NMAH.AC.0353) . An online listing of drawings can be found at this link: http://amhistory.si.edu/archives/AC0353 ... s_list.pdf

Baldwin Locomotive Works Scrapbooks, 1867-1929 (4 vols.) (NMAH.AC.1181); and Southwark Foundry and Machine Company Records, c.1868-1945 (342 cu. ft.) (NMAH.AC.1107).

Additional BLW photos in Railroading and Firefighting History Photographic Collection in Work & Industry Division Collections/NMAH.

2. California State Railroad Museum Library and Archives, 111 “I” Street, Sacramento, CA 95814, Kathryn Santos, Archivist
This premier state railroad museum has gathered some Baldwin materials in the last few decades, chiefly from private collections. Records include: misc. BLW trade catalogues (various years); Records of Recent Construction (nos. 1-100, 1897-1920); and specification books on microfilm (from DeGolyer and Stanford).


3. DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University, 6404 Robert S. Hyer Lane Dallas, TX 75205
214-768-3637, Email: degolyer@smu.edu

Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works records 1856-1956, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University (175 linear feet) (Mss 61). Most of the drawings that are included in this collection were purchased from Owen Davies who was acting as an agent for C. W. Witbeck of Hammond, Louisiana. In 1953 or 1954, Witbeck acquired a narrow gauge steam locomotive from Godchaux Sugar Co. which in turn he sold to Gerald Best. Best, it turned out, was acting on behalf of Disneyland. When Witbeck approached Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania about the original drawings for the locomotive, he learned that Baldwin was preparing to destroy their inactive records. He requested permission to retrieve what he could and was given a period of time to make his selections.
Apparently, Witbeck sold and gave away small lots of these records to other collectors. Between the years 1962 and 1967, Everett Lee DeGolyer, Jr., Director of the DeGolyer Library, acquired the bulk of Witbeck's collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works material. While most of the original drawings came from the Witbeck collection, a small number of the mechanical drawings were also purchased from Herbert L. Broadbelt. In May 1989, Mr. H. Charles Yeager donated a group of drawings to the DeGolyer Library which are included in this listing. Yeager received these drawings as gifts from Witbeck.

Most of the records included in this collection were purchased from Owen Davies, a book and manuscript dealer, who was acting as an agent for C.W. Witbeck of Hammond, Louisiana. The typescript builder’s lists containing numbers were acquired from Sylvan R. Wood. Although most of the original drawings came from the Witbeck collection, a number of the mechanical drawings were also purchased from Herbert L. Broadbelt. Stanford University provided the DeGolyer Library with a microfilm entitled "Engine Drawing 1873-1910" which appears to be a pattern book showing engine designs.

The primary Baldwin records include the following:
Series 1: Engineering Drawings, 1900-1920 (9,720 drawings)
Erecting card drawings: circa 4,017 drawings. Arranged by railroad name, BLW class, road number. Digital listings can be found here:
https://www.smu.edu/~/media/Site/Librar ... adName.pdf
https://www.smu.edu/~/media/Site/Librar ... -Class.pdf
Detail drawings: circa 5,703 drawings. Arranged by railroad name and BLW class when that information is available. Digital listings can be found here:
https://www.smu.edu/~/media/Site/Librar ... adName.pdf
https://www.smu.edu/~/media/Site/Librar ... -Class.pdf

Series 2: Specification books, 1856-1864; 1869-1938 (78 volumes) – partially Microfilmed
Digitized online: http://digitalcollections.smu.edu/cdm/s ... d/32/rec/1
Series 3: Miscellaneous indexes and rosters, 1933-1956 (2 boxes)
Digitized: https://www.smu.edu/Home/Libraries/digi ... ctions/rwy
Series 4: Sales order books, undated (9 boxes)
Series 5: Extra order books, 1839-1933 (14 boxes)
Series 6: Law and junior law books, 1877-1937 (2 boxes)
Series 7: Data books, 1879-1933 (5 boxes, filing cabinet)
Series 8: Employee book, 1906-1912 (1 volume, indexed)

Other secondary DeGolyer collections containing Baldwin records include the following:
Samuel M. Vauclain papers, 1856-1940 (A1980.0220) (MSS 74) - 15 boxes (15 linear feet). The collection contains business and personal notebooks, business correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, charts, and sketches. Approximately 90% of the collection concerns Vauclain's business career with the other 10% pertaining to his personal life. Of the business papers about half relate to Baldwin Locomotive Works' foreign affairs. The collection includes a copy of Vauclain's indenture contract with Pennsylvania Railroad, correspondence and photographs with European heads of state, correspondence concerning domestic and foreign business, propaganda on the "Prosperity Special," numerous speeches and magazine articles, and sketches and correspondence concerning Vauclain's innnovations. The business and personal papers of Samuel M. Vauclain were given to the DeGolyer Foundation by the family of Samuel M. Vauclain, III in 1963. The DeGolyer Foundation’s assets were donated to Southern Methodist University in 1974 and became part of the DeGolyer Library Manuscript Collection, A1980.0220.
Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works photographs (Ag1987.0611) 646 photographic prints and negatives. Views of steam, diesel and electric locomotives, locomotive parts, employees, and construction work at the Baldwin shop building a 4-8-8-2 Southern Pacific locomotive, a 6-8-6 locomotive for the Pennsylvania Railroad, a diesel for the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad and parts of streamlined 4-6-4 locomotives for the New Haven Railroad, 1937 and others. Also includes photographs of the Pennsylvania Railroad T1 streamlined locomotive designed by Raymond Loewy, the GG1 designed by Donald R. Dohner and the R1. Railroads represented: Chile Ferrocarril; New York New Haven & Hartford; Norfolk & Western; Norfolk Southern; Northern Pacific; Pennsylvania Railroad; Union Pacific and the U.S. Army. Some photographs have captions. Two albums of views of Western Maryland Railroad Baldwin diesel electric locomotives 1403 and 1404. Also, 62 unmounted albumen prints documenting the Class 1 locomotives produced by the successors to Mathias Baldwin at what would later become known as the Baldwin Locomotive Works, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Baldwin Locomotive Works: foreign locomotive photographs,1846-1917 (Ag1982.0053x) Five albums of photographs ( three numbered 6, 9, 10 and two unnumbered) of foreign locomotives some built by Bayer, Peacock & Co., Rogers, Dickson Mfg., Norris, Fowler's Electrical Dept., Westinghouse and some by Baldwin Locomotive Works. Album covers have names Burnham, Williams & Co. and Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co., earlier names of Baldwin Locomotive Works. Volume 10 includes large format photographs of the Peñoles Mining Company; Ojuela Mine in Durango, Mexico; and a smelter at Campo Sur, Mexico on the narrow gauge Mapimi Railroad. Railroads included are from: Australia, Tasmania, Great Britian, Switzerland, Austria, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Turkey, Bulgaria, Palestine, New Zealand, Mexico, Germany, France, Argentina, Japan, Uganda. Some American locomotives are also represented: a locomotive built in the Central Pacific Railroad shops in Sacramento, California, the Nickel Plate Line. Also included are prints of locomotives, photographs of ships, the Baldwin exhibit and others at the Paris exposition, 1900, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Baldwin Locomotive Works builder’s cards (Ag2005.0003) 1,043 items. A collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works builders' cards with photographs of locomotives on one side and specifications printed verso. Arranged alphabetically by railroad line. Additional Baldwin builders cards added as identified and acquired. Gift National Railway Historical Society, 2005.
E. Gebhardt collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works drawing reproductions (A1994.1982x) – 1994 – (11 items) This collection contains paper copies of 101 erecting drawings by the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the following railroad lines: Live Oak Perry & Gulf Railroad, Choctaw Oklahoma & Gulf Railroad, Red River & Gulf, Colorado Midland Railroad, East Broad Top Railroad, New Orleans & Northeastern Railroad, Louisiana Railway & Navigation Co., Industrial Lumber Co., United Verde & Pacific. also included is a hand-drawn cross-section and side elevation of Live Oak Perry and Gulf locomotive 100 by E. Gebhardt.
Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings (A1989.1612x) 4 items. Original Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings on linen paper, including #175-21 and 170-8 (two drawings each): Chile State Railways and Atchison Topeka & Santa Fe. Gift, H. Charles Yeager, 1999.
Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings (A1987.1480x) 4 items. Baldwin Locomotive Works erecting card drawings for the following Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis Railroad locomotives (by class number): 14-48 1/4 E 46-48, 12-46 1/4 E 769-773; 12-40 1/4 D 69, 12-44 1/4 D 106.
Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings, 1916-1918 (A1990.1663x) Three volumes of drawings for Baldwin Locomotive Works engines built for Russia. All three volumes are for the years 1916-1918. The collection includes details for Baldwin road names Philadelphia (Nos. 541 to 690), Russian and American (Nos. 501 to 540 and Nos. 691 to 800). All three engines seem to be for E class locomotives. Purchase, 1990.
Lawford H. Fry papers, 1873-1945 (A2006.0018c) – 1 box. Business Correspondence (with Samuel Vauclain);

Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings, 1894-1907 (130 items) (A1992.1780x)
http://legacy.lib.utexas.edu/taro/smu/0 ... 00064.html

4. Federal Archives Center, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Baldwin bankruptcy records (1935-1938)

5. Hagley Museum & Library, 298 Buck Road, Wilmington, DE 19807, (302) 658-2400, AskHagley@Hagley.org, Clayton Ruminski, Archivist

William Liseter Austin Collection. Drawings, internal memos, photographs, and reports kept by Austin during his career (1870-1932) at Baldwin. Also, a separate collection of notebooks outlining sales and design negotiations with customers.

Reading Company Collection contains the corporate archive of the Philadelphia and Reading Railway which provides data on the carrier’s frequent purchases of Baldwin engines (1840s-1920s).

6. Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1300 Locust Street Philadelphia, PA 19107
T: (215) 732-6200 F: (215) 732-2680

Baldwin Locomotive Works Records, 1825-1869 (Collection 1485).
64.25 Linear feet 59 boxes, 152 volumes. Included in these papers are letter books, 1842-1866; letter book of Matthias W. Baldwin, 1837-1839; of the New York office, 1865-1867; of Gilead A. Smith, New York office, 1861-1865; and of Matthias W. Baldwin, 1834-1841; day books, 1835-1866; journals, 1839-1867; ledgers, 1839-1867; cash books, 1839-1867; receipt book, 1849-1854; loans ledger, 1866-1868; apprentices books, 1854-1868; charge books, 1846-1849, 1853-1867; charge book for shop work, 1858-1859; orders book, 1853-1858; goods received book, 1855; extra orders book, 1854-1869; specifications books, 1836-1843; John Gulliver's American Systematic Beneficial Society, 1856-1858. The books cover every activity of the firm for the first 35 years of its existence.

Baldwin Locomotive Works Memorabilia, 1928-1944 (Collection 1460)
0.2 Linear feet 1 box. This small collection is from Charles Damsky, once a local engineer for the Baldwin Locomotive Works. Among the materials are an issue of Baldwin, the company’s magazine, from 1944; two copies of a 1939 report by Damsky titled “A Study of Counterbalance as Related to the Further Development of the Steam Locomotive in High Speed Service;” a book titled The Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia: The History of Eddystone (1928); an undated copy of a letter from the Northwest Locomotive Association; a business card of one C. L. Tracy, chief staff photographer of the American Locomotive Company; and a round ID badge of Charles Damsky of Baldwin’s general office, number D-113.

Samuel Matthews Vauclain Papers, 1856-1940 (Collection 1900A)
3.8 Linear feet ; 8 boxes, 2 volumes. Vauclain was the president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works. The material reports on production and sales and is inconsistent in subject and chronology: advertising department memoranda, 1920; cabinet meeting minutes, 1923-1924; comptroller's reports, 1920-1921, 1924, 1928; domestic sales department reports, 1919-1920, 1924; drawing room reports and memoranda, 1920-1921, 1923-1924; foreign sales department coded telegrams from Europe, 1923; personnel records, 1919-1920; general superintendent reports, 1923-1926; and vice-president in charge of manufacture memoranda, 1919. There is also correspondence, 1905, on locomotives for the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway; scrapbook with miscellaneous correspondence and newspaper clippings on Baldwin Locomotive's war work; photographs of the Baldwin Locomotive Works and of Vauclain as chairman of the Philadelphia Gas Works Commission; letters, 1909, from Vauclain's family while they traveled in Europe; and family photographs.
Vauclain Family Papers and Genealogical Research Files (Collection 3666)
2.4 Linear feet , 6 boxes. Samuel Matthews Vauclain Sr. (1856-1940) was born in Philadelphia to Andrew Vauclain and Mary Ann C. Vauclain. He married in 1879 to Annie Kearney; the couple had several children. Vauclain, the inventor of the Vauclain compound locomotive, was best known for his work with Philadelphia's Baldwin Locomotive Works from the 1890s until his death. He presided as president of the organization from 1919 to 1929. Samuel Sr. and Anne Kearney had several children, including Samuel Matthews Vauclain Jr., who later worked for Baldwin. He married Mary Hilda Canan in 1906. Boxes 1-3 contain family letters dating from about 1904 to 1909, though several date into the mid-20th century. Most are addressed to Mrs. S. M. Vauclain Jr. and are housed with their original envelopes. There are also a few loose letters, invitations, a book of negatives, and a small copper plate of Samuel M. Vauclain. House in boxes 4-6 is a contemporary and fairly extensive collection of genealogical research papers on the Vauclain (Vauquelin) family, particularly Samuel M. Vauclain and the family's ties to France. The vast majority of the papers are photocopies of original documents and publications, and material on the Vauquelins is almost entirely in French. These papers highlight everything from Vauclain's roots to his presidency with the Baldwin Locomotive Works. There are also a few folders containing genealogical information on other members of the Vauclain family and related families.

Wallace Rodgers Lee Papers (Collection 2116)
Wallace Rodgers Lee (b. 1879) was the Technical Representative for Baldwin Locomotive Works in South America. Letterpress books, 1908-1910, and notebooks, dealing specifically with the Baldwin Locomotive Works in South America.

7. Library of Congress, Photographs, Washington, DC 20540

Keystone View Co. Photographs of Baldwin (c.1905)

8. Newberry Library, 600 W. Walton Street, Chicago, Ill. 60610

Miscellaneous Baldwin ephemera.

9. Office of Registrar of Wills, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA 19107

Wills of BLW partners.

10. Pennsylvania State Archives, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 350 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17111 Contact Kurt R. Bell, Railroad Archivist, Email: kubell@pa.gov, (717) 787-5304

The largest collection of surviving records from the Baldwin Locomotive Works of any repository in North America (approx. 1,100 cu. ft. total). The first group of materials were received from Baldwin-Hamilton by donation in 1975 and the balance arrived in 1991 when the successor company to Baldwin closed its doors. The bulk of the collection consists of 54,000 mechanical engineering drawings of diesel-electric locomotives and steam locomotives, 1941-1956. There are also 40 boxes of pre-1941-built “Old Card Number” system drawings of miscellaneous steam locomotives, tenders and detail parts (circa 1900-1940), but the bulk of the sub-collection are small parts drawings, blueprints and tracings (unprocessed).

Engineering Department - Alphabetical Card File of Electric and Diesel Locomotive Purchasers, [ca. 1906-1955]. (1 carton, 2 boxes) {#427m.66}; Alphabetical Card File of Foreign Countries Purchasing Locomotives, 1880-1907, 1952. (1 box) {#427m.1}; Alphabetical Card File of Foreign Purchasers of Locomotives, 1882-1907. (1 box) {#427m.2}; Alphabetical Card File of Purchasers of Locomotive Parts, [ca. 1900-1940] (2 boxes) {#427m.3}; Alphabetical Card File of Purchasers of Locomotives, [ca. 1900-1945]. (2 boxes) {#427m.4}; Alphabetical Parts Card File Relating to United States Government Standard Sheets (U.S.R.A.), undated. (1 box) {#427m.5}; Box, Drawer, and Card Listings for Tracings and Blueprints, Compiled by Richard B. Hain, 1972-1986. (1 carton) {#427m.6} MICROFILMED: Brass Work Books, 1912-1941. (12 volumes) {#427m.7}; Car Index Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.8}; MICROFILMED Card Directory, 1937-1955. (1 volume) {#427m.9}; MICROFILMED Card Index to the Baldwin Locomotive Drawings (Fenerty Index), [ca. 1870-1941]. (28 boxes) {#427m.10}, also called “Alphabetical Tracing Card File,”; MICROFILMED Card Record Books, 1910-1912, 1914-1941. (11 volumes) {#427m.11}; Change Order Book of C.H. Wheeler Equipment, 1954-1962. (2 volumes) {#427m.12}; Class Books, 1872-1950. (3 volumes) {#427m.13}; MICROFILMED Construction Number Books, 1904-1956. (4 volumes) {#427m.14}; MICROFILMED Contract Books, 1867-1931. (4 volumes){#427m.15}; Counterbalance Books, 1933-1947. (3 volumes) {#427m.16} 12-0134-0135; MICROFILMED Cross Reference Card File to the Fenerty Drawing Index, undated. (1 box) {#427m.17} 12-0394,0397; Cross Reference to the Card Index of the Baldwin Locomotive Drawings, [ca. 1870-1941. (2 boxes) {#427m.69};Cylinder Record Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.18}; Detail Weights of Electric Engines, 1907-1921. (1 volume) {#427m.19}; Diesel Diagrams. (1 carton) {#427m.20};MICROFILMED Drawing Directories, [ca. 1941-1953]. (4 volumes){#427m.21}; Driving Wheel Counterbalance Weight Card File, 1912-1939. (2 cartons) {#427m.22}; MICROFILMED Electric Card Directories, 1906-1967. (3 volumes) {#427m.23}; Electric, Compressed Air and Gasoline Locomotive Order Books, 1907-1920. (5 volumes) {#427m.24}; MICROFILMED Electric Locomotive Specification Books, 1904-1936. (11 volumes) {#427.m25}; Electric Truck Order Books, 1905-1914. (3 volumes) {#427m.26}; Electric Truck Specification Books, 1906-1924. (4 volumes) {#427m.27}; Electric Work Books, 1906-1931. (12 volumes) {#427m.74}; 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. (230 cartons, 6 boxes) {#427m.29}; Estimated Rough Weight of Connecting Rods File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.30}; Extra Order Books, 1944, 1947-1953. (49 volumes) {#427m.31} (see detailed listing); Extra Order Index Card File, [ca, 1936-1954]. (2 boxes) {#427m.32}; MICROFILMED Foreign and Domestic Locomotive Order Books, 1919-1942. (3 volumes) {#427m.33}; MICROFILMED General Indexes to Tracings, undated. (3 volumes){#427m.34}; Job Index Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.35}; List of Tracings for Locomotives of the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, 1923. (2 volumes) {#427m.36}; Mechanical Engineering Drawings, [ca. late 19th c. to mid 20th c.] (717 boxes, 5 cartons) {#427m.37}; Miscellaneous Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.38}; Miscellaneous Reports, Correspondence, Manuals and Project Files, [ca. 1921-1962]. (16 boxes) {#427m.39}; Numerical Card File to Drawings, [undated]. (19 boxes) {#427m.40}; Numerical Card File to Sketches, undated. (1 box) {#427m.41}; Order Books for C.H. Wheeler Equipment, 1958-1962. (3 volumes) {#427m.42}; Pattern Directories, 1929-1963. (2 volumes) {#427m.43}; Pattern Number Card File, [ca. 1900s]. (1 box) {#427m.68}; Patterns (Tracings) for Drawbars, Driving Rods, Springs, Wheels, etc.), 1909-1931. (32 cartons) {#427m.44}; Photographs of Locomotives, [ca. 1909-1949]. (10 boxes) {#427m.45}; Record of Different Recording Systems, 1937-1948, 1950-1951 & undated. (1 volume) {#427m.70}; Record of Revisions to United States Government Standard Sheets, 1918. (2 boxes) {#427m.46}; 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}; Registers of Locomotives Constructed for the Years 1854-1907. (14 volumes) {#427m.48}; Renewal Parts Catalog Listings, 1907-1950. (6 cartons, 1 box) {#427m.72}; Repair Order Book for C.H. Wheeler Equipment, 1961-1962. (1 volume) {#427m.49}; Repair Parts Division Index Card File, [ca. 1944-1953]. (2 boxes) {#427m.50}; Replacement Parts Orders, 1954-1960. (8 cartons) {#427m.73}; Sales Order Books, 1942-1950. (23 cartons) {#427m.51}; Sales Order Change Notice Books, 1952-1953. (2 volumes) {#427m.71}; Special Counter Balance Book, 1917. (1 volume) {#427m.52}; Specifications from the Superheater Company, 1911-1930. (1 volume) {#427m.53}; Standard Practice Book, 1928-1947. (1 volume) {#427m.54}; MICROFILMED Steam Locomotive Order Books, 1901-1938. (15 volumes) {#427m.55}; Stub Brass Card File, [ca. 1900-1930s] (1 box) {#427m.57}; Tender Work Books, 1924-1930. (2 volumes) {#427m.58}; Tracing Directory Number 6, 1939-1962. (1 volume) {#427m.59}; MICROFILMED Tracing Number Card File, undated (1 card index box) {#427m.60}; U.S.R.A. Alphabetical Parts Card File, undated. (9 boxes) {#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 titled Steam Locomotives Built for Export and Domestic Use (Commission Reports)). (2 boxes) {#427m.67};
Test Department, Eddystone, Pa. - Repair Report Index Card File, undated. (1 box) {#427m.65}

11. Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, P.O. Box 15, Strasburg, PA 17579-0015 (717) 687-8628

A formidable collector of Baldwin materials, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is home to the H.L. Broadbelt Baldwin Locomotive Works Negative Collection (MG-422, RR88.2), purchased in 1986 from Mr. Broadbelt, which includes 18,500 dry-plate glass, acetate and safety film negatives, stored in 14 filing cabinets: neg. nos. 00005 – 16600 (144 cu. ft.) of steam, diesel, electric, battery, and fireless locomotives, as well as special events, foreign dignitaries/visitors to the plant, buildings, military equipment, non-railroad machinery and officials connected with the firm (catalogue available). It comprises of 1,862 size 8-1/2”x10-1/2” glass negatives, 2,467 size 6-1/2”x10-1/2” glass negatives, about 14,000 nitrate (much of which has been subsequently copied and discarded) and diacetate safety-base film negatives, and about 100 color transparencies documenting Baldwin diesel locomotives from the 1945-1954 era. The collection acquisition augments an earlier 1966 purchase of Baldwin negatives made by PHMC. Among the other holdings are approximately 7,000 4” x 7” photo data specification cards from the BLW Engineering Department files. Many of photo specification cards, also referred to by various sources as “photo paster cards” and “data cards,” are filed by Baldwin class number and wheel arrangement; approximately 3,200 of the cards were originally from Baldwin’s preliminary steam engineering department, and about 3,980 of the cards were kept as a numerical file by the sales department for domestic & foreign sales. Among the holdings are negative log books Negative Log, Vol I, c.1870-1907 (negative nos. 1-2310), Vol. II (negs. 1950-4449, 1907-1913); Vol III (nos. 4450-6899, 1913-1918); Vol. IV (6900-9399, 1918-1924); and Vol. V (neg. nos. 9400-14563, 1924-1954), contact print files, and a number of specialized photograph albums, all of which comprise the H.L. Broadbelt Collection. The albums include the following content: (RR88.33) 170 size 8”x10” photographs mounted on glazed cotton of foreign locomotives built by Baldwin; 35 photos of Whitcomb locomotives, as well as various historical views of the Delaware & Hudson, Philadelphia Sesquicentennial, Paris Exposition, Baldwin Works views circa 1900, Baldwin personnel, Baldwin locomotives in Chile and in foreign service; leaflets, pamphlets, circulars, correspondence, some drawings, newspaper clippings, rosters, lists, some specifications, a first prize ribbon from the Kentucky State Fair, various engineering banquet menus signed by Baldwin president Samuel M. Vauclain and typescript histories of miscellaneous locomotive works. Highlights of other Baldwin materials held in the RRMPA archives includes the Charles Scott collection (RR87.5) of BLW notes and research materials, large bound typescript (copies) BLW Engine Registers (1831-1956, 4 vols., c/n 1-80,000, RR93.13), a 1909 Board of Directors Minute Book, a Baldwin Executive Committee & Annual Meetings of the Stockholders Minute Book (1910-1911; 1930-1943), three BLW Sales Department Class & Road Record Logs, Nos. 1-3, Drawings A, B, C, D and E and larger (1870s-1949), an almost complete run of The Baldwin Locomotives magazine and index (1923-1951, missing 1922), an almost complete run of BLW Records of Recent Construction catalogues (circa 1870s-1930s), various framed oversized Collotype locomotive portraits, miscellaneous company papers, mechanical and technical pamphlets, notes and publications donated by Matthew Gray (a former BLW employee) (RR92.9). The H. Frank Moore Collection (RR97.47) consists of eight cartons of Baldwin blueprints of steam locomotives, tenders and detail parts, circa 1920s-1950s (unprocessed). In recent years, the Museum acquired the papers, photographs and correspondence of Paul T. Warner, former Sales Representative, Editor and Librarian of the Baldwin Locomotive Works (circa 1910-1953) as part of the George M. Hart Collection (RR2009.14). The Henry Renstchler Collection, c.1922-1955 (.01 cu. ft.) consist of (1) record file containing (17) blueprints, (1) diazo drawing and (1) cover letter, Baldwin Locomotive Works, containing property maps of the Baldwin Locomotive Works plant that was located in Philadelphia and at Eddystone. It also contains maps of various Baldwin-owned properties, including the 26th Street engine house property (where Baldwin sent locomotives--towed by Philadelphia & Reading switchers for two blocks--to be finished, painted and photographed), the Southwark property on Washington Avenue, Philadelphia and various plots leased to Sam Samuels on Broad Street. Of note is a splendid diazo drawings showing the entire Eddystone works when the firm was known as Baldwin-Hamilton in 1953. The last item is an internal cover letter from G.A. Rentschler addressed to Charles Acker regarding real estate at Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corp., dated January 8, 1955. The collection came from the files of the donor, who was the last President of Baldwin- Hamilton (1950-1991). Also of note is a Locomotive Notebook, pocket-sized, with tipped-in albumen photographs, size 5-1/8” x 3-3/8,” Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, c.1866-1869, assembled by George Burnham, BLW President and longtime partner-manager (1835-c.1909) (RR2007.6).
12. Southeastern Louisiana University, Center for Southeast Louisiana Studies, Sims Memorial Library, Room 306, 1211 SGA Drive, SLU Box 10730, Hammond, LA 70402 Tel: 985-549-2151, Contact Dr. Samuel Hyde, Director, email: selahistory@southeastern.edu

The bulk of Baldwin materials can be found in the Witbeck Railroad Collection and comprises the following holdings: Baldwin Locomotive Details (3 books); Looseleaf Notebooks of Locomotive Details (They show an item number, Date Locomotive Completed, Name of Company, The Engine number or name, and the dimensions of the locomotive); Baldwin Locomotive Works (6 notebooks); The BLW Class and Road Record; Compound Locomotive; The BLW Class and Road Record, Single Expansion Locomotive, Class D. E. & F. (Microfilm copies from DeGolyer): Engine Specifications Books Nos. 5-18, 1869, 1872-1873, 1876, 1878-1879, 1881, 1883, 1886-1892 (14 vols.).

13. Stanford University Libraries, Special Collections and University Libraries, Green Library 557 Escondido Mall Stanford, CA 94305-6064

Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation Records, 1854-1925 (M0015) – 5.5 linear feet
Gift of E. Morton Grosser, 1960. Stanford has a total of 75 Baldwin Locomotive Works drawings and plans for locomotive construction, ca. 1887-1918 - Drawings listing: http://pdf.oac.cdlib.org/pdf/stanford/mss/m0015.pdf;

Ledger, Detail Finish Work (1 vol.); Erecting Card Drawings, 1879 (6 items); Engine Drawings (blue lines), undated (1 bound vol., disbanded, Microfilmed); Engine Specifications, 1864-1869 (1 vol., Microfilmed); Card Directory (key to plans and drawings), undated (1 vol.); Painting Samples for Railway Cars [and Locomotives] (2 vols.) a.k.a., “Paint Books 1 and 2”; Ledger, Boiler Bills, 1884-1885 (1 vol.); Ledger, Specifications and Regulations Concerning Production, undated (1 vol.); Ledger, Roads and Numbers of Engines Built by Baldwin (1 vol.); Ledger, Driving and Truck Wheels, 1860-1862 (1 vol.); Ledger, Patent Royalties, 1889-1990 (1 vol.); Ledger, Law and General Information, Drawing Room (1 vol., Microfilmed); Ledger, Pattern Directory, 1854-1877 (1 vol.); Ledger, Railroads of South America, 1894-1898 (1 vol.); (436) Color 35mm slides of Paint Books 1 and 2, 1985 (donated by CSRM in 1987)

14. Steamtown National Historic Site, National Park Service, 150 South Washington Avenue, Scranton, PA 18503-2018, (570) 340-5200, Patrick McKnight, Archivist

Engineering Publications - (431) volumes, Publications: Maintenance Instruction Manuals and Parts Listings, Diesel-Electric Primer Movers, Generators and Related Appurtenances Manufactured by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation, the Westinghouse Corporation and the Hamilton Diesel Engine Company, c.1941-1954, (37) cu. ft. total. Deaccessioned from PA State Archives and transferred to NPS Steamtown in 2018.

For Further Reading:

Kurt R. Bell. "Curator’s Corner: The Herbert L. Broadbelt Collection of Baldwin Locomotive Works Negatives," Milepost 23 (5) (December 2005), pp. 2-9.

__________. “’The Colossus of Steam Builders: How the Baldwin Locomotive Works Revolutionized Railroading,” Trains Magazine Special Issue: Steaming the Last Baldwin (Spring 2021), pp. 54-63.

John K. Brown. The Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1915: A Study in American Industrial Practice (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press), 1995.

Gary W. Dozall and Stephen F. Dozall. Diesels From Eddystone: The Story of Baldwin Diesel Locomotives (Milwaukee: Kalmbach Publishing), 1984.

John F. Kirkland. The Diesel Builders: Volume Three – Baldwin Locomotive Works (Pasadena: Interurban Press), 1994.

Brian Solomon. Baldwin Locomotives (Minneapolis: Voyageur Press), 2009.

Scott D. Trostel. Baldwin: Fifty Years at Eddystone, 1906-1939, Book 1 (Fletcher: Cam-Tech Publishing), 2012.
Warner

Fred Westing. The Locomotives That Baldwin Built (New York: Bonanza Books), 1966.

Written by Kurt R. Bell, Railroad Archivist, PA State Archives (PHMC)
January 1997 (revised April 2020)

In my post of yesterday, I failed to mention that the bulk of DeGolyer staff are on vacation last and this week. That included the Director and Ms. Cynthia Franco, the librarian that cataloged the Baldwin Collection ( and knows what is in it and where it is located). Ms Franco will be back next week. As Cataloging and Reference librarian, she has her hands full, so do not expect to call and get a fast response: know what you want and when you need it.

I do not mean to signify that I replace her in any way. But, I can help the process in her absence. If you want to contact Cynthia, I suggest you email her at cfranco@smu.edu.
Meanwhile, as I said, Call me at home and let's talk. That way, I will know what and when the material is needed. I am not a librarian, but a researcher and resource worker for, and to, the DeGolyer staff.

Harry Nicholls
Dallas
2314-941-9705

I want to again thank Kurt Bell for his assistance in identifying and obtaining copies of a number of drawings for our USATC Consolidation, Alaska Railroad #557.

Another source of information on an early Baldwin locomotive is the Finnish National Archives. The have tracings of a class of Baldwin 4-4-0s which operated in Finland and were drawn by the railroad in 1875. The tracings are only partially dimensioned. According to Jan-Eric Nystrom of Finland, the class carried Baldwin numbers 2998, 2999, 3002, 3003, 3151 and 3153-3156.

Jan-Eric photographed these drawings in 2001 as a source for his 1/8 scale live steam model. A description of the locomotive and his project are at http://ibls.org/files/Wandering_Locomot ... n_3003.pdf. The drawings are described staring on page 11. Despite the shortcomings of drawings reproduced with a hand held camera while standing on a chair above the table where they were laid out, the images are sharp and there is a wealth of information. As this was 20 years ago, it's possible that the tracings may have since been scanned and digitally archived.

Jan-Eric owns the copyright on the photo images, but generously gave copies of the set to a number of live steamers (including me) in 2001.

I thought the first rule in surviving a BLW Record was to not get into a BLW Record :-D