Steam & Excursion > How Do I find Baldwin Drawings?

Hey Group,

Well as I plan things for future Live Steam projects in my shop I have finally figured out what the next pile of casting would like to turn into..... I think the parts are telling me they want to turn into the old Bonhomie Hattiesburg & Southern #250. This engine was also used by the Wolfeboro Railroad for a while and then moved to Edaville for static display.

So I have the build date and the build number thru some research but how would I go about tracking down some drawings for this beast. All I really need is the erection print. I can wing it on the rest as it will not be an "Exact" rivet counter.... But driver spacing and the general outline of the frame is important. I have found many pictures thru web-searching so this will help as well but if anybody has boat loads more pics it would be nice!!! A rip to Edaville is not in the near future so I don't think I will get the opportunity to do on-site measurements.... Bummer.... But I thought I would ask this group. I did e-mail the "Southern Methodist Library" but have not yet heard anything back. Here is what I know:

Baldwin Locomotive Works:
2-6-2 wheel arrangement
Build Number 592329 or is it 59239???? one or the other...
Built June of 1926
Built for "Tatum Lumber Company", engine #250, in 1926
Operated as "Bonhomie & Hattiesburg Southern" #250, from 1926 to 1962.....


Any help would be much appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Robert Morris

Have you checked with the research library at the California State Railroad Museum?

The DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University has an extensive collection of BLW blueprints, photos, and stuff. I have their catalog, however it's packed away. It wouldn't hurt to buy one just to help get some money to them for preserving such an incredible archive. click on this: http://www.smu.edu/CUL/degolyer/
If I am not mistaken, one of the sources can take your builders number and determine in pretty quick order if they have your drawings. (that may have been the MLW locomotives at http://www.exporail.org/public/ )
CSRM, as stated above, also has an archive. I believe they mostly concentrat on Lima products, although I may be wrong. http://www.csrmf.org/doc.asp?id=122
Then there's the RR Museum of PA with papers, manuals, records, blueprints, and diagrams of the Baldwin Locomotive Works from the Matthew Gray Collection, the Charles Scott Collection and the Frank Moore Collection, 1920-1950. http://www.rrmuseumpa.org/about/library/library.htm
Good luck.

It looks like the RRMoPA has a specification card for a Tatum Lumber Co. Prarie.

What you need first is a basic outline drawing, which is generally a much-simplified redraw of the erecting drawing.

In the 1920s, Baldwin and Alco had semi-stock designs for light 2-6-2 and 2-8-2 locomotives for shortlines and logging railroads that had light rail. B&HS 250 appears to be one of these designs. Once you have basic info (weight on driving wheels, total engine weight, driver diameter, cylinder diameter x stroke, boiler pressure), you can search published sources (books, model RR drawings, etc) for photos and outline drawings of near-sister locomotives. Possible operators in the far west include:
Rayonier Lumber, Washington State - they had one of nearly everything steam!
Amador Central, Ione, CA. 2-6-2 #7, formerly McCloud River RR #8, is on display at Ione. See info & builder's photo at http://www.trainweb.org/mccloudrails/LocoImages/Loco-0008.html
Sierra RR, Jamestown, CA (their #30 2-6-2 still exists, disassembled, at Niles Canyon Rwy, to be converted from 2-6-2T Howard Terminal #6 back to 2-6-2). This 1922 Baldwin is visually fairly close to B&HS 250. info: http://ncespee.railfan.net/rosters/sierratxtros.html
McCloud River RR, McCloud, CA (I suspect that McCRRR 2-6-2s 24 and 25 were larger than B&HS 250; #25 is still at McCloud)

- Doug Debs

The Museum of Penn is the hot lead so far!!!! Awesome.... Thank you guys for your help!!!

Here are some pictures of the parts.... They just scream out the B&HS #250.

Thanks Again,

Robert Morris

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