Nostalgia & History > Shes as rare as hens teeth

Here's a rare bird for the SP,SSW fan, An SSW BLW DT-6-6-2000,only one on the roster photographed at at Waco Tx 11-61. a Dick Wallin slide

Thanks for looking,

Mark

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No kidding. If you weren't armed beforehand with the knowledge that a creature like this truly existed, you'd doubt your eyes! Rare on so many counts, from maker and type to paint scheme. Nice!

~ BZ

Looks like a Congressional Committee agreement of some sort. Didn't realize Waco Tx was large enough to have a turntable.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/12 13:49 by TCnR.

It was used on a now abandoned branch line in Texas with no turning wye.

Mark

dieselman Wrote:
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> It was used on a now abandoned branch line in
> Texas with no turning wye.
>
> Mark


At first that begs the question why it would be on a turntable. But I'd guess it was being serviced in one of the stalls.

There has been a lot of discussion about the Baldwin centercabs on the EJE Yahoo group. Reference has been made to this puppy, never thought I'd get a chance to see a shot of it.

Thanks for posting.

my favorite Baldwin diesel altho i liked the equalizer trucks like on PRR units underneath the frame

Great photo to share. I didn't know the SP family ever had such a beast. How long did it last?

That was a strange way to use the red paint. I'm not sure if a really good option existed given the air intake grill locations but there must have been some better option than the layout they applied.

Thanks for sharing this gem of a photo.

What a thrill to see another image of this rare bird.

COLOR photos of this is EXTREMELY RARE. You did good with this one.

After a second look I hope that they are putting the beast away for the night and not turning it.

Milwaukee Wrote:

> How long did it last?

Built in 1948, traded to GE in 1963. See also:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2197352

http://espee.railfan.net/sswdt-6-6-2000.html

http://books.google.com/books?id=sdhbTuYxgNsC&lpg=PA195&ots=aUV9tc7E0I&dq=cotton%20belt%20260%20gatesville&pg=PA195#v=onepage&q=cotton%20belt%20260%20gatesville&f=false

I think Santa Fe had some of these, too. I vaguely recall an old Santa Fe hand saying they weren't very popular with the crews.

DNRY122 Wrote:

> I think Santa Fe had some of these, too. I
> vaguely recall an old Santa Fe hand saying they
> weren't very popular with the crews.

Santa Fe had 7 of them, ATSF 2600-2606. They were the road's first C-C locomotives (not many other 6-powered-axle models on the market in 1948). Two of them were bought for hump service at Argentine, four went west for helper service out of Ash Fork, AZ and on Cajon, and the 2606 did odd jobs around the eastern end of the system. The Argentine hump units only lasted about a year before they were bumped by a pair of TR-4's, and the western units were eventually busted down to hauler service in the LA Basin with occasional helper tricks up Cajon. Two of these, 2600 and 2602, were fitted with Mars lights in the mid-50's, the only pure freight units on Santa Fe I know of that got such lights (not counting the Oscitrols on SD40-2's 5058-5070). Around the middle of 1956, the units were all rounded up and shuffled off to the Kansas City area where they lived out their last half-dozen years in transfer service. Some photos are here:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2814269
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?11,2248995,2248995#2248995
http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?//december98/12-04-98/atxsf2602billweibel.jpg
http://www.railroadmemoirsbycrowner.com/photos/atsf/atsf/pages/atsf-23.html
http://www.railroadmemoirsbycrowner.com/photos/atsf/atsf/pages/atsf-24.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrolibraryarchive/2932424892/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/metrolibraryarchive/2931566621/sizes/o/in/photostream/
http://ctr.trains.com/en/The%20Way%20it%20Was/Railfan%20Stories/2010/01/Unexpected%20Treasure.aspx
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/sfl71.jpg
http://www.snowcrest.net/photobob/sfl72.jpg

I've heard they weren't well liked either. The Commonwealth trucks rode hard, and the units were hot, noisy, and hard to see out of. They were traded in to GE on U25B's.

I found on YouTube some video of one of these that was actually operating as recently as 2009. It was MN&S 21, at the Illinois Railway Museum. I believe it was at a museum in Minnesota before that, along with a sister - MN&S 23, back in 70s. Since we know the 21 still exists, I'm wondering if the 23, or others may yet survive. Anybody know if there are any other surviving Baldwin DT-6-6-2000s?