Primarily technical papers by Timken engineers, presented in journals and meetings of professional societies. The papers concern the use of Timken roller bearings and other products in locomotives and other rolling stock on U.S. railroads and rapid transit systems. Also articles from trade magazines and brochures advertising Timken products, and a 1925 U.S. Bureau of Mines study of friction in mine-car wheels.
The material in this collection primarily consists of technical papers written by Timken engineers which were presented in journals and meetings of professional societies. The papers all deal with the use of Timken roller bearings and other products in locomotives and other rolling stock on U.S. railroads and rapid transit systems. In addition to professional papers, there are also articles from trade magazines and brochures advertising Timken products. A 1925 U.S. Bureau of Mines study of friction in mine car wheels is also included.
Biographical / Historical:
The Timken Roller Bearing Co., of Canton, Ohio, produced its first tapered roller bearings in the 1890s. The bearings were first used in horse drawn vehicles and later in automobiles. As automobiles improved in design, power, and endurance, Timken made improvements in its bearings to compensate. The company soon realized that the only way to ensure quality in its product was through the production of its own special alloy steel. It organized the Timken Steel & Tube Company to supply both itself and other manufacturers with high grade steel. In the late 1920s, the company entered the railroad equipment supply market with special tapered bearings for use in locomotives. Timken continued to supply components for use in the railroad rolling stock, automotive, and other manufacturing industries. It set high standards for such products, both in engineering and materials quality.
The Timken Roller Bearing Co., Canton, Ohio, produced its first tapered roller bearings in the 1890s. The bearings were first used in horse-drawn vehicles and later in automobiles. As automobiles improved in design, power, and endurance, Timken made improvements in its bearings to compensate. The company soon realized that the only way to ensure quality in its product was through the production of its own special alloy steel. It organized the Timken Steel & Tube Company to supply itself and other manufacturers with high-grade steel. In the late 1920s, the company entered the railroad equipment supply market with special tapered bearings for locomotives.
Provenance:
This collection was donated to the Archives Center, National Museum of American History, on September 25, 1990, by Frank G. Pauly. Mr. Pauly had been employed as a Sales Engineer in Timken's Railroad Division, working out of the Chicago Sales Office, which was closed in 1966.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research but is stored off-site and special arrangements must be made to work with it. Contact the Archives Center for information at archivescenter@si.edu or 202-633-3270.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Four scrapbooks containing items relating to the Baldwin Locomotive Works, including: blueprints, photographs, examples of company letterhead and blank company forms, clippings and articles, business records such as contracts and specifications, trade literature, and miscellany.
Arrangement:
1 series.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was started as a sole proprietorship by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. The company was the largest railroad engineering plant of its kind in the world. It is now out of business.
Provenance:
Collection donated by James C. Macinnes.
Restrictions:
Collection open for research on site by appointment. Unprotected photographs must be handled with gloves.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
These records document the rebuilding of locomotives by the Southern Iron & Equipment Company during the period circa 1903-1960. They consist of one folder of "Memorandum of Locomotive Numbers" and a number of 4" x 6" cards recording sales of rebuilt locomotives. The "Memorandum," (forty-eight pages) lists the locomotives by number and shows the company from which it was purchased, type of locomotive, manufacturer, and to whom it was sold. The cards, alphabetically arranged by purchaser, record the type of locomotive, manufacturer, its number, and the purchase price. The cards contain the most complete information on the period circa1903-1924; after that, only the number of the locomotive was noted on the card.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into two series.
Series 1: Locomotive Sales Cards
Series 2: Photographs
Biographical / Historical:
The Southern Iron & Equipment Company, a family owned business located in Atlanta, Georgia, was a major reconditioner of locomotives in the period ca. 1900 1960. The company purchased locomotives, refurbished them, and then sold them. In addition, the company did repair and reconditioning work on behalf of various railroads.
Provenance:
The written and photographic records of the Southern Iron & Equipment Company were purchased from the company at the time of its dissolution by Mr. Witbeck, a collector of railroad photographs. The records were subsequently purchased from him by Mr. Edward Bond of Marietta, Georgia. Mr. Bond donated them to the National Museum of American History in December 1988.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Forman H. Craton Collection, 1902-1983, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
No access restrictions Many of SIA's holdings are located off-site, and advance notice is recommended to consult a collection. Please email the SIA Reference Team at osiaref@si.edu
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
Extent:
1.5 Cubic feet (5 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Statistics
Correspondence
Blueprints
Place:
Pennsylvania
New Haven (Conn.)
New York
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Hartford (Conn.)
Date:
1912-1949
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of statistics on electric train operation, drawings, blueprints, technical papers, train classifications, research and development reports, business and financial correspondence (1933, 1939-1948, 1940-1941), installation and operation instructions, locomotive system test procedures, locomotive operations data and calculations, records of locomotive mileages and part failures, suggested locomotive improvements, locomotive specifications, plans for fire extinguishing systems, tonnage ratings and includes material from the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, Piedmont and Northern Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Takata and Co. Railroad, Philadelphia and Western Railroad, Sorocabana Railway, and Erie Railroad Co.
Arrangement:
The collection is divided into 8 series.
Series 1: New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad
Series 2: Piedmont and Northern Railway Company
Series 3: Takata and Company
Series 4: Philadelphia and Western Railway Company
Series 5: Sorocabana Railway
Series 6; Pennsylvania Railroad
Series 7: Miscellaneous Westinghouse Reports
Series 8: Erie Railroad Company
Provenance:
This collection was donated by David Hamily of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1986.
Restrictions:
The collection is open for research use.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Reproduction permission from Archives Center: reproduction fees may apply.
Topic:
Locomotives -- Design and construction Search this
This collection consists of Engine Registers and Engine Order Books. The Engine Registers list all locomotives built by the company from 1833 through 1956. They provide information on the purchasing railroad, date of trial, engine name, construction number, class, track gauge, number of wheels, size of cylinders, number of valves and fuel type. The Order Books, dating from 1854 1900, provide the same sort of information on specifications, as well as prices and delivery. The records in both sets of books are arranged chronologically and the information within each is arranged numerically by construction number.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was the largest and most successful locomotive building firm in the world. It was begun as a machine shop owned and operated by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. Baldwin turned out its first locomotive engine from its shop in Philadelphia in 1832; within a few years the company was producing two a month and employed 240 men. By 1852, 500 engines had been produced; by 1861, 1,000; and by 1868, 2,000. At that point, the company employed between 1,600 1,700 men, and was one of the very largest machine works in the nation. In 1906 Baldwin began construction of a large auxiliary plant in the Philadelphia suburb of Eddystone. In 1928 the Broad Street plant was closed and all work transferred to the Eddystone Plant.
Baldwin had been forced by hard financial times to take on a series of partners between 1839 and 1846, and the firm's name changed repeatedly as a result. It was known as Baldwin, Vail & Hufty (1839 1842); Baldwin & Whitney (1842 1845); M. W. Baldwin (1846 1853); and M. W. Baldwin & Company (1854 1866). After Baldwin's death in 1866 the firm was known as M. Baird & Company (1867 1873); Burnham, Parry, Williams & Company (1873 1890); Burnham, Williams & Company (1891 1909); it was finally incorporated as the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909.
The company's phenomenal growth ended with in the mid 1920s as the United States railroad industry began its long decline. Despite various mergers and acquisitions and an increased attention to the development of diesel engines a slow but sure decline set in. Baldwin declared bankruptcy in 1935. World War Two brought a temporary respite, but after the war the steam locomotive was obsolete and orders rapidly diminished. The Westinghouse Corporation bought Baldwin in 1948 but was unable to turn the company around. In 1950 the Lima Hamilton Corporation and Baldwin merged but in 1956 the last of some 70,541 locomotives was produced.
Source
History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1902, (1902); A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in theSteam Era, John H. White, (1982).
Related Materials:
Materials in the Archives Center
Baldwin Locomotive Works Drawings (NMAH.AC.0353)
Consists of builder's drawings of locomotives and tenders, 1870-1890.
The DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University
University has a collection of 8,500 original Baldwin engineering drawings; the library has published three guides to their records.
Provenance:
Donated to the Museum's Division of Transportation by the Baldwin Hamilton Corporation in 1976.
Restrictions:
Original volumes are fragile. Researchers should consult the microfilm located in the National Museum of American History library (mfm 720).
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Transportation Search this
Extent:
9 Cubic feet (4 drawers)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Technical drawings
Erection drawings
Place:
Philadelphia (Pa.)
Pennsylvania
Date:
1870-1890
Summary:
Collection consists of 202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders, prepared to check the clearances and major component parts of the locomotive and retained for engineering reference.
Scope and Contents note:
202 assembly drawings of locomotives and tenders, prepared to check the clearances and major component parts of the locomotive. When work was slow, draftsmen hand-colored the drawings. They were not used in the shop but were retained for engineering reference.
Biographical/Historical note:
The Baldwin Locomotive Works was the largest and most successful locomotive building firm in the world. It was begun as a machine shop owned and operated by Matthias W. Baldwin in 1831. Baldwin turned out its first locomotive engine from its shop in Philadelphia in 1832; within a few years the company was producing two a month and employed 240 men. By 1852, 500 engines had been produced; by 1861, 1,000; and by 1868, 2,000. At that point, the company employed between 1,600-1,700 men, and was one of the very largest machine works in the nation. In 1906 Baldwin began construction of a large auxiliary plant in Philadelphia suburb of Eddystone. In 1928 the Broad Street plant was closed and all work transferred to the Eddystone Plant.
Baldwin had been forced by hard financial times to take on a series of partners between 1839 and 1846, and the firm's name changed repeatedly as a result. It was known as Baldwin, Vail & Hufty (1839-1842); Baldwin & Whitney (1842-1845); M.W. Baldwin (1846-1853); and M.W. Baldwin & Co. (1854-1866). After Baldwin's death in 1866 the firm was known as M. Baird & Co. (1867-1873); Burnham, Parry, Williams & Co. (1873-1890); Burnham, Williams & Co. (1891-1909); it was finally incorporated as the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1909.
The company's phenomenal growth ended with in the mid-1920s as the U.S. railroad industry began its long decline. Despite various mergers and acquisitions--and an increased attention to the development of diesel engines--a slow but sure decline set in. Baldwin declared bankruptcy in 1935. World War Two brought a temporary respite, but after the war the steam locomotive was obsolete and orders rapidly diminished. The Westinghouse Corporation bought Baldwin in 1948 but was unable to turn the company around. In 1950 the Lima-Hamilton Corporation and Baldwin merged but in 1956 the last of some 70,500 locomotives were produced and the company's long history came to an end.
Sources
History of the Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1902
A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era, John H. White, (1982).
Related Archival Materials:
Archives Center #157, the Baldwin Locomotive Works Collection, consists of Engine Registers and Order Books for locomotives, 1833-1956. In addition, a six-reel microfilm edition of collection #157 is located in the NMAH Library (mfm-720).
Photographs relating to Baldwin are in the Railroad and Firefighting History Photographic Collection, Division of Work and Industry.
The DeGolyer Library of Southern Methodist University has a collection of 8,500 original Baldwin engineering drawings and has published three guides to their records.
Provenance:
Collection donated by H.L. Broadbelt, July 1959-November 1960.
Restrictions:
Unrestricted research use on site by appointment.
Rights:
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
