Missouri Pacific 9153 and 1084 (BLW VO1000) at EMD, LaGrange, IL on October 6, 1962.

(Roger Puta, courtesy Marty Bernard, railfan 44, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

BALDWIN VO-1000 DIESEL-ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVE

The Baldwin VO-1000 is a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works between January 1939 and December 1946. These units were powered by a naturally aspirated eight-cylinder diesel engine rated at 1,000 horsepower (746 kW), and rode on a pair of two-axle trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. These were either the AAR Type-A switcher trucks, or the Batz truck originally developed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for steam locomotives. 548 examples of this model were built for American railroads, including examples for the Army and Navy.

Between June and August 1945 Baldwin supplied 30 Co-Co road locomotives with 8-cylinder VO engines for export to the Soviet Union as their Дб20 (Db20) class.

There are at least eight intact examples of the VO-1000 that are known to survive today, most of which are owned by museums or historical societies. However, a VO-1000m is owned by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, a local freight carrier based in Schellville, California.

"Beep" at the Western America Railroad Museum in 2012.

(Klaus Nahr, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)

Conversions

In the early 1960s the Reading Company sent 14 of their VO-1000s to General Motors Electro-Motive Division to have them rebuilt to SW900 specifications. These locomotives retained most of their original carbodies, and were subsequently given the designation VO-1000m.

Around the same time, the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway repowered its VO1000s with turbocharged 606SC Baldwin engines taken from its EMD-repowered fleet of Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 locomotives. The work was performed at EJ&E's Joliet, Illinois workshops, and produced a finished unit that featured an offset exhaust stack and left-side turbocharger bulge, the latter being much like that found on Baldwin road switchers. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad had eight of their VO1000s repowered with EMD 567 series engines, which produced 1,200 hp (890 kW). The Great Northern Railway converted four VO-1000s into transfer cabooses in 1964. The units were stripped to their bare frames (the original trucks and distinctive cast steps were left in place) and fitted with 15-foot (4.6 m)-long steel cabins.

The St. Louis – San Francisco Railway repowered theirs with EMD 567C prime movers in the late 50's and early 60's. The conversion lead to extended use into the late 70's. Most units were retired in 1979, though some were sold off.

In December 1970 the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (soon after its successful CF7 capital rebuilding program) produced a unique switcher locomotive, known to railfans as the "Beep", at its Cleburne, Texas service facility. The company hoped to determine whether or not remanufacturing its aging, non-EMD end cab switchers by fitting them with new EMD prime movers was economically prudent. The conversion proved too costly, and only the one unit was modified.

Editor's note: The "Beep" (pictured above) can be seen at the Western America Railroad Museum in Barstow, California. This is a very nice museum jam-packed with interesting items, several locomotives and railcars, and one of the largest date nail collections in the U.S. It's well worth a visit to Barstow and sits directly behind the historic Santa Fe station and (now) BNSF yards. There's also a Route 66 museum nearby.

A VO-1000 Gallery

Original owners

Preserved examples

Please note this list is incomplete. (November 2012)

• B&O No. 412 is operational in Bridgeport, NJ. (ex-USN No. 19)
• BOMX No. 32 is preserved at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore, MD. (ex-Canton Railroad Company No. 32, exx-Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad No. 331)
• Colorado and Wyoming Railway No. 1107 is preserved at the Museum of the American Railroad in Dallas, TX.
• NC&StL No. 36 is preserved at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga, TN. However this engine never served "The Dixie Line", this one served the United States Navy
• NKP No. 99 is preserved at the Indiana Transportation Museum in Noblesville, IN. (ex-USN No. 9) According to unconfirmed reports this locomotive was to be sold to the city of Kokomo, Indiana for static display but the deal was never finalized.
• NNRM (Kennecott Copper) No. 801 is operational at Nevada Northern Ry Ely, NV.
• OERM No. 8 is preserved at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA.
• WMRY No. 132 is preserved at the Hagerstown Roundhouse Museum in Hagerstown, MD.
• BLW No. 1200 is preserved at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA.
• SLSF No. 200 (repowered with an EMD 567C engine and equipped with an EMD SW1200 hood) is preserved at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum in Chattanooga.

Overview

Type and origin
Power type: Diesel-electric
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works
Model: VO-1000
Build date: January 1939 – December 1946
Total produced: 548
Specifications
Configuration:
​• AAR B-B
• UIC Bo′Bo′
Gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Length: 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m)
Locomotive weight: 236,260–242,200 lb (107,165.7–109,860.1 kg)
Prime mover: De La Vergne 8-VO
Engine type: Straight-8 Four-stroke diesel
Aspiration: Naturally aspirated, solid injection
Displacement: 1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder; 15,831 cu in (259.42 L) total
Generator: DC generator
Traction motors: DC traction motors
Cylinders: 8
Cylinder size: 12+3⁄4 in × 15+1⁄2 in (324 mm × 394 mm)
Transmission: Electric
Locomotive brake: Straight air
Train brakes: Air
Performance figures
Power output: 1,000 hp (746 kW)
Tractive effort: 59,065–60,550 lbf (262.7–269.3 kN)
Career
Locale: North America
Disposition: 10 Preserved, remainder scrapped

See Also:

Baldwin Locomotive Works

Baldwin Diesel-Electric Locomotives

Diesel-Electric Locomotives