S8
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderBaldwin-Lima-Hamilton
ModelS8
Build dateMarch 1951 – September 1954
Total produced54, plus 9 "calf" units
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARB-B
 • UICB′B′
Gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Prime mover606
RPM range625 rpm maximum
Engine typeStraight-6 Four-stroke diesel
AspirationNaturally aspirated, solid injection
Displacement1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder
11,874 cu in (194.58 L) total
GeneratorWestinghouse 480F
Traction motorsWestinghouse 362D (4)
Cylinders6
Cylinder size12+3⁄4 in × 15+1⁄2 in (324 mm × 394 mm)
TransmissionElectric
Gear ratio16:76
Loco brakeAir
Train brakesAir
CouplersAAR Type E knuckle
Performance figures
Maximum speed45 mph (72 km/h)
Power output875 hp (652 kW) (marketed as 800 hp)
Career
LocaleUnited States and Cuba
DispositionTwo preserved, remainder scrapped

The BLH S8 was an 875-horsepower (652 kW) diesel-electric switcher locomotive. The Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation produced a total of 63 units (61 for United States railroads and 2 for use in Cuba) between 1951 and 1953. Of these, nine were "calf" units built for Oliver Iron Mining Company in Minnesota. A tenth calf had been built for them on order, but when delivery was refused, it was fitted with a cab, and converted to a regular S8.[1]

Original owners

Railroad Quantity Road numbers Notes
American Rolling Mill Company 3 1151, 1152, 1201
Escanaba and Lake Superior Railroad 1 102
La Salle and Bureau County Railroad 1 8
McCloud Railway 1 31 Built with a single stack and space for a turbocharger for later conversion to a S-12, so is factored into the numbers of (and considered to be) an S-12
Medford Corporation, (Medford, Oregon) 1 8 Only Baldwin switcher built with dynamic brakes; preserved by the Southern Oregon Railway Historical Society
New Orleans Public Belt Railroad 2 50, 51
Oliver Iron Mining Company 9 1200A–1206A, 1214A, 1215A "Cow" units
9 1200B–1206B, 1214B, 1215B "Calf" units
Pennsylvania Railroad 6 8994–8999
Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines 1 6006
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 5 802–806
Sharon Steel Corporation 8 3–10
Sloss-Sheffield Steel 4 33–36
United Railways of Havana, Cuba 2 8001, 8002
US Pipe and Foundry 1 37 Build as "calf"; fitted with cab before sale to USP&F; preserved by Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum (Calera, Alabama) as Jefferson Warrior 37
US Steel 1 13
Weyerhaeuser Company 2 103, 105
Youngstown Sheet and Tube 7 703, 800–805
Totals 54 A units
9 B units

Preservation

Only two intact examples of the S-8 are known to survive today, one of which is owned by a railroad museum, while the other is the property of a railway historical society.[2]

References

  1. ^ Foster, Gerald L. (1996). A field guide to trains of North America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. p. 8. ISBN 0-395-70112-0.
  2. ^ "Preserved Lima and Baldwin Diesels". Archived from the original on 22 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-22.

External links


Diesel locomotives built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works
Diesel–electric switcher locomotives
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