Climbing the Alleghenies on a winter day in the late 1940s, a set of Baldwin Centipede diesels provide a never-to-be-forgotten experience for anyone trackside.
Gary Dolzall, co-author of a book on Baldwin
Locomotive Works and its remarkable diesels, recounts the
story of the mammoth Baldwin “Centipede”
In North America, the “diesel era” is now roughly eight decades old, and in all those years, numerous companies tried their hands at constructing diesel locomotives, and collectively they produced hundreds of models and thousands of variations.
Arguably, among them all, none were quite as unique and perhaps none ever more fascinating than Baldwin Locomotive Works’ “Centipede” diesels.
The origins of Baldwin Locomotive Works dated to 1832 and the company was one of America’s “Big Three” locomotive builders in the steam era (along with American Locomotive Company and Lima Locomotive Works). History now tells us that none of these three builders, steeped in the skills of steam construction, would make an entirely successful transition into diesel-building – but each tried and, for a time at least, each succeeded at vary degrees.
Baldwin (by then merged with Lima) would build its last common-carrier-sized locomotive in 1956. But certainly Baldwin’s lack of long-term success in the diesel era could not be ascribed to either a late start (BLW built is first diesel locomotive in 1925) nor to a lack of engineering creativity.
In the three decades Baldwin constructed diesel locomotives at its massive Eddystone, Pennsylvania facility (south of Philadelphia), BLW was most successful in building diesel yard switchers, which were known for being tough and could lug as many freight cars as any engineer or yardmaster desired. But Baldwin, naturally, always wished to tap the huge market for road diesels and along the way created some remarkable locomotives, including not only the mammoth diesel that came to be known as the “Centipede,” but also several variations of its famous “Sharknose” cab units.
The origins of the BLW Centipede actually trace back to 1940, when Baldwin attempted to create a giant of a locomotive – BLW 6000 (the first) – which would harness no less than 6,000 horsepower from eight cross-mounted 8-cylinder diesel power plants! The unit was designed to ride on a 2-D+D-2 wheel arrangement similar to that successfully used by electrics such as Great Northern’s Z1 and Pennsy’s GG1. The massive – and massively too complex – BLW 6000 never had more than four of its intended eight power plants installed, but nonetheless made a few test runs, then was shelved.
Baldwin’s designers, however, kept the concept close at hand. By 1945, BLW was using its 1,500-horsepower, 608SC power plant to some success, and Baldwin designers created the DR12-8-1500/2 (often also designated DR12-8-3000). It came to universally be known as the “Centipede.” Like the original 6000, the new Centipede would ride a 2-D+D+2 wheel arrangement but would call on a pair of 608SC power plants to generate 3,000-horsepower per unit – and 6,000 horses in two-unit sets.
Baldwin envisioned its giant as capable of either passenger or freight service and found three railroads as buyers: Seaboard Air Line was the first buyer (and in fact, its first unit, SAL 4500, reused the running gear from the ill-fated giant, BLW 6000, of 1940). Seaboard Air Line would eventually acquire 14 Centipedes. And a second buyer, the National Railways of Mexico (NdeM), also acquired 14 of the big Baldwins. But the Centipede’s biggest – and most important buyer – was the Pennsylvania Railroad, which by tradition was Baldwin’s best diesel customer overall, and PRR acquired 24 units (configured as 12 cab+cab 6,000-horsepower sets) in 1947/48.
For a brief shining time, the Pennsy Centipedes – dressed in PRR’s classic Brunswick green and gold five-stripe livery – were placed in front-line, system-wide passenger service, even being assigned to PRR’s flagship, the New York-Chicago Broadway Limited. But the big Baldwin diesels were no match in either reliability nor operating expense as compared to Electro-Motive E-units (the Centipedes were particularly troubled by oil leaks and electrical issues), and by the early 1950s, the PRR Centipedes had been demoted (and de-rated to 5,000-horsrepower per set), then put to work in freight and pusher service, primarily on Pennsy’s Horseshoe Curve route and its Middle Division which extended east from Altoona to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
In addition to Pennsy, Seaboard, and NdeM, there was nearly a fourth railroad buyer of the Centipede, and a very notable one at that – Union Pacific. Always game for big power, Union Pacific ordered one set of Centipedes (to carry UP 998-999 road numbers) in 1947, but then cancelled the order. The pair of Centipedes intended for UP was already partially constructed at Eddystone when cancelled, so Baldwin completed the two-unit set as blue-and-cream Baldwin demonstrators 6000A/6000B and sent them out on a tour that included visits to Baltimore & Ohio, Bessemer & Lake Erie, and Chicago & North Western. Sadly, no new orders resulted and the units were eventually scrapped.
For the most part, the Baldwin Centipedes on PRR, SAL, and NdeM spent most of their years in freight service. Seaboard’s last Centipedes were retired in 1961, PRR’s in 1962, and it was left to Mexico’s NdeM to be the final operator, using the last of its Centipedes until 1971. Unfortunately, no Centipede was preserved.
Thanks, though, to the remarkable work of Dovetail Games’ programme partner Reppo, the grand Baldwin Centipede is alive and well and ready for service in TS2015. Available in standard and advanced operating versions (the latter with full cold start-up capabilities), the Reppo edition wonderfully capturing the massive size of this famed locomotive and the unique sounds of Baldwin’s slow-churning 608SC diesel power plants. The PRR Centipede DLC is perfectly and accurately suited for service on TS2015’s Horseshoe Curve route – and here’s one enthusiastic vote that some more Centipedes, say in the liveries of Baldwin Locomotive Works or the Seaboard Air Line, will be available in the future for duty on Train Simulator routes! – Gary Dolzall
Massive – and massively complex – was Baldwin’s 1940 one-of-a kind test unit No. 6000. It was designed to generate 6,000 horsepower from eight V-8 power plants, but was an experiment never repeated. Baldwin Locomotive Works photo.
First buyer of Baldwin’s DR-12-8-1500/2 “Centipede, which delivered 3,000 horsepower from two 608S power plants, was Seaboard Air Line, and the National Railways of Mexico was also a customer for the locomotive. SAL 4507 (above) and NdeM 6400 (below) were each members of 14-unit Centipede fleets on their respective railroads. Both photos, Baldwin Locomotive Works.
Largest buyer of the Centipede was the Pennsylvania Railroad. A pair of PRR’s 24 units had Pennsy’s American (above) in tow at East St. Louis, Illinois in 1948. Union Pacific ordered one set of Centipedes but cancelled the units prior to delivery, so Baldwin used the orphaned pair (below) as a demonstrator set. Both photos, Dolzall collection.
On the TS2015 Horseshoe Curve route, a pair of Baldwin Centipedes with a mail train in tow pass EMD F7s serving as freight helpers. All screenshots by the author.
Awaiting the next day’s duty, a set of PRR Centipedes (above) sleep away the night at Cresson, Pennsylvania on the TS2015 Horseshoe Curve route. The remarkable attention to detail of Reppo’s edition of the Centipede extends right to the familiar shape of a Baldwin Locomotive Works builders plate affixed to the side of the diesel (below).
Classic 1940s “built for the ages” hardware is what awaits an engineer of the Centipede, and the experience is surely far different than driving one of today’s high-tech diesels.
Both the remarkable length and classic five-stripe livery of Pennsy’s famed Centipedes is on as display as a big PRR Baldwin swings around Horseshoe Curve.
In their all-too-short glory years, a set of PRR Baldwin Centipedes roll down the west slope of the Alleghenies, hurrying holiday passengers to Johnstown, Pennsylvania on the TS2015 Horseshoe Curve route.