Baldwin / BLH Diesel Locomotive Manuals - A Discussion

This topic will contain posts intended for researchers and will describe and explain known Baldwin and BLH operator and diesel engine manuals. These will be broken into groups, and posts edited in the future as other manuals come up. Feel free to post manuals in responses that you don't see listed here, and I'll edit the posts and add them in.

DP and DF series manuals

These manuals are operating manuals for Diesel Passenger and Diesel Freight locomotives. They are normally found in black multi-ring mechanical (snap) binders with heavy covers, but occasionally there are others. See photo.



In photo above, top left is oldest style with cover customizable for railroad. Top right is general cover for DP and DF manuals. Bottom left is BLH (later date) but be aware that covers and whole manuals were reissued so that a model built before the BLH merger may be found inside one of these binders. Bottom right is normal size for switcher and road switcher manuals but contains a condensed operating manual for road locomotives.

KNOWN MANUALS:

DP-100 Wharton & Northern 2000-2002 DR-6-4-1000/2

DP-101

DP-102

DP-103 PRR 5823-5834 DR-12-8-1500/2

DP-104 Seaboard Air Line 4501-4513 DR-12-8-1500/2

DP-105

DP-106 Seaboard Air Line 2700-2702 DR-6-4-1500/1

DP-107 Diesel-Electric 1500 HP Road Locomotive DR-6-4-1500/1 (Condensed)

DP-108 PRR 5770A-5787A, 5770B-5786B DR-6-4-1000/2


DF-100 Seaboard Air Line 4500 DR-12-8-1500/2

DF-101 CNJ DR-4-4-1500/1

DF-102 NYC 3400-3403, 3701-3702 DR-4-4-1500/1

DF-103 Missouri Pacific DR-4-4-1500/1

DF-104 PRR 9568-9593 A & B DR-4-4-1500/1

DF-105 PRR 9700-9707 A & B DR-4-4-1500/1 (1625 BHP )

DF-106 DR-4-4-1600/1 Oct 1950 Made w rev pages to DF-105

DF-107A PRR RF-16

DF-107B RF-16 (Condensed)

DF-108 RF-16

DISCUSSION:

Earliest range of manuals in the DP and DF series are all custom for each railroad.

DP-107 (which is the bottom right manual in the photo) is a "condensed" operating manual. The normal Baldwin DP and DF series manuals are extensive, with many system drawings and explanations. Condensed manuals are very simple and contain only operating information and illustrations as well as troubleshooting. DP-107 shows the New York Central's units painted but not lettered, and is not labeled anywhere as specific to NYC.

DF series manuals are straightforward until we reach DF-105. These are the units that Staufer and other contemporary railfans mislabeled as "RF-15" units, a totally incorrect label. These units, while factory rated 1500 HP per unit were the first road locomotives to receive the uprated 1625 BHP engine, allowing a true 1500 HP for traction.

DF-106 is an odd creation, made by using a set of green insert / rev pages at front and numerous rev pages throughout an otherwise normal DF-105 manual. The units are described as DR-4-4-1600/1; DF-106 rev pages are dated October 1950 while the DF-105 introduction page (still in the manual, confusingly) is dated May 1950. This is almost certainly the operating manual for B&O's RF-16's.

DF-107A is a custom RF-16 manual for the PRR with added pages on electrical specialties such as motor-generator set, standby heaters, cab signals, train control and more. Published September 1951.

DF-107B is a condensed manual for the RF-16 and includes pages on add-ons that the PRR used, but the manual is nowhere labeled as PRR specific. Uses paper fasteners to hold binder, pages together instead of a mechanical clamp multi-ring binding. Very brief but adequate for operation and troubleshooting.

DF-108 is a very late (February 1953) reissue and revision to the RF-16 operating manual and is not railroad specific.

ROAD SWITCHERS - Specific manuals

Prior to about 1949, it appears that the operating instructions for road switcher units were combined into the same manual as for switchers. These combined manuals are typically found with blue covers and have manual numbers in the DS series.

Operators Manual DRS-100, with a publication date of 9-23-49, is the first of a new series with red covers and which only covered road switchers. I'll detail these below.

DRS-100 "1500 HP Road Switcher" dated 9-23-49. Covers DRS-4-4-1500/1, DRS-6-4-1500/1 and DRS-6-6-1500/1 models. Photos show only D-1 Controlair stand, but instructions cover dynamic braking (which requires CE-100 controller.)

DRS-101 "1500 HP Road Switcher" special manual for Erie 1100-1105 with electric throttle. No illustration of controls. Last page of manual is an unnumbered "Addenda for Dynamic Braking."

AS-100 "1600 HP All-Service Locomotive" dated 7-24-50. Covers AS-16, AS-416, AS-616. Photos show only CE-100 control stand with dynamic braking. Manual only covers pneumatic throttle operation.

AS-101-A "Standard 1600 HP All-Service Diesel-Electric Locomotives" published 1-1-52. Covers D-1 controller and 6-SL brake along with modifications "such as multiple unit control, dynamic braking, CE-100 control stand, 24-RL brake, dual control stands, etc." Covers AS-16, AS-416, AS-616 and shows both control stands in photos.

AS-102 "1600 HP Road Switcher - Erie Railroad Company." Specific manual for Erie with electric throttle.

AS-103 "1600 HP All-Service Diesel-Electric locomotives with Electric Throttle, Dynamic Braking and Multiple Unit Control for trailing Transition-type Locomotives." September 22, 1953. Covers AS-16, AS-416 and AS-616 equipped as described. No illustrations.

AS-104 (Blue instead of red cover) This manual, published 10-1-55, covers 1600 HP road switchers of all models following the conversion to using GE traction and control equipment. The manual does cover both electric and pneumatic throttles, as well as dynamic braking with pneumatic throttle. The controller shown in the manual is typical of switch engines, model 17KC91H and has no selector lever and is not compatible with dynamic braking nor can it be used to control trailing units that require manual transition.

Thank you for this. ... catalogue? Do you have an idea about the press-run for some of these? I would think it would be convenient for a railroad owning one of these Baldwin locomotives to have enough copies of the operator's manual that one could be issued to each engineman likely to be assigned one (to take home and study). And a shop where one was maintained would want more than one copy: "No, you can't fix the water pump today; Bill, who's working on the governor, has the manual" would be a very annoying thing for the shop foreman to have to say! (Making re-issues like F-108 more likely to be in demand.)

As of May 1, 1953 anyway, Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton's provision of manuals for diesel locomotives was as follows:

FIRST LOCOMOTIVE OF EACH ORDER:
3 Renewal Parts books
3 Maintenance Manuals
5 Operator's Manuals
5 Troubleshooting Handbooks
5 Engine Manuals

EACH ADDITIONAL LOCOMOTIVE OF AN ORDER:
2 Renewal Parts books
2 Maintenance Manuals
4 Operator's Manuals
4 Troubleshooting Handbooks
4 Engine Manuals

In no case, even with a single unit order, however, would less than a total of ten of each of the listed manuals / books be provided to the buyer.

This information is contained in, of all places, a sales proposal binder BLH sent to the Louisville & Nashville on AS-16 locomotives which, of course, were never built. If it were not for finding this sales proposal I'd have no idea how many manuals were shipped.

We see now why there are so many Baldwin manuals of all sorts still around - and manuals for other makers' units, as well, if Baldwin's offering of manuals was industry standard.