Baldwin AS-616

The Baldwin AS-616 (or as the locomotive is sometimes incorrectly known, the Baldwin DRS-6-6-1600)[2] was a diesel-electric locomotive of the road switcher type rated at 1,600 horsepower (1,200 kW), that rode on three-axle trucks, having a C-C wheel arrangement. Nineteen railroads bought 214 locomotives, and two railroads bought seven cabless B units. The AS-616 was valued for its extremely high tractive effort, far more than any ALCo or EMD product. It was used in much the same manner as its four-axle counterpart, the Baldwin AS-16, and its six-axle sister, the Baldwin AS-416, though the six- traction motor design allowed better tractive effort at lower speeds.

Baldwin AS-616
Baldwin AS-616 diesel-electric locomotive at work for the Southern Pacific Transportation Company.
Type and origin
Power typeDiesel-electric
BuilderBaldwin-Lima-Hamilton
ModelAll Service - 6 powered axles - 1600 horsepower
Build dateSeptember 1950–May 1954
Total produced214 (+7 B units)
Specifications
Configuration:
​
 • AARC-C
 • UICCo′Co′
Gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Wheel diameter42 in (1,067 mm)
Minimum curve30° (250.79 ft or 76.44 m radius)
Wheelbase32 ft 3 in (9.83 m) between bolsters
Length58 ft 00 in (17.68 m)
Width10 ft 00 in (3.05 m)
Height14 ft 00 in (4.27 m)
Loco weight327,800 lb (148,700 kilograms)
Fuel capacity900 US gallons (3,400 l; 750 imp gal)
Prime moverDe La Vergne 608SC
RPM range625 (max)
Engine typeFour-stroke engine
AspirationTurbocharged
GeneratorWestinghouse WE471
Traction motors(6) Westinghouse WE370
Cylinders8
Performance figures
Power output1,600 hp (1,200 kW)
Tractive effortStarting: 97,500 lbf (434 kN)
Continuous: 78,750 lbf (350.3 kN) @ 6 mph (9.7 km/h)
Career
OperatorsVarious
LocaleNorth America, Mexico, Brazil, Jamaica[1]

Original owners
RailroadQuantityRoad NumbersNotes
Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton (demonstrators)
2
1600
 to Duluth, South Shore & Atlantic Railway 211, to Soo Line 395
1601
to Oregon and Northwestern Railroad 1
Bessemer and Lake Erie Railroad
2
408, 409
Chicago and North Western Railway
3
1560, 1561, 1604
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
39
5528–5529, 5533–5569
Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic Railway
7
204–210
to Soo Line Railroad 388–394
Houston Belt and Terminal Railway
1
32
Kaiser Steel
2
1012A, 1012B
1012A to Kaiser Bauxite Jamaica,1012B to Rayonier[3]
Milwaukee Road
6
2100–2101, 2104–2107
Milwaukee Road
2
2100B, 2101B
 B units - rebuilt with cabs and renumbered 2102, 2103 c.1953
Ferrocarriles Nacionales de México
20
6800–6819
Orinoco Mining Company, Venezuela (U.S. Steel)
9
1001–1009
Pennsylvania Railroad
12
8966–8974, 8111, 8112, 8114 (ex-PWV) renumbered 6966–6977
Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway
1
40
to PRR in 1960[4]
Southern Pacific Company (Texas and New Orleans Railroad)
8
177–184
Southern Pacific Company
51
5228–5278
 Included dynamic braking
Southern Pacific Company
5
5501–5505
 B units - renumbered 4901–4905; included dynamic braking
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company
5
1502–1506
Trona Railway
1
52
Union Pacific Railroad
6
1260–1265
Union Railroad
3
625–627
Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil
12
3371–3382
 1,600 mm (5 ft 3 in) gauge; included dynamic braking
Estrada de Ferro Central do Brasil
20
4371–4390
 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Rede de Viação Paraná-Santa Catarina (Brazil)
5
60–64
 1,000 mm
Total214A units
7B units

Design

The AS-616 was very similar to the previous model, the Baldwin DRS-6-6-1500, riding on the same basic frame and sharing the same body. The design was very simple, lacking the 1950s styling of the competing EMD F3 and ALCO FA. The utilitarian design was valued for switching jobs, a position the AS-616 filled easily.

The AS-616 would be Baldwin's best selling road switcher of all time, and the builder's third greatest selling diesel electric model of all time.

Redesign

In 1954, Baldwin (believing the utilitarian design of their road switchers was the cause of their overall failure on the market) redesigned their entire roster of locomotives, with all gaining new abilities. The most notable effect of the redesign was the raising of the roof on all Baldwin road switchers, causing the roof to take the shape of a triangular prism. Only a few units were sold with this design, as Baldwin's failing sales had dropped to their lowest at the time. Baldwin began offering dynamic braking on all road switchers, though the AS-616 was already offered with optional dynamic brakes.

Usage

Despite being marketed as a road switcher (like the EMD SD9 and ALCO RSD-4 of the same time period), the AS-616 saw most use as a heavy switcher. The impressive tractive effort and GSC rigid bolster trimount trucks appealed to roads with heavy hump yards (such as Southern Pacific). Ultimately, while many saw road service, the AS-616 was a switcher that was far ahead of its time.

Baldwin offered more options on the AS-616 in comparison to the DRS-6-6-1500, with some units gaining boilers, and others gaining dynamic braking. Baldwin also offered Multiple-unit train control on the AS-616, though many roads bought the unit purely for switching, opting out of MU. Some units that lacked MU were given MU by the parent company (or by a Baldwin associate)[5] depending on the road's preference.

By the 1970s almost all Baldwin AS-616s had been scrapped or sold. A select few railroads-Trona Railway being a major operator[6]- kept their Baldwin diesels running far past their builder's lifetime.

Preservation

Nine AS-616 diesels are preserved.

[7]

Notes
  1. Blanchard, Jean-Denis (2006). The Diesel Shop - Baldwin AS-616 Data Sheet. Received 13/4/18. https://www.thedieselshop.us/Data%20BLW%20AS-616.HTML
  2. Baldwin's original diesel classification system was drawn out, to indicate every piece of the unit. The DRS-6-6-1500 (the predecessor to the AS-616) was classified this way; many railfans incorrectly assume that the AS-616 was an upgrade of the DRS-6-6-1500 and label it in the same way.
  3. Baldwin Diesel Zone - Kaiser Steel
  4. Worley, H. V. & Poellot, Jr., W. N. (1989). The Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railway: Story of the high and dry. pp. 201, 203-204, 275. Halifax, PA: Withers Publishing. ISBN 0-9618503-5-3.
  5. Baldwin Diesel Zone - Replacement and Renewal Parts History
  6. American Rails - The Trona Railway
  7. Baldwin Diesel Zone - Roster of Existing Baldwin Diesels
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