Proposal
Proposal
Proposal
Alan Jalowitz
502 Paterno Library
University Park, PA 16802
Introduction
Since I was a small child I have loved steam engines. From "Thomas the Tank
Engine" to the train under the Christmas Tree, I have always been fascinated
with how they actually work and what it takes to build them. Such an
intricate system with thousands of pieces working together to move large
quantities of people and freight; created at the dawn of the industrial
revolution without the aid of electronics and computer technology is
amazing. Anyone today would be daunted with even approaching such a task
with the tools available in the mid 1800's igniting the curiosity of how were
such machine made. The Baldwin Locomotive Works was at the forefront of
innovation and production during the golden era of steam engine and one of
the primary producers of locomotives in the country.
Who I am
Background
From several period newspaper articles from the New York Times the impact
that Baldwin Locomotive Works had in everyday life was gained. Several
books written about the end of the steam era, the US railroading system, and
Baldwin specifically provided detail about how Baldwin affected the entire
system. One book was officially commissioned in 1923 by the Baldwin
Corporation to document its founding and history to that point and was an
extremely valuable aid in researching the topic.
Technical Description
Conclusion
Sincerely,
Andrew Catherine
"$80,000,000 Shell Order. Baldwin Locomotives Said to Have Closed Contract with
Allies." The New York Times 15 July 1915.
• This short news article describes how the Baldwin Locomotive Works
obtained WWI war contracts in 1915.
• This shows how, in conjunctions with other sources, Baldwin went from
mothballed state to full production and contributed to the war effort.
• This short article describes the massive production that Baldwin achieved in
the early twenties.
• This source shows the prosperity of the roaring twenties that Baldwin and the
country enjoyed.
• This multipage article describes in a more technical manner the history and
operations of the Baldwin Locomotive Works to the 1880's in Philadelphia.
"Baldwin Lays Off 4,000." The New York Times 23 December 1950.
• This short article describes the labor issues plaguing the Baldwin plant after
WWII and poor adaptation to the post steam era.
• This source will provide some insight into the lack of demand during the later
days of Baldwin.
"Baldwin Locomotive Works, Eddystone, Pa." Circa 1948. Delaware County History.
19 May 2010
<http://www.delawarecountyhistory.com/images/EddystonePA.BaldwinLocom
otiveWorksfromtheair.c.1948pcp.jpg>.
• This graphic will help show the scale of the factory and explain its impact on
the local economy.
• This short article describes the poor economic state of Baldwin before WWI.
• This article will help show case the revival of Baldwin due to the WWI war
contracts later granted.
"Baldwin Strike Spreads. Labor Leaders Say 10,000 of 14,000 at Locomotive Works
Have Quit. ." The New York Times 9 June 1911.
• This article describes how the labor problems and work conditions at the
Baldwin Locomotive Works around 1910-1912.
• This source will show the labor issues that began long before the Baldwin
Locomotive Works finally closed.
Brown, John K. The Baldwin Locomotive Works, 1831-1915. Baltimore: Johsn Hopkins
University Press, 1995.
• This book takes an analytical look at the Baldwin Locomotive Works and it
development.
• This source will help to substantiate the reasons for Baldwin's rise and fall.
• This catalogue describes the many early locomotives that Baldwin made and
what influenced there design.
• This short article describes the labor issues plaguing the Baldwin plant after
WWII and poor adaptation to the post steam era.
• This source will provide some insight into the labor issues during the later
days of Baldwin.
• This article describes how Baldwin, among others, failed to adapt to a diesel-
electric locomotive generation.
• This source will help reinforce the reasons for Baldwin's eventual merger and
closing.
• This article will provide needed detail as to the founding of the Baldwin
company.
• This book was published for Baldwin to describe the history and operations of
the company.
• This book will provided a very high level of detail and provide many different
references to people show shaped the Baldwin Locomotives Works in its early
and mid life.
• This short advertisement shows the community outreach for public tours of
the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1937.
• This source will show the community impact that the company tried to instill
in the late 1930's and how the Baldwin Works was a place of interest to the
public.
Marx, Thomas G. "Technological Change an the Theory of the Firm: The American
Locomotive Industry, 1920-1955." Business History Review 50 (1976): 1-24.
• This article describes the changes in the country from 1920-1955 and how
the railroads faded from prominence.
• This source will show that advancing technology that helped make Baldwin
now moved the country past Baldwin.
Miller, Fredric M., Morris J. Vogel and Allen F. Davis. Still Philadelphia A Photographic
History, 1890-1940. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983.
• This book has several pages devoted to the Baldwin Locomotive Works and
the images will be helpful in illustrating what the Baldwin Factory looked like.
"Orders 100 Locomotive. Pennsylvania Will Use New Engines for Fast Freight." The
New York Times 24 October 1929.
• This short article describes the continued prosperity during eh twenties just
before the Great Depression.
• This source shows how the Baldwin Plant was a significant economic factor
and how it impact other Pennsylvania companies like the PRR.
• This article describes how the Eddystone plant is being replaced by new
industry.
• This source will help show that after Baldwin's closure, the area is slowly
seeing a return of some industry.
"Plan Homes For Employes." The New York Times 29 April 1912.
• This short article describes how Baldwin tried to sooth the labor issues before
WWI.
• This source shows how Baldwin responded to the strikes of 1910 and 1911
and improved work conditions. This also increased the impact that Baldwin
had on not only workers but their families who lived in the new homes.
Sandberg, William R. and H.Dixon Wilcox. Opportunity Recognition and Disruptive
Technology: The U.U. Locomotive Industry from 1920 to 1940. . 2002. 18 May
2010 <http://www.babson.edu/entrep/fer/Babson2002/II/II_P4/P4/html/ii-
p4.htm>.
• This webpage looks at how the railroad industry, including Baldwin, failed to
maintain its importance between world wars.
• This article will show what Baldwin and others failed to do to remain in
business.
• This source will help shed light on how the changing economy affected
Baldwin and how it failed to adapt to a post steam era locomotive
environment.
• This paper describes the apprenticeship system used in the Baldwin plants to
train new workers.
• This source will help show how workers were trained and what labor
conditions were like in the locomotive shops.
• This book focuses on the engines that Baldwin built and how they impacted
railrodaing in the U.S. and the world.
• This source provides information on the products that Baldwin made and
insight into how they were innovative and where they were used.
Treese, Lorett. Railrodas of Pennsylvania Fragments of the Past in the Keystone
Landscape. First. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003.
• This source provides a highlight of Baldwin and how it grew and impacted
railroading in Pennsylvania.
• This source will help solidify the importance that Baldwin played in the
development of Philadelphia during the industrial revolution.
Westing, Fred. The Locomotives that Baldwin built. Seattle: Superior, 1966.
White, John H. A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era.
Washington D.C. : Bass Inc. , 1982.
• This book will provide a concise overview of the entire history of the Baldwin
Locomotive Works.