Baldwin VO-660

The Baldwin VO-660 was a diesel-electric switcher locomotive built by Baldwin Locomotive Works between April, 1939 and May, 1946. The 197,520–203,980 lb (89,600–92,500 kg) units were powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine rated at 660 horsepower (492 kW), and rode on two-axle AAR Type-A switcher trucks in a B-B wheel arrangement. 142 examples of this model were built for American railroads, along with the United States Navy. Baldwin replaced the VO-660 with the model DS-4-4-660 in 1946.

Baldwin VO-660
D&RGW VO-660 switcher locomotive.
Type and origin Power type Diesel-electric Builder Baldwin Locomotive Works Model VO-660 Build date April 1939 – May 1946 Total produced 142
Specifications Configuration: ​  • AAR B-B Gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Length 48 ft 0 in (14.63 m) Loco weight 197,520–203,980 lb (89,600–92,500 kg) Prime mover De La Verne VO RPM range 625 rpm max. Engine type Straight-6 Four-stroke diesel Aspiration Normally aspirated, solid fuel injection Displacement 1,979 cu in (32.43 L) per cylinder 11,874 cu in (194.58 L) total Generator DC generator Traction motors DC traction motors Cylinders 6 Cylinder size 12.75 in × 15.5 in (324 mm × 394 mm) Transmission Electric Loco brake Straight air Train brakes Air
Performance figures Power output 660 hp (490 kW) Tractive effort 49,380–50,995 lbf (219.65–226.84 kN)
Career Locale North America, Cuba

In the early 1960s the Reading Company sent all 10 of their VO-660s to General Motors Electro-Motive Division to have them rebuilt to SW900 specifications. These locomotives received new frames, cabs, and carbodies, and reused only the trucks and batteries from the VO-660's. Only four intact examples of the VO-660 are known to survive today. One was built as Baldwin 335, the first production VO-660. It was sold by the Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum to SMS Lines to be repaired and put back into operation. SMS also owns the former Warner 11, which is being restored before being put into service. The others are Pickens Railway #2, built in 1946, and Wyandotte Terminal 103, at the Illinois Railway Museum, both of which are inoperable at the present time.

Units produced

Railroad	Quantity	Road numbers	Notes
Baldwin Locomotive Works (pre-production units)	1	299	Used as BLW plant switcher
	1	62300	to Reading 60
Baldwin Locomotive Works (demonstrator)	1	335	first production VO-660; to Standard Steel Division of Baldwin Locomotive Works 12, to Altoona Railroaders Museum, to SMS Rail Lines, under restoration to active service
	1	336	to Elgin, Joliet and Eastern 270
	1	337	to Central of Georgia Railway
Akron and Barberton Belt Railroad	1	25
American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO)	4	1950–1953
American Steel and Wire Company	3	1, 11, 23-1
Basic Magnesium, Inc.	1	1000
Central Railroad of New Jersey	4	1040–1043
Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad	1	110
Chicago and North Western Railway	10	1237–1246
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (“Milwaukee Road”)	1	1649	Renumbered 1635, later renumbered 985
Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway (“Omaha Road”)	3	58, 59, 68
Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad	9	66–74
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway	2	271, 272
Francisco Sugar Company, (Cuba)	1	45
Iowa Ordnance Plant	1	2-100	to US War Dept 7276
Kansas City Southern Railway	1	1150
La Salle and Bureau County Railroad	1	6
Long Island Rail Road	1	403
Louisville and Nashville Railroad	4	20–23
Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railway	1	600	Renumbered 60
Minnesota Western Railway	1	1	to MNS 1
Missouri Pacific Railroad	4	9009, 9010, 9012, 9026
Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway	1	10
New Orleans Public Belt Railroad	3	41–43
New York Central Railroad	12	501–502, 752–761	501–502 renumbered 750–751
Northern Pacific Railway	3	128–130	Renumbered 650–652
Patapsco and Back Rivers Railroad	3	63–65	Renumbered 301–303
Pennsylvania Railroad	12	5907–5909, 5932–5937, 5941–5943
Procter and Gamble	1	125	Used at Port Ivory, Staten Island, NY
Reading Company	10	61–70
St. Louis-San Francisco Railway	2	600–601
Seaboard Air Line Railroad	1	1202
Singer Manufacturing Company	1	2	to Pickens Railway #2, stored out of service on line
Southern Pacific Company	2	1021–1022
Southern Railway	1	DS2005
Terminal Railroad Association of St. Louis	4	531–534
Union Terminal Railway of Memphis (Missouri Pacific Railroad)	2	9090–9091
United States Navy	6	10, 11, 15, 16, 18, 31
Upper Merion and Plymouth Railroad	2	51–52
Wabash Railroad	1	200
Warner Company	1	11	to New Hope & Ivyland 395, to SMS Rail Lines 11; under restoration
Western Maryland Railway	4	101, 103–105
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company	1	10
Wyandotte Terminal Railroad	3	101–103	103 preserved at Illinois Railway Museum
Youngstown Sheet and Tube	8	600–607
Total	143

References

• Pinkepank, Jerry A. (1973). The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. Milwaukee, WI: Kalmbach Publishing Co. ISBN 0-89024-026-4.

External links

• Baldwin VO-660 Roster
• BLW Demonstrators, Prototypes and Test Beds
• CKD Praha 6S310DR diesel engine, and the Baldwin VO and 600 series engines
• Existing Baldwin VO Model Units
• Preserved Baldwin and Lima Locomotives
• PRR Diesel Locomotive diagrams: Baldwin VO-660
• VO-660 — Original Owners
• Illinois Railway Museum roster page for Wyandotte Terminal 103