PRR #9069 and Birth of Baldwin Zone Website



Having grown up on Long Island & missed seeing the F-M and Baldwin power they had by just a few years made me curious about how they sounded. Although having an all Alco railroad for a few years was not a bad thing! A day trip and then a move to Bucks County, PA got me to witness some Baldwin locomotives out of service at US Steel-Fairless Works and then my first living, breathing Baldwin locomotive at what is now the Tyburn RR in Morrisville, PA, which had come from the New Hope & Ivyland RR. That locomotive disappeared, but I soon found it working for a new railroad, SMS at Fairless Hills, PA.I went one day hoping to shoot video of it starting up, and was soon invited up for a cab ride in #302, which is now PRR 9069 the only surviving PRR Baldwin. Next, I found out about their main operation in Bridgeport, NJ and became friends with their employees & CMO Al Briegel, who was always kind & forthcoming with information about which engines would be shopped, painted, etc. next. I found Mark Laundry thru his website The Yardlimit and shared some of my Baldwin switcher photos. We both decided it would be interesting to start a webpage about Baldwin diesels and did just that. It has grown substantially thanks to contributors and my living not far from the Baldwin birthplace of Eddystone, PA. --- Tim Darnell

You are invited to visit the information-rich Baldwin Diesel Zone.

blank http://baldwindiesels.railfan.net/index.html
All photos on this page are by Tim Darnell, unless noted otherwise. New: 1 April 2019
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Pennsy DS44-1000 #9069's Colorful Journey

BLW #74119 exited Baldwin's large locomotive manufacturing center in Eddystone, Pennsylvania in April 1949. Attired in Brunswick green with gold-leaf lettering, the four-axle locomotive went to work immediately for new owner Pennsylvania RR as DS44-1000 #9069. The 1000-hp switcher has had a checkered past and has become a favorite with BLW fans throughout eastern and midwestern U.S. A brief overview of the popular loco's 70-year history is presented here in photos with the aid of Tim Darnell and others.

(click on an image to enlarge)

DS44-1000 Builder Plate #74119

Baldwin-built #9069

Penn Central #8281 (8019)

(Paul Carpenito photo, Ryan Kertis collection)

New Hope & Ivy #302 in August 1983

Tyburn #302 in July 1989

SMS #1494 on 7 August 1994

Richard Louderback photo (Mark Laundry collection)

Penn Jersey Lines #302 in May 2003

SMS #302 in paint shop October 2007

PRR #9069 on 30 October 2017

Reference sources:

  • Diesels from Eddystone by Gary W. Dolzall
  • The Diesel Builders (Volume 3: Baldwin) by John F. Krirkland
  • Extra 2200 South: The Locomotive Newslettet (Oct.-Dec. 1979 and Ja.-Mar. 1980)
  • The Baldwin Diesel Zone (website)

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