Inventory of the John "Jack" Frasier Weiffenbach Collection, 1936-1956

Processed by Ruth Borger; machine-readable finding aid created by Xiuzhi Zhou
California State Railroad Museum Library
111 "I" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 323-8073
Fax: (916) 327-5655
Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html
© 2000
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the John "Jack" Frasier Weiffenbach Collection, 1936-1956

Collection number: MS 50

California State Railroad Museum Library



Sacramento, California

Contact Information:

  • California State Railroad Museum Library
  • 111 "I" Street
  • Sacramento, California 95814
  • Phone: (916) 323-8073
  • Fax: (916) 327-5655
  • Email: csrmlibrary@csrmf.org
  • URL: http://www.csrmf.org/library.html
Processed by:
Ruth Borger
Encoded by:
Xiuzhi Zhou
© 2000 California State Railroad Museum. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: John "Jack" Frasier Weiffenbach Collection,
Date (inclusive): 1936-1956
Collection number: MS 50
Creator: Weiffenbach, John "Jack" Frasier
Extent: 6 boxes
Repository: California State Railroad Museum Library
Sacramento, California 95814
Shelf location: Big Four Building or off-site storage. Please contact the Library in advance of your visit.
Language: English.

Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Florence V. Weiffenbach, 1991

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to the California State Railroad Museum. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Senior Curator. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the CSRM as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], John "Jack" Frasier Weiffenbach Collection, MS 50, California State Railroad Museum Library, Sacramento, California.

Collection Description

The papers in this collection concern Mr. Weiffenbach's activities with Electro-Motive Division, Fairbanks, Morse, and Canadian Locomotive Company. The papers are primarily handwritten notes and a few drawings, with many internal memoranda, carbons of letters, and curve charts. Mr. Weiffenbach also kept a few formal reports and some folders of clippings.
The body of papers covers the development of the diesel-electric locomotive. Some folders are devoted to specific models (F3) or lines ("C" line), while others investigate a particular problem, such as braking. A few folders contain personal papers such as letters of congratulations to Mr. Weiffenbach sent by his peers upon his promotion to Vice President at Canadian Locomotive Company.

Historical Background

John "Jack" Frasier Weiffenbach (1910-1991) was born in Chicago on November 20, 1910. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1934. From November 1934 to August 1946, he worked as a locomotive development engineer at the Electro-Motive Division, General Motors Corporation. From August 1946 to July 1949, he was Chief Engineer of the Railroad Division at Fairbanks, Morse & Company. He became Director of Engineering at the Beliot (Wisconsin) Works of Fairbanks, Morse in July 1949. In April 1951 he was promoted to Vice President, Manufacturing and Director of the Canadian Locomotive Company in Kingston (Ontario), holding that post until January 1953, when he transferred to Director of Engineering with Fairbanks, Morse & Company in Chicago.
He left Fairbanks, Morse in September 1956 to be Corporate Director of Research and Engineering for Borg-Warner Corporation. He left Borg-Warner in June 1961 to be Vice President of Engineering at the Trailmobile Division, Pullman Inc. From 1963 until his retirement in 1975, he worked in the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation. Mr. Weiffenbach died at his home in Branford, Connecticut on April 22, 1991.

 

PERSONAL PAPERS

Box 1, Folder 1

Humorous drawings and essays about engineering and management

Folder 2

Outline and figures on diesel-electric locomotives for 1948 American Institute of Electric Engineers speech

Folder 3

Correspondence and reviews of 1948 American Institute of Electrical Engineers speech

Folder 4

Letters of congratulation on promotion, and some replies

Folder 5

Personal correspondence

Folder 6

Security clearance application

Folder 7

Clippings, competitors' locomotives

Folder 8

Clippings, "Dear Gang" column from Prime Mover Control

Folder 9

Diesel engine development

Folder 10

Clippings, diesel engine specifications

Folder 11

Clippings, 1946 issue of Erie Works News

Folder 12

Clippings, locomotive machinery

Folder 13

Clippings, machinery

Folder 14

Clippings, miscellaneous

 

ELECTRO-MOTIVE DIVISION

Box 1, Folder 15

"Union Pacific M 10001 streamline "City of Portland"" 1936

Folder 16

"The potential diesel locomotive market" 1944

Folder 17

"Locomotive design data and general information" 1945

Folder 18

"National Railways of Mexico" 1945

Folder 19

"Project file report" 1946

Folder 20

"Group cost system" 1946

Box 2, Folder 1

184 diesel engine

Folder 2

567 diesel engine

Folder 3

1500 HP road switcher

Folder 4

D4 electrical rotating generator

Folder 5

Charts for D4 electrical rotating generator

Folder 6

D7 motor

Folder 7

D8 electrical rotating generator

Folder 8

D12 electrical rotating generator

Folder 9

F3 locomotive

Folder 10

Acceleration curves

Folder 11

Braking curves

Folder 12

Characteristic curves

Folder 13

Curves for motors

Folder 14

Performance curves

Folder 15

Speed-tractive effort curves

Folder 16

Tonnage curves

Folder 17

Transmission curves

Folder 18

Miscellaneous curve charts

Folder 19

Data for curve charts

Box 3, Folder 1

Company history

Folder 2

New plant design

Folder 3

Personnel and management

Folder 4

Advantages of diesel locomotives

Folder 5

A.C. drive proposal

Folder 6

Braking

Folder 7

Cooling

Folder 8

Costs of making locomotives

Folder 9

Electrical rotating generator

Folder 10

Electrical rotating generator

Folder 11

Experimental releases of the Engineering Department

Folder 12

Traction motors and generators

Folder 13

General notes

Folder 14

General notes

 

FAIRBANKS, MORSE & COMPANY

Box 4, Folder 1

"Locomotive performance curves" 1847

Folder 2

"Performance of Union Pacific locomotive No. 1365, San Bernardino to Summit" 1948

Folder 3

"1948 development program, Locomotive Division"

Folder 4

"Locomotive performance curves" 1950

Folder 5

"Comments and recommendations on installation and application engineering with special reference to visit with T. D. Bowes, naval architect, Philadelphia and trial trip of the tug Resolute"1950

Folder 6

"Report on investigation of S.R.M. screw type compressor" 1955

Folder 7

"Report of the Director of Engineering for the three months ending March 31, 1956"

Folder 8

C-line locomotives, new plant

Folder 9

C-line locomotives, publicity

Folder 10

C-line locomotives, production schedule

Folder 11

C-line locomotives, test runs

Folder 12

C-line locomotives, cost analysis

Folder 13

C-line locomotives, cost analysis

Folder 14

C-line locomotives, material cost estimate sheets

Box 5, Folder 1

C-line locomotives, general notes

Folder 2

Sub-contractor's file

Folder 3

Baldwin Locomotive Works

Folder 4

Erie Locomotive Works

Folder 5

Company history

Folder 6

Engineering schedule

Folder 7

Generator curves and motor curves

Folder 8

Horsepower

Folder 9

Locomotive bill of material lists

Folder 10

Locomotive Division reports

Folder 11

Locomotive switchboard harness project

Folder 12

Material shortages problem in production

Box 6, Folder 1

Patents

Folder 2

Personnel

Folder 3

Sales manual, comparison of specifications

Folder 4

Sales manual letters

Folder 5

Speed shunting

Folder 6

Woodward governor and loan control

Folder 7

General notes

 

CANADIAN LOCOMOTIVE COMPANY

Box 6, Folder 8

Articles about the company

Folder 9

Diesel Day in Kingston

Folder 10

Winterizing locomotives

Folder 11

General notes

Folder 12

General notes