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Inventory of the Whitcomb Locomotive Company Records
MS 99
MS 99
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Contributing Institution:
California State Railroad Museum Library & Archives
Title: Whitcomb Locomotive Company records
Creator:
Whitcomb Locomotive Company
Identifier/Call Number: MS 99
Physical Description:
300 Linear Feet
269 record cartons +14 card boxes + 12 filing cabinet drawers
Date (inclusive): 1906-1952
Abstract: The Whitcomb Locomotive Company Records include the
corporate records of the George D. Whitcomb Company from 1916-1931, the Whitcomb Locomotive Company from
1931 to 1940, and the Whitcomb Division of the Baldwin Locomotive Works from 1940 until 1950, when
Baldwin purchased the Lima-Hamilton Company and became Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, until the Whitcomb
Locomotive Company name was retired in 1952. Material includes locomotive drawings, specifications,
photographs, manufacturing records, operations and parts manuals, and sales department records.
Language of Material:
English
.
Collection is open for research. Contact Library Staff for details.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of the Baldwin - Lima - Hamilton Company, 1979.
These records have been arranged into the following series:
Series 1. Card Files
Series 2. Manufacturing Records
Series 3. Operating and Maintenance Manuals
Series 4. Specifications
Series 5. Photographs and Negatives
Series 6. Drawings
Series 7. Bills of Material Index Sheets and Drawings Lists
Series 8. Sales Department Records
Series 9. Vendor Files
Series 10. Whitcomb Renewal Parts Books
The Whitcomb Locomotive Company was a builder of gasoline and diesel powered industrial locomotives that
supplied companies around the world with a variety of configurations for moving cars within factory
environments.
The George D. Whitcomb Company was incorporated by George D. Whitcomb on May 6, 1896 in Illinois.
George's son George Card Whitcomb replaced George D. Whitcomb as General Manager in 1907, and after
George senior's death in 1914 he took over the company.
The company sold its first gas-mechanical locomotive in 1906. In October of 1914 Whitcomb introduced and
shipped its first electric storage battery locomotive. Its first gas-electric locomotive was
manufactured in 1928. Whitcomb introduced its first diesel-electric locomotive in 1929.
A friendship between Baldwin President Samuel L. Vauclain and Whitcomb President George Whitcomb led to
Baldwin taking a financial interest in the George D. Whitcomb Company. In 1927, Baldwin Locomotive Works
began representing Whitcomb in the sales division. Baldwin acquired a half-interest in Whitcomb stock in
1928. After suffering a downturn in orders during the Great Depression, Whitcomb lost control of the
company to Baldwin Locomotive Works. After declaring bankruptcy on behalf of Whitcomb in 1931, Baldwin
reorganized it as the Whitcomb Locomotive Company and operated it under that name until 1940. Starting
in 1934 the Baldwin Locomotive Works took over the sales, repair, and renewal parts business from the
Whitcomb Company.
In July 19, 1932, Whitcomb acquired the Milwaukee Locomotive Manufacture Company.
Whitcomb became a division of Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1940. During World War II, Whitcomb supplied
the United States Army Transportation Corps with diesel-electric switchers.
In December 4, 1950, Baldwin Locomotive Works bought the Lima-Hamilton Company and became the Baldwin –
Lima – Hamilton Corporation. Whitcomb construction facilities moved from Rochelle, Illinois to
Eddystone, Pennsylvania. BLH continued to use the Whitcomb name until December 1952.
This collection was donated by the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Company who kept the corporate records of the
Whitcomb Locomotive Company and the Sterling Engine Company at their manufacturing plant in Honey Brook,
Pennsylvania.
The Whitcomb Locomotive Company Records include the corporate records of the George D. Whitcomb Company
from 1916-1931, the Whitcomb Locomotive Company from 1931 to 1940, and the Whitcomb Division of the
Baldwin Locomotive Works from 1940 until 1950, when Baldwin purchased the Lima-Hamilton Company and
became Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, until the Whitcomb Locomotive Company name was retired in 1952. Material
includes locomotive drawings, specifications, photographs, manufacturing records, operations and parts
manuals, and sales department records. They provide detailed information about every locomotive type
they manufactured, including detailed specifications of any modifications or parts purchased for every
locomotive they manufactured. There are records from their sales and manufacturing departments, and
photographs of some locomotives taken were routinely taken and appended to the sales orders after 1931.
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 CSRM Library & Archives.
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.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Railroad Locomotives
Railroads--Photography--Locomotives
Baldwin locomotives
Whitcomb locomotives
Baldwin Locomotive Works
Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton
Milwaukee Locomotive Manufacturing Company