Baldwin Locomotive works Eddystone PA

This is an UNOFFICIAL Baldwin Locomotive Works site

The Baldwin Locomotive Works was started by Matthias W Baldwin in 1831 in Philadelphia, PA. The Eddystone plant was completed in 1927. Renamed the Baldwin Lima Hamilton Co., the Baldwin Works produced various locomotives for the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Great Northern Railway.

The BLH shops also made locomotives including steam and diesel for overseas railways including England, France, India, Haiti, and Egypt. Some of the locomotives on display at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, in Strasburg, PA. and the Pennsylvania Railroad Memorial Museum in Altoona, Pa. were manufactured at The Baldwin Locomotive works in Philadelphia and Eddystone, PA.

In May of 1994, demolition of the Eddystone plant began. It was a definite end, to the era, of the majesty of steam power. Over a period of 53 weeks the buildings were all taken down to clear the land for development.

I have committed the images to film starting with color images to show the buildings as they were at the turn of the century, and ending with black & white to show the detail of the interior of the buildings where possible. Also It seems the B&W pics seem to tell the story of the finality of it all.

These pictures were taken from the area along Chester Pike, looking south, around the beginning of October in 1994. They show the brown terra-cotta tiles that were basically laid on I beam foundations to form rows of work areas.

They were taken with ASA 200 film. All other pictures were taken with Plus-X Pan film in order to show the most detail.