660: 56,500 lb (25,600 kg) 1000: 57,500 lb (26,100 kg)
Career
Locale
North America
The Baldwin S-12 or BLH S12 was a 1,200-
horsepower (890 kW)
diesel-electricswitcher locomotive. Utilizing a
turbocharged 6-cylinder version of the powerful 606A
dieselprime mover, S12s were known for their "lugging" power, despite being temperamental. Like most BLH switchers, the S12 had
AAR Type-A switcher
trucks in a
B-B wheel arrangement. 451 units were built between 1951 and 1956, when BLH left the locomotive market.
Previous models
Baldwin made a number of switchers with similar dimensions and body styles. The first body style, used in VO models, had a slightly pointed nose with a round radiator opening. The second and third body style, almost indistinguishable and used interchangeably, had a flat nose and rectangular radiator opening. Various exhaust stacks were used, and are not an effective spotting feature, except that turbocharged models always had one large stack offset to the side.
The
VO-660 was built between April 1939 and May 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated six cylinder engine rated at 600-horsepower (450 kW). 142 were built. Baldwin replaced the VO-660 with the model DS-4-4-660 in 1946.
The
VO-1000 was built between January 1939 and December 1946. It was powered by a naturally aspirated eight cylinder engine rated at 1,000-horsepower (750 kW). Some had the
Batz truck originally developed by the
Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway as a leading truck for
steam locomotives. 548 VO-1000s were built.
The
DS-4-4-660 was built between 1946 and 1949. It replaced the 600-horsepower (450 kW) VO-660 as the low power companion to the DS-4-4-1000 models. 139 were built.
The
DS-4-4-1000 was a 1,000-horsepower (750 kW) model built between 1946 and 1951. The first units (56 locomotives) were powered by an 8-cylinder normally aspirated prime mover, but from 1948 a change was made to a 6-cylinder turbocharged engine. A total of 502 were built.