Davenport Locomotive Works

Last updated
Alabama Power Company fireless locomotive No.40 built by Davenport in 1953 at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum. HODIMG 3071.JPG
Alabama Power Company fireless locomotive No.40 built by Davenport in 1953 at the Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum.
Davenport-built DkW OZA 0-4-0ST No. 1907 on display outside the Frisco Depot Museum in Hugo, Oklahoma Hugo Frisco Depot Museum March 2016 29 (DkW OZA Davenport 0-4-0T No. 1907).jpg
Davenport-built DkW OZA 0-4-0 ST No. 1907 on display outside the Frisco Depot Museum in Hugo, Oklahoma

The Davenport Locomotive Works, of Davenport, Iowa, USA, was formed as the W W Whitehead Company in 1901. In 1902, the company commenced building light locomotives. The Company was renamed the Davenport Locomotive Works in 1904. [2]

Contents

In late 1930, Davenport was licensed to assemble and market R G LeTourneau Inc products under the Davenport-LeTourneau brand. The agreement is believed to have ended in 1935 when LeTourneau moved to Peoria, Illinois. Davenport also sold Davenport-Winchell three-wheel roller conversions of industrial wheel tractors, Davenport-Frink snow plows, which were built in license from Frink Sno-Plows Inc, and Reynolds patented Mov-Mor rotary scrapers.

In 1933, the company was again restructured and renamed the Davenport-Besler Corporation, which continued in business until 1956. William George Besler was a director at the time of the restructuring. The company acquired the locomotive business of H. K. Porter, Inc. in 1950 and from then on produced Porter designs as well as its own. The Canadian Locomotive Company acquired Davenport-Besler in 1955, closing it the following year.

The company had built small steam locomotives early on; its first gasoline-fueled internal combustion engined locomotive was built in 1924 and its first diesel locomotive in 1927, a 30-short-ton (26.8-long-ton; 27.2 t) diesel-electric for the Northern Illinois Coal Company of Boonville, Indiana.

An extensive range of diesel locomotives in all industrial sizes followed, utilizing either mechanical torque converter or electric transmission, the former for the smaller locomotives. Most were used by a variety of industrial customers, but some railroads also bought Davenport locomotives, particularly the 44-short-ton (39.3-long-ton; 39.9 t) size: being the largest locomotive then allowed by union rules to be operated by one person. Railroad buyers included the Rock Island, Milwaukee Road, Santa Fe, Frisco, and Missouri Pacific. In 1963, that rule was relaxed and railroads ceased buying industrial-sized locomotives for light switching.

Davenport built a number of locomotives for the United States Army including World War I trench railways, the USATC S100 Class 0-6-0 of World War II, and eighteen larger switcher locomotives during the 1950s, two of which were adjustable in gauge: One could operate on broad gauges up to 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm), and one on narrow gauges—the latter (3 ft or 914 mm) operating for a period on the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.

Three Davenport 500 HP locomotives (built in 1952) of the State Railway of Thailand [3] are still in service as of March 2023. [4]

Various Davenport locomotives are preserved in the US as well as in other parts of the world.

Preservation

Davenport #1597 preserved by Illawarra Light Railway Museum Kiama 0-4-0ST Locomotive a.jpg
Davenport #1597 preserved by Illawarra Light Railway Museum

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railway</span> Railway line with a gauge less than the standard of 1435 mm (4 ft 8 1/2 in)

A narrow-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge narrower than 1,435 mmstandard gauge. Most narrow-gauge railways are between 600 mm and 1,067 mm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shay locomotive</span> Geared steam locomotive

The Shay locomotive is a geared steam locomotive that originated and was primarily used in North America. The locomotives were built to the patents of Ephraim Shay, who has been credited with the popularization of the concept of a geared steam locomotive. Although the design of Ephraim Shay's early locomotives differed from later ones, there is a clear line of development that joins all Shays. Shay locomotives were especially suited to logging, mining and industrial operations and could operate successfully on steep or poor quality track.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Pass and Yukon Route</span> Canada–US railway line

The White Pass and Yukon Route is a Canadian and U.S. Class III 3 ft narrow-gauge railroad linking the port of Skagway, Alaska, with Whitehorse, the capital of Yukon. An isolated system, it has no direct connection to any other railroad. Equipment, freight and passengers are ferried by ship through the Port of Skagway, and via road through a few of the stops along its route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">0-4-0</span> Locomotive wheel arrangement

Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 0-4-0 represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were connected by a single gear wheel, but from 1825 the wheels were usually connected with coupling rods to form a single driven set.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magma Arizona Railroad</span> Defunct short-line railroad in Arizona, U.S.

The Magma Arizona Railroad was built by the Magma Copper Company and operated from 1915 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USATC S118 Class</span>

The United States Army Transportation Corps (USATC) S118 Class is a class of 2-8-2 steam locomotive. Built to either 3 ft, 1,000 mmmetre gauge or 3 ft 6 in gauge, they were used in at least 24 different countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Backyard railroad</span>

A backyard railroad is a privately owned, outdoor railroad, most often in miniature, but large enough for one or several persons to ride on. The rail gauge can be anything from 2+12 in to 7+12 in or more. Smaller backyard or outdoor railroads that cannot be ridden are called garden railroads. Some backyard railroads use full-size rolling stock, such as the former 3 ft narrow gauge Grizzly Flats Railroad owned by railfan and Disney animator Ward Kimball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE 44-ton switcher</span> Diesel-electric switcher locomotive (Built 1940-1956)

The GE 44-ton switcher is a four-axle diesel-electric locomotive built by General Electric between 1940 and 1956. It was designed for industrial and light switching duties, often replacing steam locomotives that had previously been assigned these chores.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad</span> Heritage railroad in Colorado, US

The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, often abbreviated as the D&SNG, is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railroad that operates on 45.2 miles (72.7 km) of track between Durango and Silverton, in the U.S. state of Colorado. The railway is a federally-designated National Historic Landmark and was also designated by the American Society of Civil Engineers as a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Colorado Railroad Museum</span> Railroad museum in Golden, Colorado

The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railroad museum. The museum is located on 15 acres (6.1 ha) at a point where Clear Creek flows between North and South Table Mountains in Golden, Colorado.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawaiian Railway Society</span>

The Hawaiian Railway Society is a 3 ft narrow gauge heritage railroad and railroad museum in Ewa, Hawaii, USA, on the island of Oahu. It uses the trackbed of the defunct Oahu Railway and Land Company. It is currently the only operating railroad museum in the U.S State of Hawaii.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwest Central Railroad</span> Heritage railroad

The Midwest Central Railroad is a 3 ft narrow gauge heritage railroad operating within the confines of Mount Pleasant, Iowa's McMillan Park, site of the Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion. The railroad is a registered, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The mainline track is a 1 mile loop with traffic moving in a clockwise direction regulated by an electrically signaled block system. The mainline loop features two stations: at the north end, the original Hillsboro, Iowa, depot along with a Milwaukee Road signal tower; and at the south end, a newer wood frame/metal sided building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireless locomotive</span> Locomotive powered by a reservoir of superheated steam or compressed air.

A fireless locomotive is a type of locomotive which uses reciprocating engines powered from a reservoir of compressed air or steam, which is filled at intervals from an external source. They offer advantages over conventional steam locomotives of lower cost per unit, cleanliness, and decreased risk from fire or boiler explosion; these are counterbalanced by the need for a source to refill the locomotive, and by the limited range afforded by the reservoir.

The Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum is the official state railroad museum of Alabama. Dedicated to the preservation, restoration, and operation of historically significant railway equipment, the museum is located at 1919 Ninth Street, Calera, Alabama, on I-65 approximately 30 miles (48 km) south of Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Eustis Military Railroad</span>

The Fort Eustis Military Railroad is an intra-plant United States Army rail transportation system existing entirely within the post boundaries of the United States Army Transportation Center and Fort Eustis (USATCFE), Fort Eustis, Virginia. It has served to provide railroad operation and maintenance training to the US Army and to carry out selected material movement missions both within the post and in interchange with the US national railroad system via a junction at Lee Hall, Virginia. It consists of 31 miles (50 km) of track broken into three subdivisions with numerous sidings, spurs, stations and facilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow-gauge railroads in the United States</span>

Standard gauge was favored for railway construction in the United States, although a fairly large narrow-gauge system developed in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Utah. Isolated narrow-gauge lines were built in many areas to minimize construction costs for industrial transport or resort access, and some of these lines offered common carrier service. Outside Colorado, these isolated lines evolved into regional narrow-gauge systems in Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Hawaii, and Alaska.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trench railway</span> Special type of military narrow gauge railway

A trench railway was a type of railway that represented military adaptation of early 20th-century railway technology to the problem of keeping soldiers supplied during the static trench warfare phase of World War I. The large concentrations of soldiers and artillery at the front lines required delivery of enormous quantities of food, ammunition and fortification construction materials where transport facilities had been destroyed. Reconstruction of conventional roads and railways was too slow, and fixed facilities were attractive targets for enemy artillery. Trench railways linked the front with standard gauge railway facilities beyond the range of enemy artillery. Empty cars often carried litters returning wounded from the front.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plymouth CR-8 locomotives</span>

The Plymouth CR-8 was a class of 4-axle B'B' centre cab locomotive, built by Plymouth Locomotive Works, USA

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern California Railway Museum</span> Railroad museum in Perris, California

The Southern California Railway Museum, formerly known as the Orange Empire Railway Museum, is a railroad museum in Perris, California, United States. It was founded in 1956 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles before moving to the former Pinacate Station as the "Orange Empire Trolley Museum" in 1958. It was renamed "Orange Empire Railway Museum" in 1975 after merging with a museum then known as the California Southern Railroad Museum, and adopted its current name in 2019. The museum also operates a heritage railroad on the museum grounds and on a right of way into Downtown Perris, CA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GE 25-ton switcher</span> Type of switcher locomotive produced by General Electric

The GE 25-ton switcher is a model of diesel-electric switcher locomotive that was produced by GE Transportation at their Erie, Pennsylvania, facility between 1941 and 1974. Most examples were produced for industrial customers or the United States Armed Forces, although a number of examples were purchased by freight railroads as well. The majority of production was for customers in the United States and Canada, but export models were produced for buyers on five continents. Production totaled approximately 550 units over 33 years, making it one of the most widely produced switchers in American history.

References

  1. Alabama Power Company Steam Engine No. 40 Interpretative Sign; Heart of Dixie Railroad Museum, Calera, Alabama
  2. http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/msc/ToMsc100/MsC81/MsC81_davenportbesler.html#box1 University of Iowa Special Collections Department, Papers of Davenport Besler Corporation
  3. Hewitt, Sam (30 April 2018). "Davenport diesel survivors soldering on in Thailand". The Railway Magazine. Retrieved 26 June 2021.
  4. Langham, D. (March 30, 2023). "Diesels from long-defunct U.S. builder Davenport still operating in Thailand". Trains Newsletter. Kalmbach Media . Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  5. US Construction Railroad
  6. Firing Up and Running the WWI Davenport Trench Locomotive