# Franklin Institute Locomotive Collection



## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

Nothing like some brisk weather to inspire a museum visit so my wife and I headed up to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia to catch the Cleopatra exhibit. This is my old stomping grounds, since I was born on the other side of Logan Square where it is located. The site is one of the five squares designed by William Penn when he planned the city, and takes its name from James Logan, his secretary.










Inside is the massive classical statue of Benjamin Franklin, the namesake of the institute. The dome under which it is located was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome.










On the ground floor of the building can be found Baldwin Locomotive Works' number 60000, a 4-10-2 giant tipping the scales at 350 tons. Not content to stand still, it slowly shuttles back and forth on a short stretch of track. You're even allowed to ride in the cab. The three-cylinder compound locomotive takes its number from the fact that it was 60,000th locomotive built by Baldwin when it made it debut back in 1926. The following year it toured America as a demonstrator unit. Unfortunately, along the way it crushed track and was found difficult to maintain.

More to follow...


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## Charles (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill
Along with the 6000 at one time there were some operating displays of trains, not sure if they did away with the for static displays.


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Can we place a penny on the track? 

John


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## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

A few vintage shots from 1933 when they moved No. 60000 into the Franklin Institute.

Charles, I thought for sure there would be a holiday layout in the Franklin Institute like they had a few years back but I did not see one. Seems like a shortage of this in downtown Philly nowadays. Last year there was a Lionel layout in the Reading Terminal headhouse, but it has been a number of years now since the large scale layout bit the dust in SEPTA's Market Street headquarters. When Aristo's PCC cars become available they sure would provide the basis for a nice Philly-style layout.

John, you could take a chance doing that but in this era the TSA people might treat you to a full body inspection!









More to follow...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Can we place a penny on the track 
You'll note the fence - to stop small children and strange MLS types from getting too near . . 

I read somewhere that #60000 is one of the best preserved steam locomotives in the U.S. It ran around for a while as a demo and then in 1933 was shoe-horned into the building, where it has sat indoors and well-cared-for ever since.


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## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

Pete, the locomotive operated in the "real world" for such a brief time that it is sure to be in good condition. The guide told me that the wheel bearings had become egg shaped from the many short runs it makes daily so they had to be replaced a few years back. He also indicated that the high-pressure center cylinder, visible in this shot, is connected to the second set of drivers.










Nearby is a bronze portrait of Samuel M. Vauclain, Philadelphia native and president of the Baldwin Locomotive Works from 1919 to 1929. It was during his tenure that Baldwin relocated to the new plant site at Eddystone, south of Philadelphia. Vauclain, 1856-1940, was a talented inventor who devised the compound steam system that carries his name. He once famously predicted that steam would be the dominant power for locomotives into the 1980s. Maybe he was thinking of China when he said that.











I like the way the Vanderbilt tender is lettered. You don't see it that often nowadays, except maybe on Bachmann products.

More to follow...


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## markoles (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill,

Thanks for posting these pictures!! I have visited this building once or twice, but always spent the most time in the basement with 60,000. I am looking forward to the day when the kids are big enough so we can take them to this museum.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Yes, great photos! (Much better than the ones I took when we were there!) I also love the historical shot! I always wondered how they got that engine in there....


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## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

This locomotive, known as the Conestoga or Reading No. 3, in the collection has a history somewhat shrouded in mystery due to its numerous modifications over the years. It belonged to the Reading & Philadelphia and is thought to have been built originally in 1843 by the Locks & Canal Company of Lowell, Mass. When I see this locomotive I have to wonder if it was familiar to my great, great grandfather, same name as mine, who lived during the pre-Civil War era in the little streets north of Market St. along Broad St. in what was then the western built-up section of Philadelphia. It was close by the train stations and yards of that era, and according to what they say, this locomotive was still working then.

Steve and Mark, thanks for checking in with your comments. I need to take my grandsons for a visit here too.

More to follow...


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## eheading (Jan 5, 2008)

Bill, thanks so much for sharing the history and photos. I remember taking my ride on that Baldwin locomotive when I was a small kid. This was probably some time in the 1940's! I also worked two summers for the Franklin Institute research laboratories. Before that I never knew what was behind the doors in the museum marked "staff only". Franklin Institute, at least 50 years ago operated a very sophisticated research laboratory. I learned a lot there, and your photos and writeups brought back a lot of very fond memories. Thanks again!

Ed


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## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

They say that two or more of anything is a collection.  The Franklin Institute has only three full-sized locomotives in its collection but this one is certainly a beauty in every respect.  Known as the Rocket, it was one of the earliest of the Philadelphia & Reading.  It was built in London, England, and came to Philadelphia in 1838, then went up to Reading by canal.  It worked until 1879 and covered more than 310,000 miles.  Then it went on to be displayed at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893 and the St. Loius Exposition of 1904.  The clylinders are located between the wheels.
 








 
That must have been quite a ride on the footplate back in the day.  I seem to recall that when locomotives first came on the scene, some people believed that it would be impossible to breathe above a certain speed. 
 
This locomotive supposedly takes its name from George Stephenson's Rocket, but he had nothing to do with it.  I was fortunate to catch a ride behind the Stepheson's Rocket replica at the museum in York, England, and also see the other replica, including coaches, at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, but for some dumb reason failed to see the original Rocket when I was in London.  It is on my bucket list.
 
And to put something else in perspective, Matthias Baldwin built his first locomotive in 1831.  There is a statue of him outside of Philadelphia City Hall, but I must also point out that he is a Jersey Boy by birth.
 








 
The Reading Rocket sits on some original rail and stone sleepers.  The Philadelphia & Reading was one of first to be built in America, and this sort of trackwork illustrates that fact.
 
Ed, those early jobs we had did a lot to form us in ways we can hardly imagine.  Philadelphia and the surrounding area was a tremendous industrial and research power back then and is still home to some of the world's greatest institutions of higher learning established in that era.
 
Just a little more to follow...


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## Bill C. (Jan 2, 2008)

Outside the Franklin Institute's main entrance can be seen the stainless steel Budd Pioneer BB-1 flying boat. It was first flown in 1931 and has been on exhibit at the Logan Square site since 1934. It was built by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, which started out in the auto parts business in 1912. Then through its expertise in the process of arc welding, the firm wanted to expand into other areas, including aviation. 

Of course the Budd name is most familiar to us thanks to the Pioneer Zephyr of 1934 (seeing that is also on my bucket list), and the Budd RDCs built between 1949 and 1962. Whenever I had enough money (50 cents fare in the early '60s) I used to ride them to high school on the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, which ran through the town where I grew up in South Jersey.

The Budd Company was founded by Edward G. Budd (1870-1946) who was born in Delaware and studied engineering in Philadelphia. Thanks to the materials Budd used in the construction of his vehicles, that name will be around for a long, long time. RDCs still operate on a tourist railroad in South Jersey.


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