Baldwin Diesel Exhaust Stacks

By Matthew Imbrogno

Initially, both VO models had one exhaust stack just in front of the cab, with a single muffler mounted above the generator. On early VOs (left) the stack was flush with the top of the hood, on later VOs (right) the stack was taller close up This continued until 1944, when it was found that the single muffler and exhaust created backpressure, restricting the flow of the exhaust and retaining heat. The excess heat generated so close to the electrical system caused it to overheat and fail. This was addressed with a new exhaust manifold. This took the form of 2 separate manifolds each with its own stack, creating the dual stack variety. On the VO660, there were 3 cylinders per stack. On the VO1000, there were 4 cylinders per stack. Dual stack VO660 Dual stack VO1000 While this removed the problem of overheating the electrical system, it still restricted the flow of the exhaust. Thus another change was made. On the VO660, this was done by simply adding another stack to each manifold to relieve the pressure. On the VO1000, 4 separate manifold sections were installed serving 2 cylinders each. This led to the 4 stack variety. The VO660 had 2 groups of 2 stacks spaced close together, but the VO 1000 had the four stacks spaced evenly apart. Four stack VO660 Four stack VO1000 No VO-660s were delivered with 3 stacks, but some were created by the railroads own shops. On roads that had both types of VOs, some 660s had their two 3 cylinder manifolds replaced with three 2 cylinder ones off the VO1000s. This is very rare however, as Baldwin was happy to supply replacement parts for engines with the older style exhausts. Later, on the DS and S series switchers, Baldwin adopted the 3 stack setup as standard for the smaller normally aspirated type, and a single stack for the bigger turbocharged units. Three stack normally aspirated DS4-4-660 Single stack turbocharged S12 As a side note, 4 stacks was not the limit on the varieties. Some railroads gave their units a separate stack for each cylinder, creating 6 and 8 stack models with a solid row of pipes above the engine. Baldwin called this practice "Hotrodding", in reference to the way people tricked out muscle cars. Six stack VO660 photo by: Keith Ardinger Avalos Mill, 1975 Six stack DS4-4-660 photo by: Thomas Hillebrant Portola, CA - July, 2007 Six stack DS4-4-750 photo by: Nicholas Todd Klamath Falls, OR.-July 15, 2011 Six stack S8 photo by: John Powell June 2011 Eight stack VO1000 photo by: Richard Adams Superior, WI - July 27, 1979 Eight stack VO1000 photo by: Robert A. Willis Dallas, TX - 2005 Seven stacks ? There is one other oddball in the mix: Magma Arizona Railroad #9. This S-8 switcher was built for McCloud River RR as their #31. It was made as an S-8 that could be upgraded to an S-12 with the addition of a turbocharger. Thus, it had a single exhaust stack above the generator. When it was transferred to Magma, somehow the hood roof of another S-8 with 6 stacks was swapped out with its original hood. These stacks are dummies, as the manifold is still routed to the single large stack. Thus, it is the only Baldwin switcher, or any other locomotive I know of for that matter, to have 7 smoke stacks! photo by: Ted Ellis collection of Mark Laundry April 18, 1988 - Magma Jct., Arizona Magma #9 an S8 with seven separate stacks. The active single stack on #9 can just be seen between the bell and the row of six separate stacks.