Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., Service Department Records
name: label: Creator
content: Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation
label: Creator
content: Lima Railroad, Inc.
label: Collector
content: National Museum of American History (U.S.). Division of Work and Industry
place: label: Place
content: Ohio
label: Place
content: Lima (Ohio)
topic: label: Topic
content: Railroad companies
label: Topic
content: Locomotives
acqinfo: label: Provenance
content: Unknown.
creator: label: Creator
content: Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation
label: Creator
content: Lima Railroad, Inc.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., Service Department Records
abstract: label: Summary
content: The Service Department Records document the activity of the service and sales department of Lima Locomotive Works. Lima Locomotive Works manufactured Shay Locomotives in Lima, Ohio, from 1879 to 1980 when production ended.  This collection contains cards describing the purchasing and selling of Shay Locomotives, maintenance of the locomotives, and sales calls made by the company.
bioghist: label: Biographical / Historical
content: Founded in 1879, Lima Locomotive Works manufactured locomotives in Lima, Ohio.  James Alley contracted the Lima Locomotive Works (then Lima Machine Works) to build the locomotive designed by Ephraim Shay.  A few years later, the first Shay Geared Steam Locomotive was off the production line and on the rails.  The Shay Geared Steam Locomotive became an especially popular mode of transporting lumber not only in the United States, but world wide.  What made it different was the unusual cylinder arrangement. Two vertical cylinders drove a crankshaft, which in turn drove a pair of geared trucks through a system of universal joints and sliding shafts.  By the 1940s, companies were seeking out a faster mode of rail transportation, and the Lima Locomotive Works ceased production of the Shay Geared Steam Locomotive and began its Diesel Locomotive line.

In 1947, General Machinery Corporation and Lima merged to form the Lima-Hamilton Corporation.  By this time, the corporation focused solely on the Diesel Locomotives, but still faltered.  The Lima-Hamilton Corporation merged with Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1950 to form Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton (BLH).  Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton discontinued the production of the Lima-Hamilton's Diesel Locomotive, and only produced Baldwin's Diesel.  Unable to keep up with its competitors, BLH stopped all locomotive production in 1956, and in 1980, BLH finally closed its operations.
physdesc: label: Extent
content: 3 Cubic feet (17 boxes)
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1919-1949
custodhist: label: Custodial History
content: Transferred to the Archives Center from the Division of Work and Industry, October 2009.
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
identifier: label: Identifier
content: NMAH.AC.1180
objectType: label: Type
content: Collection descriptions
label: Type
content: Archival materials
label: Type
content: Business records
label: Type
content: Card files
arrangement: label: Arrangement
content: The collection is one series with sixteen subseries.

Series 1, Service Department Records, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.1, Locomotive Number, undated

Subseries 1.2, Town Cards, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.3, Shay Locomotives in the United States, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.4, Shay Locomotives in Canada, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.5, Shay Locomotives in Foreign Countries, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.6, Direct Locomotives in the United States, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.7, United States Dead Files, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.8, Foreign Dead Files, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.9, Locomotive by United States Location, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.10, Locomotive by Canadian Location, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.11, Locomotive by Foreign Location, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.12, Inactive Shay Locomotive Owners, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.13, Visit Records, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.14, Dead Shay Ownership Cards, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.15, Road Repairs in the United States, 1919-1949

Subseries 1.16, Road Repairs in Canada, 1919-1949
processinfo: label: Processing Information
content: Processed by Rebecca Farris (intern) and Jennifer Burger (intern), December, 2009; supervised by Alison Oswald, archivist.
genre_format: label: Genre/Form
content: Business records -- 20th century
label: Genre/Form
content: Card files
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: The Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., Service Department Records document the activity of the service and sales department of Lima Locomotive Works. The records consist of 5" x 7" cards.
label: Scope and Contents
content: The Lima Locomotive Works, Inc., Service Department Records document the activity of the service and sales department of Lima Locomotive Works. The records consist of 5" x 7" cards.