Baldwin Class 10-12-D

The was a type of narrow guage locomotive built for the British War Department Light Railways for use in France during World War I
==History==
When the Great War broke out in August 1914 the French lost most of their locomotive building capacity in the Northern France to German occupied area. Therefore the French Army demanded fast replacemant of the locomotive building capacity for their useful 2Ct-n2 type which had proved to be a reliable locomotive type for the lightly laid military railways.
Three steam locomotive type drawings were sent to Baldwin Works (finance guaranteed by the French Government) for production of Ct-n2, "2Ct-n2, and light Mallet B´B-n4v for 600 mm (1 ft 11 5⁄8 in) gauge lines. With the usual American liberty Baldwin Drawing Office produced their "version Americaine" of these locomotive types. The first Ct-n2 ( based to Decauville design ) came out in November 1914 and the first batch of 2Ct-n2 in January 1915. Only two more batches were built for the French.
The reason why the British War Office decided to be the principal military steam locomotive type, remains unknown, but the Baldwin started production in 1916.
At this point the production was changed to American Locomotive Company but locomotives were built after the Baldwin drawings.
Some of the class found during war their way to other theatres of war than Europe.
Baldwin 45163 - 45222 from batch No 1001 - 1104 were renumbered by the British War Office to War Department Light Railways, Middle East No 581 - 640 and were shipped to Egypt to be used in Sinai and Palestine during the British 1917 offensive against the Turks. After the war most of them remained in Middle East.
After the war many of these locomotives were sold and went on to work in France, Britain and India. Indian North Western Railway received fifty locomotives and numbered them to NWR No 1 -50. Unfortunately their later fate is mostly unknown. British narrow-gauge railways which used them included the Welsh Highland Railway, Glyn Valley Tramway ,Snailbeach District Railways and the Ashover Light Railway
Two Baldwin Class 10-12-D locomotives have been preserved in the UK, No. 778 at the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway and No. 794 at the Welsh Highland Railway. One other locomotive (Baldwins Works No. 45215 of 1917) is preserved on the Dreamworld Railway in Coomera, Queensland, Australia. This locomotive worked on a sugar mill in Mackay and prior to the opening of Dreamworld in 1981 after purchase was heavily modified, including a tender, Wild-West style chimney, and conversion to oil-firing. It is currently under overhaul
==In Fiction==
The fictional No.2 whom later became Stanley in The Railway Series by the Rev W Awdry was based on this type of engine.
Category:American Classes
Category:Locomotive Classes
Category:Narrow Gauge Classes
Category:Steam Classes