Baldwin RF-16

Common card · No. 498520

The BLH RF-16 is a 1,625-horsepower (1,212 kW) cab unit-type diesel locomotive built for freight service by the Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton Corporation between 1950 and 1953. All RF-16s were configured with a B-B wheel arrangement and ran on two AAR Type B two-axle road trucks, with all axles powered. A total of 109 cab-equipped A units were built, along with 51 cabless booster B units, for a total of 160 locomotives built. Like most contemporary passenger locomotives, the RF-16s came equipped with a retractable, nose-mounted drop coupler pilot. Unlike competing units from EMD and Alco, the RF-16 used an air-powered throttle, meaning that it could not be run in MU operation with EMD or Alco diesels without special MU equipment. Further, there were 51 RF-16s produced for use in Argentina for passenger service, bearing the designated RF-16E and riding on A1A trucks, i.e. three axles with the middle one unpowered. Three of these have survived, as of 2026, one being under restoration, one designated...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Audio Visual Designs, Earlton, NY; photographer: R.R. Wallin, Public domain