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SMS Rail Acquires Texas Baldwins

Texas Southeastern 301 and 1007 will soon move from Diboll, Tex., to Bridgeport, N.J. Photo by Eric Berger.

SMS Rail Acquires Texas Baldwins

By Eric Berger

SMS Rail Service, the New Jersey operator known for the last large fleet of Baldwin diesel locomotives, recently acquired two Texas Southeastern units.

TSE 301 and 1007 will soon move from Diboll, Tex., to Bridgeport, N.J. The 1007 is a VO-1000, built in 1944 as SSW (Cotton Belt) 1007. A workhorse for TSE since the 1970s, it was sidelined by a mechanical issue more than a decade ago. The venerable switcher and an extra Baldwin prime mover were offered for sale at that time, but apparently not at scrap value and thus never sold. The vintage switchers became the only Baldwins on the R.J. Corman roster when the former lumber line was acquired in 2014. Though 1007 remained out of service behind the engine house, TSE 301 received the red and white R.J. Corman colors and remained at work.

Baldwin built the 301 in July 1950, as one of three DS-4-4-750 demonstrators, despite the introduction of its replacement, the S-8, the same month. The unit was retained as the plant switcher until 1956, the final year of Baldwin production when it was rebuilt with an 800 hp upgrade and sold to Weyerhaeuser. It is one of three known surviving examples of the model.

Details of the move to New Jersey were still being worked out in mid-July.

Though home to a fleet of Baldwins and various other rare diesels, SMS is strictly a commercial freight operation and its yard and shop are fenced and gated. However, the company invites fans to visit its Woodstown Central Railroad in Woodstown, N.J., a tourist line the company opened in 2022.  .

This article was posted on: August 6, 2024