Though the prototype proved unreliable, BLI’s model is a smooth performer. Each unit in our sample A-A set is equipped with a powerful motor, a dual-mode Paragon2 Digital Command Control sound decoder, and dual speakers. The rugged model has enough drawbar pull to haul prototype-length trains, and looks good doing it.
A checkered past. With sleek lines and a 16-wheel articulated frame, the 3,000 hp Centipede was designed to lead crack passenger trains over uneven track. Each A unit had two eight-cylinder 6085C diesel motors.
The Seaboard Air Line, whose track had fallen into disrepair during World War II, ordered 14 units. However, the Centipedes soon proved increasingly costly to maintain, so SAL shifted them to secondary routes, finally scrapping them between 1957 and 1961.
The Pennsylvania ordered the largest number of these diesels, 12 pairs, all permanently coupled. One set was briefly assigned to pull the famed Broadway Limited. As on the SAL, the PRR Centipedes suffered from high maintenance costs. The PRR soon demoted the locomotives to helper service. The Pennsy scrapped its last in 1962.
The locomotives fared best on the National Railway of Mexico (NdeM), which like the SAL suffered from light, undulating track. Receiving its first units in 1947, the NdeM also found the big engines unreliable, but sent most of its units back to Baldwin for rebuilding. The rebuilt units, upgraded to 3,200 hp, were used in freight duty and helper service until the last three were retired in 1971.
Two other Centipedes were built for the Union Pacific, numbered 998 and 999, but the UP canceled the order before completion. Renumbered as demonstrator units 6000 and 6001, the locomotives toured the nation for a year, then were stored until being scrapped in 1952.
First look. Our sample A-A set came decorated in the PRR’s Dark Green Locomotive Color five-stripe passenger scheme. Though the Centipedes didn’t spend long on passenger duty, the PRR never repainted them Tuscan Red after shifting them to freight jobs. The model’s paint job is smooth and even, and the Dulux Gold lettering and striping is crisp, straight, and opaque. The Baldwin builder’s plates just ahead of the cab doors include some of the smallest legible printing I’ve seen. I was also pleased to see that the body side stripes don’t break where they cross the doors.
The models’ major dimensions match those printed in the 1947 Simmons-Boardman Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice.
The Kadee couplers on the pilots of each unit were mounted at the correct height. And between both locomotives, all 24 wheelsets were in gauge (whew!).
The powered trucks are hinged in the middle, as on the prototype. Unlike the prototype, though, the pin of the lead truck slides in a slot on the rear one, giving the linkage considerable play. The lead and trailing trucks pivot on floating pilot sections that likewise pivot off the drive trucks. This joint is not found on the prototype, but it does allows the model to follow tighter curves. Our sample had a hard time traversing 18″ curves and no. 4 turnouts, and looked very awkward doing so. This model would definitely be more at home on curves of 24″ or more.
The model’s dual-mode Paragon2 DCC decoder sits above the rear truck’s gear tower and the rear speaker. A brass raceway neatly guides the wiring over the motor and flywheels to the front truck, light-emitting-diode lighting, and second speaker. The combined effect of two speakers in each unit gives the A-A set a powerful sound. However, on the prototype, the two motors in a single A unit often went in and out of sync. This effect isn’t captured in the model.
Under direct current, the Centipedes started moving at 8V at 1 scale mph. At 12V, the locomotive topped out at 76.5 scale mph. This is realistic for a Centipede geared for freight service, though as passenger units they were faster.
When operated under DCC, the set started moving at 1 scale mph on step 1. At speed step 28, it reached a top speed of 61.2 scale mph – a bit slow even for a freight-geared version.
I had no difficulty programming both locomotives to the address of the lead unit. I also changed the value of CV133, the master sound volume, for both locomotives, cutting the volume in half.
These new Baldwin Centipedes are well-made models of a distinctive locomotive. Though the prototype’s heyday on the rails may have been brief, BLI’s version should look and run great on your Pennsy, SAL, or NdeM layout for years.
Manufacturer
Broadway Limited Imports
9A East Tower Circle
Ormond Beach, FL 32174
www.broadway-limited.com
Road names: Pennsylvania RR five-stripe passenger scheme (two A-A sets, plus single A unit with or without train-phone antenna), Baldwin demonstrator scheme (A-A set), National Railways of Mexico (A unit only), PRR single-stripe freight scheme (two A-A sets), and Seaboard Air Line (A unit only, two numbers).
Era: Late 1940s to 1971
Features
- Dual-mode Paragon2 Digital Command Control sound decoder
- Dual speakers
- Five-pole skew-wound can motor with dual brass flywheels
- Kadee magnetic knuckle couplers
- Light-emitting-diode headlights and illuminated number boards
- Painted crew figures in cab
- Weight: 1 pound 11 ounces
