Lima Locomotive Works

The Lima Machine Works of Lima (Ohio ), USA, were an American

History

Lima was founded in 1869 as a factory for agricultural machines and sawmills. 1878 Lima was commissioned a locomotive for a designed by the sawmill owners Ephraim Shay locomotive concept of a gearbox, which later became known as Shay - type rebuild. The delivery of this first locomotive of Lima was 1880. 1881 left Shay all rights to his design concept the Lima Machine Works, from the subsequently one of the largest locomotive works of the United States was born.

The first Shay machines still had a firebox, resulting in further developments with horizontal boiler emerged. In 1884, a Shay locomotive for the first time a third motor bogie, continue three-cylinder steam engines were installed, which could turn the side drive shaft quieter and more even. In 1900, a Shay locomotive with four motor bogies was delivered, two of which were placed under the tender.

1891, the company was reorganized into the Lima Locomotive & Machine Company and in 1912 in the Lima Locomotive Corporation, acquired in 1916 by Joel Coffin and renamed the Lima Locomotive Works.

During World War II, the M4 Sherman was produced in Lima.

In addition to Baldwin and ALCO LIMA was the third largest locomotive producer in the world. With the advent of diesel locomotives at the beginning of the 1940s, however, Lima could use as little as Baldwin and ALCO its market power to get started with this technique. 1945 Lima the last Shay locomotive for the Western Maryland Railway delivered, she had three power trucks with a weight of 147 tons and a length of 20 meters.

Lima was united in 1947 with the General Machinery Corporation of Hamilton, Ohio, to the Lima - Hamilton Corporation in 1951 with the Baldwin Locomotive Works for the Baldwin -Lima - Hamilton Corporation. The company presented in 1968 to the crane around and was bought by Clark in 1968.