Davenport Locomotive Works: Difference between revisions

[[File:Hugo Frisco Depot Museum March 2016 29 (DkW OZA Davenport 0-4-0T No. 1907).jpg|thumb|250px|Davenport-built DkW OZA [[{{whyte|0-4-0T]]0|ST}} No. 1907 on display outside the Frisco Depot Museum in [[Hugo, Oklahoma]]]]

In late 1930 Davenport was licensed to assemble and market [[R. G. LeTourneau|R G LeTourneau Inc]] products under the Davenport-LeTourneau brand. The agreement is believed to have ended in 1935 when LeTourneau’sLeTourneau moved to [[Peoria, Illinois]]. Davenport also sold Davenport-Winchell three-wheel roller conversions of industrial wheel tractors, Davenport-Frink snow plows, which were built in license from Frink Sno-Plows Inc, and Reynolds patented Mov-Mor rotary scrapers.

In 1933 the company was again restructured and renamed the Davenport-Besler Corporation which continued in business until 1956. [[William George Besler]] was a Director at the time of the restructuring. The company acquired the locomotive business of [[H. K. Porter, Inc]] in 1950 and from then on produced Porter designs as well as its own. The [[Canadian Locomotive Company]] acquired Davenport-Besler in 1955, closing it the following year.

The company had built small steam locomotives early on; theits first [[gasoline]]-fueled [[internal combustion engine]]d locomotive was built in 1924 and the first [[diesel locomotive]] in 1927, a {{convert|30|ST|LT t|1|adj=on}} [[Diesel-electric transmission|diesel-electric]] for the Northern Illinois Coal Company of [[Boonville, Indiana]].

An extensive range of diesel locomotives in all industrial sizes followed, utilizing either mechanical [[torque converter]] or electric transmission, the former for the smaller locomotives. Most were used by a variety of industrial userscustomers, but some railroads also bought Davenport locomotives, particularly of the {{convert|44|ST|LT t|1|adj=on}} size, that: being the largest locomotive then allowed by union rules to be operated by one manperson. Railroad buyers included the [[Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad|Rock Island]], [[Milwaukee Road]], [[Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway|Santa Fe]], the [[St. Louis - San Francisco Railway|Frisco]], and the [[Missouri Pacific]]. In 1963, that rule was relaxed and railroads ceased buying industrial-sized locomotives for light switching.

Davenport built a number of locomotives for the [[United States Army]] including [[World War I]] [[trench railways]], the [[USATC S100 Class]] [[0-6-0]] of [[World War II]], and eighteen larger [[switcher locomotive]]s during the 1950s, two of which were [[Variable gauge|adjustable]] in [[Rail gauge|gauge]]—one: One could operate on [[broad gauge]]s up to {{RailGauge|5ft6in|lk=on}}, and one on narrow gauges—the latter ({{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on|disp=or}}) operating for a period on the [[Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad]] ({{RailGauge|3ft|lk=on|disp=or}}).

Three Davenport 500 HP locomotives (built 1952) of the [[State Railway of Thailand]] are still in service as of April 2018.<ref name=Hewitt>{{cite news |last1=Hewitt |first1=Sam |title=Davenport diesel survivors soldering on in Thailand |url=https://www.railwaymagazine.co.uk/5366/davenport-diesel-survivors-soldiering-on-in-thailand/|access-date=26 June 2021 |work=The Railway Magazine |date=30 April 2018 |language=en}}</ref> are still in service as of March 2023.<ref>{{cite web|last=Langham|first=D.|title=Diesels from long-defunct U.S. builder Davenport still operating in Thailand|url=https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/diesels-from-long-defunct-u-s-builder-davenport-still-operating-in-thailand/|work=Trains Newsletter|access-date=April 6, 2023|date=March 30, 2023|publisher=[[Kalmbach Media]]}}</ref>

Various Davenport locomotives are preserved in the US as well as in other parts of the world.

* Davenport #1597 [[NSW Kiama|Davenport #1597 Kiama]] an a {{whyte|0-4-0 T|ST}} Locomotive of 1917 at the [[Illawarra Light Railway Museum]]