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- Davenport-Besler Corporation. Locomotive Division
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The W.W. Whitehead Company was founded in 1901 in Davenport, Iowa, and specialized at first in stationary engines and boilers. They soon began to concentrate on light duty steam locomotives used as switchers. In 1904, the company was renamed the Davenport Locomotive Works. It enjoyed considerable success in manufacturing small steam locomotives for industrial use. The company was reorganized and renamed the Davenport-Besler Corporation in 1933 and its products at the time, apart from railway switchers, included road snow plows, grey iron castings, drop forging, steel hammer forging, as well as steel tank and structural steel work. The company began manufacturing its first gasoline locomotives in 1924 and its first diesel locomotives in 1927. Davenport-Besler contributed to the US Second World War effort by manufacturing locomotives. Their contributions were recognized in 1943 with the Army-Navy black "E" Production Award for Excellence in War Production. After the Second World War, the company began focusing almost exclusively on diesel locomotives. Davenport-Besler acquired the locomotive business from the H.K. Porter Company in 1950. Davenport-Besler was to service all Porter Locomotives in use and build duplicate Porter locomotives. However, Canadian Locomotive Works purchased the locomotive division of Davenport-Besler in 1955, including locomotive designs and parts, inventory, patterns, jigs, tools, and fixtures as well as trade names of both Davenport and Porter locomotives. Davenport-Besler closed its plant in Davenport in 1956.
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Written by A. Torrance, 2021. French editing by Céline Mongeau, Larocque Linguistic Services, 2022-02.
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Sources
-CSTM Archives, Fritz Lehmann Fonds, Series 6 Miscellaneous, File “Davenport Locomotive Works. Builders List.”
-“Davenport Locomotive Works.” (N.D.). American-Rails.com website. Accessed online 2021-08-30: https://www.american-rails.com/davenport.html
-“Supply Trade.” (January 23, 1956). Railway Age. Vol. 140, No. 4. Page 15.
-“Supply Trade.” (October 21, 1950). Railway Age. Vol. 129, No. 17. Page 56.
-White, John H. (1982). A Short History of American Locomotive Builders in the Steam Era. Bass Inc.: Washington, D.C.
-Wikipedia contributors. (2021, June 27). Davenport Locomotive Works. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:23, August 30, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Davenport_Locomotive_Works&oldid=1030601566
-University of Iowa Libraries. Special Collections Department. (April 2002). “Paper of Davenport Besler Corporation.” Accessed online 2021-08-30: http://aspace.lib.uiowa.edu/repositories/2/resources/4