Frederick Westing, formerly of Drexel Hill, is a name well-recognized by train enthusiasts, though there’s very little official information about him, writes Kevin P. Keefe for Classic Trains.

.Westing was a railroadman and author specializing in steam locomotives.  He wrote from the 1930s through the 1960s, known for titles such as Apex of the Atlantics, The Locomotives That Baldwin Built, and Erie Power.

A portion of Westlng’s railroading career included 14 years in Eddystone working at the Baldwin Locomotive Works plant. 

His love of the Baldwin engine and steam technology comes from those years in Eddystone.

“(Westing) has a way of explaining the why and wherefore of each boiler tube on an engine without subtracting an iota from the inexplicable mystery of steam,” wrote Trains editor David P. Morgan.

Westing stayed with Baldwin until the company merged with Lima-Hamilton in 1951.

His last job was as a librarian with the Franklin Institute, home to its biggest exhibit, a massive experimental train engine, the Baldwin 4-10-2 No. 6000, built in 1926. The museum acquired the engine in 1933.

Westing retired from the museum in 1968.

Frederick Westing died Sept. 13, 1982, at home in Drexel Hill.

Read more about Frederick Westing in Classic Trains.

A quick history of Baldwin Locomotive.