ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotives

Baldwin-Westinghouse electric locomotives are big machines that help trains move. You know how you push a toy car to make it move? Locomotives are like the engine of a train, they help it move. But instead of using gas, they use electricity.

Baldwin and Westinghouse are the names of two companies that worked together to create these locomotives. Baldwin made the body of the locomotive, like the shell of a toy car, and Westinghouse made the electrical parts inside. They put these two things together to create a really powerful machine!

The locomotive has a long metal pole that sticks out from the top called a pantograph. It looks like a long arm or a straw. The pantograph is like a hand that reaches up and grabs electricity from overhead wires, just like when you use a straw to suck up a drink. The electricity from the wires goes into the electrical parts of the locomotive made by Westinghouse, and that's what makes the locomotive move.

These locomotives were used a lot in the past, and even some still exist and run today! They helped people and goods travel quickly and more easily, especially in places where there weren't any gas stations nearby. It's really cool to see how machines work together to make our lives easier.