Diesel locomotive set, and went into series production with other streamlined car sets in Germany starting in 1935. In the USA, diesel-electric propulsion was brought to high speed mainline passenger service in late 1934, largely through the research and development efforts of General Motors from 1930–34 and advances in lightweight carbody design by the Budd Company. The economic recovery from the Second World War saw the widespread adoption of diesel locomotives in many countries. They offered greater flexibility and performance than steam locomotives, as well as substantially lower operating and maintenance costs. Diesel–hydraulic transmissions were intrdouced in the 1950s, but from the
Baldwin Locomotive Works which boosted demand for their coal-fired steam locomotives while acquisition of EMD's Diesel locomotives was in its most restricted period. In 1943 Baldwin launched its belated road Diesel program, producing a prototype "Centipede" locomotive which was later rebuilt to introduce their first major product in the postwar market. During World War II Baldwin's contributions to the war effort included not only locomotives and switchers but also tanks. Baldwin was one of the manufacturers of several variants of the M3 tank (M3 Lee, M3A2, M3A3, M3A5) and later the M4 Sherman. A Baldwin subsidiary, the Whitcomb Locomotive Company, produced hundreds of