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 emerged from bankruptcy in 1938 it underwent a drastic change in management. The new management revived their development efforts with diesel power but the company was already too far behind. In 1939 Baldwin offered its first standard line of diesel locomotives, all designed for yard service. By this time, GM-EMC was already ramping up production of diesel passenger locomotives and developing its first diesel road freight locomotive. As the 1930s drew to a close, Baldwin's coal-country customers such as Pennsylvania Railroad, Chesapeake and Ohio, and Norfolk and Western were more reluctant than other operators to embrace diesel technology, which could