IT's SWITCHER SATURDAY!!! April 27 Edition !

Good morning Patrick. Nice locomotives in your post.

New York Central System 0-6-0 #231 is an MTH Premier model (20-3281-1, MSRP $599.95) delivered in 2007 with 3-volt PS2. It is built to the 0-6-0 steam switcher design developed by the United States Railroad Administration during World War 1. The model is highly detailed, runs smoothly, and mine has a BCR2. Photos and videos show the engine on my 10’-by-5’ layout with O-54 curves.

The tender is lettered for NYC subsidiary Chicago River and Indiana Railroad. CR&IRR #231 was one of 14 USRA 0-6-0 switchers in New York Central’s B-62 class. They were the only 0-6-0 switchers acquired by the NYC after 1918. The NYC began to buy 0-8-0s in 1913. The engine weight was 165,000 pounds and the tender weight was 144,000 pounds. It operated at a boiler pressure of 190 pounds-per-square-inch on 51-inch driving wheels with a tractive effort of 39,100 pounds.

It looks to me like Lionel’s recently released Legacy version of the USRA 0-6-0 was made with tooling from which MTH made its Premier model of the USRA 0-6-0.

MELGAR

Happy Switcher Saturday to all you Switcher fans!

My steeple cab switcher did not make it here in time for today’s thread. Nevertheless, I wanted to show it to you. You may notice the layout where the test run video is taken. Yes it’s Train Guy Ken’s layout. I’m posting the video and the accompanying pictures with Ken‘s permission.  I bought this 3-D print of a Steeple cab several years ago and put it aside because I had too many other things on my plate. I recently decided it was time to make it and I found I did not have the wherewithal to get this done. So I reached out to Ken to see if he would do it for me; and thankfully he said he could. Along  the way he found that some of the parts in the kit were warped; and he couldn’t use them. So he reprinted them on a different material to make my project whole. The steeple cab uses a donor chassis from a WBB 44 tonner. I choose the colors to go along with a Pacific Electric  trolley that I am relettering Farmingdale Traction Company.


https://youtu.be/RdTZXq4rVqU?si=tZ8wZvtcg_NWDQ6L

Good morning, everyone.  Heading out to do some search and rescue training with our aerial drones so I am posting early (for me).

A PRR AS10s is heading out to do some track maintenance.

The ALCO Switcher 1000 hp is an Atlas RS-1

Son has been searching for awhile for a 44 toner in either Virginian or C&O, and found one at York.

Good morning Switcher Saturday fans, and thanks, Patrick, for getting us off, once again, to a great start.

The video below shows an MTH PS1 Erie Lackawanna diesel switcher hauling Northeastern boxcars:

Arnold

PennCentral steam in action…….it needs an engine servicing….

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

Peter

Good morning SwSat people!  Today I’m featuring my first switcher, postwar Lionel Chesapeake and Ohio NW2 no. 624.  I received it for Christmas in 1953 or 54.  Note the crooked C&O lettering on the left side of the locomotive.  I’ve seen other 624s with this problem, so the Lionel factory must have produced a run of them with this error.

No. 624 is seen passing a trio of Budd cars, comprised of an RDC1 (postwar Lionel) and two RDC4s (reproduction postwar Lionel).

John

Railking

Happy Switcher Saturday!  This week our Dash 8 picked up switching duties on my layout.  This is our first LionChief model, which is getting some significant run time. I have to say that as someone who’s primarily been.an MTH/DCS operator, I’m really enjoying the Lionel app and handheld. In fact, a few weeks ago, my nephews, age 2 and 5, visited the train room and they couldn’t stop playing with it, far more than they’ve ever done with my other engines. I had the 2 year old on the handheld and the 5 year old using the app. They really enjoyed the easy access to crew talk and simple, intuitive controls.   Well done Lionel!  -

Here she is pulling a load through midtown -

Happy SWSat!

Well....was planning on showing my new Railking L&NE RS3 from Beth at Public Delivery Track. Public Delivery is excellent......Fed Ex Delivery sucks! My driver can't seem to find my office inside of the building and took it back to redeliver on Monday . It's the same idiot driver and he's done this with at least 6 deliveries, think he'd have figured it out by now.

So we will keep calm and switcher on with some Pennsy A5 0-4-0 action today. This is a K-line #94 conventional model. Might upgrade it to command one day.

The crew dropped a couple carloads on Team Track #1

Then picked up a loaded car from a local warehouse.

Have a great weekend.

Bob

@RSJB18,

Bob,

Next Switcher Saturday may be a big day for L&NE RS-3s.

MELGAR

Morning SWITCHER SATURDAY fans, another fine start trumptrain, PW Lionel 622 from 49-50 moving some boxcars.

@Putnam Division posted:

PennCentral steam in action…….it needs an engine servicing….

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

Peter

Peter - your "York find" Penn Central switcher looks great pulling its' short train!  Such a wonderful and unique rare bird!!   Thanks for posting!

@Steam Crazy posted:

Good morning SwSat people!  Today I’m featuring my first switcher, postwar Lionel Chesapeake and Ohio NW2 no. 624.  I received it for Christmas in 1953 or 54.  Note the crooked C&O lettering on the left side of the locomotive.  I’ve seen other 624s with this problem, so the Lionel factory must have produced a run of them with this error.

No. 624 is seen passing a trio of Budd cars, comprised of an RDC1 (postwar Lionel) and two RDC4s (reproduction postwar Lionel).

John

That is one, smooth-running 624 switcher!

Peter

Added this to my ATSF fleet.  Lots of Santa Fe passenger cars to switch now!

Happy Switcher Saturday with a Railking PRR 0-6-0 ps2

Take Care, Ray

Thanks, Peter,  It's always been a great runner, so it has lots of miles.  I believe its had only one major service, so it's reliable too!

John

@MELGAR posted:

@RSJB18,

Bob,

Next Switcher Saturday may be a big day for L&NE RS-3s.

MELGAR

Agreed!  I wish I had some L&NE.  I'm envious .. however I will live vicariously through what you all post .. lol!  Looking forward to see your posts next Saturday.

Bob ... too bad the FEDEX guy can't get it right.  With me FEDEX gets it right but UPS is hit and miss ... usually miss.

Well since @Putnam Division - posted his new Marx 400 and train, I thought I might follow suit.  This loco was a Marx stalwart and made from 1952-1956,1958,1965-1976 almost always in black plastic with some small variations.  The RR designation was via the tender and there were a number of liveries including the PC and NYC.  Typically in a small set, the RR on the tender was matched by the caboose.  This set, like that of Putnam Division, was a great set, made up of 4 wheel plastic rolling stock.  OBTW, these engines are as reliable as stones, they almost always work when you put them on the track and I have done this with some in really bad shape.  This was the set you bought your son or daughter at Christmas was you wanted to be sure it worked!  I collect a little Hornby, which was almost always clockwork, and it was common for the Hornby guys to pick up a 400, usually available cheap, and use the mechanism to re-power the Hornby locomotives to make them electric  (I have 3 tank locomotives that had this mod and they all run great).

Best wishes everyone

Don

Past meets the present as a Lionel TMCC SW1 Lehigh Valley Switcher stages a meet with  a pre-war Lionel B6 0-6-0 Pennsy Switcher with post-war couplers on the Shenandoah Short Line.

President Harrison is looking very elegant on your pike, Patrick! The GP9 and crew should be honored to give an assist to such a stately steamer! For this SWSAT, I'm going in the "toy train" direction with this little 8902 2-4-0, introduced by Lionel in 1979, which I got in a 1986 "Town House TV and Appliances" set (Thanks to @Don McErlean and @pennsyfan for discussing the set on Boxcar Sun):

This MPC-era steamer is based on the Columbia 2-4-2 No. 1001 "Scout" which Lionel introduced in 1948. The 1001 was the first locomotive Lionel produced with a plastic shell and came with the 1001t "Scout" sheet-metal tender. While the mold for the 8902 shell is essentially identical to that used for the 1001, the 8902 drive system has been improved considerably. Instead of the 1001's troublesome plastic "Scout" motor, the 8902 has a rather reliable spur gear drive featuring an early Mabuchi DC can motor. This drive is very similar to the first "non-Pullmor" drives produced by Lionel and, later, K-Line for a number of low- to mid-priced diesels.

As shown above, the 8902 came with a plastic "slope-back" tender and was offered in various roadnames in numerous "starter" sets, like my "Town House" set, beginning in 1979 and running through the late eighties. These sets included a DC transformer because a rectifier board was not included in the 8902 to keep costs down. These "starter" sets were later joined by more elaborate "Service Station Specials" which, as the name implies, were offered by Lionel service stations.

I don't have a video of my 8902 in action, because I am awaiting roller collectors. She came with "slider" collectors, again, to reduce cost. The roller collectors used in the aforementioned Lionel and K-Line diesels are a "drop-in" so I can enjoy operating this little lady without wearing out the original collectors. I also "gussied" her up a bit with "whitewalls" using removable acrylic paint, which is about the limit of my "artistic" abilities.

@trumpettrain posted:

Agreed!  I wish I had some L&NE.  I'm envious .. however I will live vicariously through what you all post .. lol!  Looking forward to see your posts next Saturday.

Bob ... too bad the FEDEX guy can't get it right.  With me FEDEX gets it right but UPS is hit and miss ... usually miss.

My building has 2 entrances. One leads to some Art studios and the other to my office suite. Unfortunately, the sign with the building name is on the other door. Doesn't excuse that I've explained this to him several times....

This is FedEx Ground (blue/green logo), which are independent franchises. The regular blue/red company driver is very good. So are our UPS drivers. USPS goes through our mailroom so I never have trouble with those.

I'll have an APB and BOLO out for the truck Monday for sure.

Bob

@Bill Swatos- Bill thanks for the mention.  Glad you got hooked up with the Townhouse set.  That loco is looking good.

Best Wishes

Don

The L&NE has landed.....I stalked the campus until I spotted the truck......

See you all next Saturday.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

The L&NE has landed.....I stalked the campus until I spotted the truck......

See you all next Saturday.

Bob

I knew Fedex would come through...

MELGAR

@RSJB18 posted:

The L&NE has landed.....I stalked the campus until I spotted the truck......

See you all next Saturday.

Bob

It's only Monday and now the suspense begins to build .... can't wait til Saturday!!