Hello switcher fans!! Welcome to Switcher Saturday!!!
Switcher Saturday ( SwSat ) is THE thread which celebrates all things switching locomotive related with discussion, sharing photos, videos, and information. All is fair game as long as it's switcher related. SwSat welcomes your input no matter what gauge you may model ... we welcome Z - G gauges as well as the real railroad 1:1 gauge! If you are viewing this thread for the first time please feel free to post photos/videos and tell us a bit about your switcher (s) ... we'd love to have you as part of the SwSat community!
SHOUT OUT TO STEAM CRAZY ( John ) whose photos of his beautiful Bangor & Aroostook BL2 shown on last week's SwSat were later posted on the OGR Facebook Page version of Switcher Saturday! Three whistle toots ..... HURRAY JOHN!!!
We ask that anyone who posts to SwSat abide by OGR Forum Terms of Service found by clicking on TOS at the top of this page. As a reminder please post only photos/videos you have taken. If you post someone else's photo/video/information be sure to have their written permission. Posting copyrighted photos/ videos/ material is a violation of copyright law and violators are legally liable.
As always, I'm excited to see what you all post! We greatly learn from one another and you all have so much to share from rehab and upgrade projects, historical and technical information of both model and real switchers and switching railroads, to terrific photos of the latest high tech switchers, post and prewar switchers. AND of course we as a community learn from all the content you provide. So please feel free to post your photos and/or information!
Have a FUN-TASTIC weekend everyone!!! Remember " Safety First"! ... keep those switches aligned, attend to your switch lists, run your switchers this weekend and green signals to all!! See ya next week right here at Switcher Saturday!!
The newest edition to my fleet of switchers is shown in the video and photos below.
This week I present to the SwSat community my new ( to me ) BL1 EMD Demonstrator number 499. It's an original Williams Electric Trains model and I'm loving it! This model joins my switching fleet along side sister BL2 Western Maryland number 81 which is a MTH Premier model with Proto 2. I must admit that number 499 is much prettier than number 81! Of course IMHO the Bangor and Aroostook had the most attrative livery of all the BL2s ever produced ... and again that is my opinion only. None-the-less, I've wanted the BL2 demonstrator for several years now and I'm thrilled to have this Williams engine join the Free State Junction Railway fleet!
While some folks refer to the BL2 as an " ugly duckling", I find the BL2 to be an aesthetically pleasing locomotive whose smooth rounded curves are easy on the eye. When wearing colorful liveries this locomotive really pops, thereby lending itself to a genuinely unique class all its' own. 
As for the EMD BL1 prototype: There was only one BL1 ever produced and it was the demonstrator locomotive number 499. The number 499 is derived from the EMD project number 89499 for the BL1. Originally equipped with an air throttle, number 499 did not have MU capability according to EMD marketing back in 1948, however it is said by some historians that photos of the ;locomotive showed it did come equipped with MU capability. I've not been able to find the photos. The BL1 is cosmetically identical to the BL2 models, all of which had MU capability. A defining difference between the BL1 and Bl2 is the air throttle used on the BL1 while the BL2 had an electronic throttle. The BL1/ BL2 production run was from February 1948 - May 1949 with only one BL1 and 58 BL2 units produced. The BL1 was eventually upgraded to a BL2 with the installation of an electronic throttle.
As ALCO was having great success with its' 1000 hp RS1 which began production in 1941 and the RS 2 which began production in 1946 with a 1,500 hp prime mover and a 1,600 prime mover in later models .. my hunch is ... EMD management in 1948 thought it time to cash in on the ALCO success of "road switchers." After all, in 1940 the Rock Island Railroad asked ALCO to design a locomotive for both switching and road assignments. The following year of 1941, ALCO answered that request with its' ( now classic ) RS1. It's worth noting: The RS 1 enjoyed a 19 year run! This was the longest production run of a single model diesel locomotive of any kind ... not just diesel switchers.
With its' quest for a piece of the road switcher market EMD jumped into the game and the BL1 was born ( BL for branch line ). The BL2 came along shortly thereafter. The BL1/ BL2 produced 1500 hp and were built using some features/components of the highly successful F3 carbody type diesel locomotive. F3s were not at all conducive to switching operations, with no sight lines to the rear of the locomotive for the engineer to see brakeman on the ground and there was an absence of footboards. Hence the design engineers at EMD came up with the BL1/BL2 by narrowing the carbody of the F3 and giving a slanted shape along sides so the engineer could have a clear sightline to the rear of the locomotive through a rear cab window. Foot boards were also included. My thought is; EMD design engineers wanted to retain a semi - streamlined aesthetic, as the BL1/2 also had optional passenger train capability. EMD gave potential buyers the option of a steam generator for passenger train use. Passenger equipped BL2 locomotives can be identified by the steam generator exhaust stack located between the cab's windshield panels.
After EMD rolled out the BL2 ( 1948/49 ), U.S. railroad showed little interest in the BL1/ BL2 . Only a few railroad purchased the BL2s. Those railroads were C&EI, Monon, Boston & Maine, Bangor & Aroostook, C&O, Western Maryland, Florida East Coast, Missorri Pacific, and Rock Island. The locomotive had several drawbacks ... maintainence crews found it hard to work on, operating crews were not a big fan due to the lack of exterior side walkways, and sightlines were not optimal. As a result, the sales were low with only one BL1 and 58 BL2 units produced.
The C&EI purchased BL1 demonstrator 499 and assigned it the number 1602. This BL1 was upgraded to a BL2 as its' air throttle was replaced with an electronic throttle to match the BL2 throttle.
The positive side to the negatives of the BL2 is .... EMD turned the failures of the BL2 project into great lessons learned and wasted no time in creating a design for a road switcher that became a railroad industry icon. In May 1949 EMD rolled out the 1500 hp GP7 and in 1954 the 1750 hp GP9 was introduced to railroads. The GP 7 and GP 9 outsold the EMD competitors by far and became the best selling road switchers of the first generation diesel class! Although it's never been said and certainly don't take my words as fact, however it's my humble opinion, we just may have the BL1/BL2 to thank, as they were a stepping stone to making the GP series of road switchers the most successful ever! Just saying.
Number 499 has been testing out on the Free State Junction Railway pulling both passenger and freight trains plus doing a few switching chores on the industrial spur. Shown here ... 499 running lite on the Mountain Division. 
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