Switcher Saturday 10-29-22

jhz563,

Good morning and Happy Halloween. Sorry - I don't own any Halloween trains. Just an RS-3 for today.

I recently bought an MTH Railking model of New York Central ALCo RS-3 #8344 (30-20816-1). MTH delivered this model in November 2021 at an MSRP of $359.95. It is painted in New York Central’s “lightning stripe” livery.

Upon examining the model, my first impression was that its quality of manufacture was exceptional. I could not find any defects, so I placed it on the tracks of my 10’-by-5’ layout and gave it a brief test run. The model’s ALCo 244 engine startup sounds seemed as though I was standing right next to an RS-3 as its engine gathered itself up and settled into a rough idle. I set the Z4000 transformer to about 12 volts and the locomotive began to run very smoothly with long hood forward (correct for NYC) at about 15 scale miles-per-hour with perfect speed control. It ran just as well in reverse. The horn and bell were loud and clear. I operate conventionally and do not use smoke, so I did not test DCS or its features, but the model does not include engineer or fireman figures.

The American Locomotive Company built 1,265 RS-3 locomotives for U.S. railroads between 1950 and 1956. They weighed 247,100 pounds and had a 4-stroke V12 diesel engine that produced 1,600 horsepower with a starting tractive force of 61,775 pounds. Maximum speeds were between 65 and 85 miles-per-hour depending on gearing.

Between 1950 and 1953 the New York Central Railroad acquired 130 RS-3 locomotives with road numbers between #8223 and #8352. New York Central RS-3 #8344, class DRS-6h, was built in September/October 1953 and renumbered to NYC #5344 in 1966 in anticipation of NYC’s merger into the Penn Central Railroad.

The model is running at 19 scale miles-per-hour in the videos.

MELGAR

Yay, SWSat is on. Thanks for getting spooky switching rolling again @jhz563.

Here are some pictures of switchers from a recent trip to Korea. These are some small switchers used in maintenance of way  you can see that they have cranes on thier roofs. South Korea has an elaborate daily maintenance routine on their HST track. Every night from 2:00 to 5:30 AM the track is inspected and worked on.

Here is a road switcher.

This is an Alco import road switcher from the 50’s that is restored in original paint scheme at the KoRail Museum outside Seoul. Reachable by subway this museum is associated with the railroads training school and has an extensive collection of restored historic vehicles as well as general Korean railroad history exhibits.

Have a great weekend everyone. I can’t wait to see what you all post.

Happy Spooky SwSat everyone.  A SW9 NYC Switcher is taking a few tricks & treats to the kiddos.

Happy SWSat!

Happy Halloween too!

After posting pix of my PRR 44 ton loco last week I decided to change out all of the equipment on my layout and run more of my Pennsylvania locos. Best thing is one of my favorite steam switchers (or shifters), is back on the rails.
Here's my K-line A5 0-4-0 doing some pick ups and heading out on a local run. K-line did a great job on this loco. It's a conventional runner with smoke and sound. The sound is not great by today's standards but for it's time I'm sure it was. A recent comparison of the K-line and MTH A5's showed that the MTH model was closer to scale proportions but the K-line model looks just fine to me.

Another K-line loco, the Boxcab gas/ electric engine is pulling some hoppers on the highline. The crew is working overtime getting coal to local suppliers for the upcoming winter.

Have a great weekend.

Bob

Good morning SWSAT crew!

Last week I mentioned that I participated in an operating session with a group of local HO guys. They invited me back for another session last evening.  During some of my down time I was able to get a few shots of the layout.

This is a team track where I just finished setting out the hopper and flat car

Hiestand Yard

Engine facility  and caboose tracks at Hiestand Yard

Yard lead at Hiestand Yard

My train getting ready to head out.  Car cards for the train are clipped together

Mitchell Yard.  After doing some switching along the way, this was my final destination for this train

I picked up a train of empty coal hoppers to deliver to the mine

At the mine I set out the empty hoppers and picked up a train of loaded hoppers destined for the power plant.  Here my train sits in the hole as another train passes on the main

End of the day.  My coal train sits on the main line, along with another freight train

Have a great weekend!

Tom

No Los Espookys for me, but I do have some nice B6 action. Happy Halloween sWitcher Sat!

Nice exposition, Mel. Thanks for the background. I have this switcher also, in a different RN. Completely agree with everything you’ve written. I run them smoke on, and this is my only beef. The smoke on the RS-3s appears very uncharacteristically, for MTH, wispy, like smoke from a chimney as opposed to what we usually see from their fan driven units. This video, shot on a friend’s (very nicely done) home layout, is of this engine leading the 1994 Lionel New York Central Freight/Passenger service Station Set. The Lionel RS-3 and the pair of trailing passenger cars have been swapped out for RK replacements. Please excuse my video skills, as I’m no Rich Melvin!

Good morning fellow switcher fans!    Thanks JHZ563 for getting us rolling this morning!  Love all the fun Halloween trains!  MELGAR - I've always been an admirer of the RS3 from my younger years seeing them on the display shelves of train and dept. stores.   I certainly like yours!  Congrats on your purchase and may it bring you years of joy and fun!!  Thanks too for the back story on the RS3.   Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Oh yes ... and Happy Halloween!!

Today on the Free State Junction Railway's Mountain Division's highest altitudes the first deep snow has fallen.  Flanger plows have been busy clearing the mainline.   A Pennsy A5, the power for a local freight,  sits on a siding waiting for the flanger to clear the main.  Here we see engineer Zeke McIver and fireman Dudley Barnes waiting patiently and probably shivering waiting for that plow to go by.  

Zeek and Dudley stretch their legs bit while they wait.

Zeek has already oiled around and performed a visual safety inspection. Nothing to do now except wait.

Finally the nose of flanger shows and snow is being pushed off the mainline.  Dudley and Zeek are going to make it home for dinner!  

Hello, SwSat people!  The B&M Ayer branch is a favorite of your Yardmaster, so he headed out there again today with his trusty 8mm movie camera (no digital cameras, it’s 1956 on his layout, a year chosen by your Yardmaster because B&M ran it’s last steam excursion 7/56).

He found a favorite train again too, the coal drag headed to the big power station in Bow, NH.  This Saturday the train is headed up by Alco RS3s  no’s. 1509 and1518.

CSX, the current operator of the Ayer branch, is in the process of upgrading the track.  The carrier plans to route more traffic over to branch to compete with NS/PanAm on North/South shipments.

John

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

I run them smoke on, and this is my only beef. The smoke on the RS-3s appears very uncharacteristically, for MTH, wispy, like smoke from a chimney as opposed to what we usually see from their fan driven units.

Mark,

I think the smoke looks fine. Remember, it's a diesel, not a steam engine. ALCo diesels tended to be smoky but if the real #8223 had smoked this much it would have been sent to the shop for a checkup of its fuel injectors....

MELGAR

@trumpettrain posted:

Good morning fellow switcher fans!    Thanks JHZ563 for getting us rolling this morning!  Love all the fun Halloween trains!  MELGAR - I've always been an admirer of the RS3 from my younger years seeing them on the display shelves of train and dept. stores.   I certainly like yours!  Congrats on your purchase and may it bring you years of joy and fun!!  Thanks too for the back story on the RS3.   Have a wonderful weekend everyone! Oh yes ... and Happy Halloween!!

Today on the Free State Junction Railway's Mountain Division's highest altitudes the first deep snow has fallen.  Flanger plows have been busy clearing the mainline.   A Pennsy A5, the power for a local freight,  sits on a siding waiting for the flanger to clear the main.  Here we see engineer Zeke McIver and fireman Dudley Barnes waiting patiently and probably shivering waiting for that plow to go by.  

Zeek and Dudley stretch their legs bit while they wait.

Patrick, looks like one of the guys decided he was gonna pass the time making snow angels!

My lovely wife and I went a few weeks ago to Eureka Springs Arkansas for our anniversary.  While there we had a wonderful dinner on the Eureka Springs and North Arkansas Railroad.  Before the train left the station,  I was able to nose around the tracks and found this little switcher sitting on a siding.  I couldn't find and builder's plate or any other markings so I'm guessing that it might be a Plymouth or Davenport switcher.  But because it's Halloween weekend and the switcher is painted orange it fits right in toothed theme.

Also the locomotive pulling our dinner train is an ex Chicago and Eastern Illinois,  ex Missouri Pacific,  ex Granite Mountain Quarries SW 1, born on January 21st, 1942. It still has it's original 567 prime mover. I got to talking with the engineer and told him about the history of this switcher.  He was quite impressed and offered me to look inside the cab, which I enthusiastically accepted. 

That's me in the driver's seat.

Enjoy!

Patrick,

I can only imagine what a job it is to remove that snow from the layout. But it looks good while it's there.

MELGAR

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

Please excuse my video skills, as I’m no Rich Melvin!

Mark- Rich would tell you that the video would be better shot horizontally. Just turn the phone 90 deg and hold it horizontal next time. That way we can enjoy more of your nice layout and trains.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

Mark- Rich would tell you that the video would be better shot horizontally. Just turn the phone 90 deg and hold it horizontal next time. That way we can enjoy more of your nice layout and trains.

Bob

Huh, simple enough. Wish it were my layout!😳 Thanks for the advice, Bob.

I love Postwar Switchers and this one might be my all-time favorite.

6250 Seaboard Switcher pulling a work train.

Have a good Switcher all, Pennsylvanian R.R. 0-4-0 moving a missile system at night for the U.S. Army.

MTH Great Northern and my first attempt at a video. Sorry for the quality, I'm definitely not a videographer.

@MELGAR posted:

Patrick,

I can only imagine what a job it is to remove that snow from the layout. But it looks good while it's there.

MELGAR

Thanks MELGAR!  Yes it will be a task to remove the snow, however, the entire layout is not covered with snow.  I created 3 different snow dioramas on the layout for the purpose of photographing trains in winter.  It was/is a fun project!   A few more photo sessions and I will begin the snow removal project, saving as much of the white stuff as possible, before cranking up my trusty shop vac to take care of whatever white stuff is left over.  

I haven't run trains since the beginning of August so it will be great to run trains once again.  

Well here I am more or less late again with my Saturday round up...However I can't start without saying - Patrick, those snow scenes are wonderful.  Like others have said I imagine it must take a lot of work to get all that snow in the right places, but you certainly did it!  Thanks for posting.

Well today, I thought I might picture a hard working Marx switcher.  Its the NYC  GE 70 Ton switcher from 1958-1962 in a Maroon and Yellow livery (I have no idea if such a paint scheme ever existed).    Here she is moving a boxcar full of potatoes (after all Thanksgiving is on the way) into the yard for unloading. 

Here she is picking up a few "express" cars from the yard to move move over to local destinations for unloading.  I know that one of these cars is from the PRR and express cars normally never left the home road, but this is my RR and I can do what I like .

Well Happy Saturday to everyone!

Best Wishes

Don

A special load of premium timber is needed by a manufacturer right away. So a Weaver New Haven RS-3 is on a special to get it there.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VchWp1uyWV6JL9vi8

Here's a little Halloween action. Unfortunately, nothing is hooked up except the track.

Charlie

Some shots from the Club Open House yesterday....battery-operated Penn Central steam , and Thomas pulling a mixed consist with Halloween cars.....

Have a great Sunday, folks!

Peter

Pretty neat custom Halloween car!

I tried a cooler kit and added one to one of my switchers. Need to try other paints.

@DMASSO - I like that little cooler!

Hey gang- can some else get the thread going tomorrow?  I have some work issues to attend to in the morning.

John Z.

@jhz563 posted:

@DMASSO - I like that little cooler!

Hey gang- can some else get the thread going tomorrow?  I have some work issues to attend to in the morning.

John Z.

jhz563,

I'm usually awake early on Saturday mornings. Then, the first thing I do is run to the computer to see what's doing on SWSAT. So, I shall post Switcher Saturday 11-05-2022 tomorrow morning by 7 AM.

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

jhz563,

I'm usually awake early on Saturday mornings. Then, the first thing I do is run to the computer to see what's doing on SWSAT. So, I shall post Switcher Saturday 11-05-2022 tomorrow morning by 7 AM.

MELGAR

Thanks Mel!

@Dave Ripp. posted:

MTH Great Northern and my first attempt at a video. Sorry for the quality, I'm definitely not a videographer.

Nice videos, Dave. I like the mirrors; they give your layout an expansive look.

Switcher Saturday!!  We love switchers!
A Southern Pacific H 12-44 switcher moving a short train  

@Bill Swatos posted:

Nice videos, Dave. I like the mirrors; they give your layout an expansive look.

Thanks Bill, I've had several layouts in front of the mirrors which were there first. It's always a challenge but my current layout I finally figured out how to work with them.

Williams NW2 chassis with a Lionel SW1 shell. There was only one Red Burlington switcher with a calf that was in Texas. MTH produced these not long after I put this one together.

@Don McErlean posted:

Well here I am more or less late again with my Saturday round up...However I can't start without saying - Patrick, those snow scenes are wonderful.  Like others have said I imagine it must take a lot of work to get all that snow in the right places, but you certainly did it!  Thanks for posting.

Well today, I thought I might picture a hard working Marx switcher.  Its the NYC  GE 70 Ton switcher from 1958-1962 in a Maroon and Yellow livery (I have no idea if such a paint scheme ever existed).    Here she is moving a boxcar full of potatoes (after all Thanksgiving is on the way) into the yard for unloading.

Here she is picking up a few "express" cars from the yard to move move over to local destinations for unloading.  I know that one of these cars is from the PRR and express cars normally never left the home road, but this is my RR and I can do what I like .

Well Happy Saturday to everyone!

Best Wishes

Don

Thanks so very much Don!

I made a few more coolers.

My Boston and Maine engine.

Two Switcher Saturdays?