Switcher Saturday: 2016-Aug-06

another picture today...Rich

Yay! SWSat is on!

You are up early today Rich. Good luck at the swim meet. 

After a year without a layout my little switching shelf is coming along. This morning I have my Williams B&O NW2 shifting some cars. I even found a RMT figure to put on the "front porch".  I do really like the Ex Walthers building flats that Atlas now makes they came in a two pack and were very resonantly priced. I wish that they made a bigger variety of them because these were so good. 

Happy Switcher Saturday all and particularly to Brother Rich for providing this thread for our enjoyment every week. It's a real spirit lifter for me. 

Last Sunday, I took a father and son railfan team on a tour of eastern Pennsylvania. One of our stops was the Wanamaker, Kempton & Southern which operates tourist trains over a portion of the old Reading Schuylkill and Lehigh Branch between Kempton and Wanamaker. The railroad's motive power roster is dominated by switchers. In fact, our locomotive for the day was the 7258, a GE 45 ton center cab unit with side rods built in 1942. Other locomotives available for viewing and photography included the number 65 built by Porter in 1930, the 602 turned out by Whitcomb for the US Army in '44 and the number 2, another Porter product built in 1920. 

If you like switchers, the WK&S is for you!

Bob

Putting in a little Saturday morning overtime....

CNJ 3676 posted:

 

Bob

Great images Bob. They do have a very nice collection. I particularly like the #65. That is a nice looking engine. It looks very much like the Lionel 0-6-0T. That Whitcomb center cab is very nice looking as well. I'd love to see a model of that one offered in Oscale someday. 

I'm really starting to like the tank engines. have a great day guys, we're off to a car show.

Great stuff this week so far guys!

Another pic!

:-)

Found this nice and clean GATX #326 switcher sitting in the Grafton & Upton RR's North Grafton, MA Yard earlier this week.  I'm not sure why, but my guess is that the G&U is leasing it due to several of its own locomotives being out of service and/or down for repairs.

Might as well post another!

Happy Switcher Saturday everyone. Nice photos and stories by all. My contribution this week is the (ex-Navy) New Hope and Ivyland 0-6-0 switcher #9 and my most recent Lionel prewar steam switcher. See if you see any similarities at the front of the smokebox. 

If you missed my story about my banged up switcher, here is the link:

https://ogrforum.com/t...rewar-steam-switcher

Tom 

PS- I hope to have good news in a few weeks to report on my switcher. 

A couple of Jersey Central locomotives--representing two different manufacturers and two CNJ period paint schemes--work the very small (and very fictional!!) "Lake Yard" this morning...

Williams original 44-ton switcher customized with dual motorized trucks and a reworked body.

The motors are wired in series. The sound board was removed. The cab windows were removed. The cab interior was painted. Directional LED headlights were added.

Note: Similar to a prototype GE 80 ton switcher.

Original Williams model:

Prototype switcher:

Upgrading some details on the K-Line S-2 diesel

The K-Line K2330 PRR Alco S-2 diesel is a very basic dual motor conventional O scale model. The K-Line model has 27-1/2 scale feet wheelbase (The prototype wheelbase is listed as 30-1/2 feet).

A few changes to the model can improve the appearance. Removing and replacing both the horn and the bell with brass castings are a start. Next removing and replacing the battery box assembly with a scratchbuilt version greatly improves the appearance. Rewiring the motors for series operation can also improve operation.

Bonus photo: 

I happened to stumble upon this as I watched the classic game show "To Tell the Truth." One of the contestants was the former Governor of West Virginia and then head of Island Creek Coal Company. So, I Googled the company and found some interesting looking locomotives including this small 0-4-0 Porter locomotive. 

Tom 

Here is a video i did last weekend!! 

Bangor & Aroostook GP7 switching some cars.

Montour Bike Trail, Westland spur.

Three years later, a new bridge.  Rt 50/980. One of the danger spots of the bike trail.  I believe there are at least three new bridges, compliments of the rails to Westland/ Marcellous Shale Gas collection site.  The Montour RR bridge was removed shortly after the Railroad declared bankruptcy early 1980. It didn't meet minimum clearance.

Treky, bicycle, far left in picture, my switcher of choice.

Steamer, where is that #217?  It's a beauty.

We haven't heard from Patrick/TrumpTrain yet today, I hope the flood in Ellicott City MD didn't impact him last weekend, I know he's not far from there, but most of the flooding was very localized (right downtown), so I'm thinking he's just goofing off and hopefully we hear from him sooner or later!

RJR posted:

Steamer, where is that #217?  It's a beauty.

It's the first cab forward I think, to boot. 

New York Central switcher #8507 drags a short freight consist past the oil storage depot. An REA boxcar waits on the opposite siding to be unloaded at the Railway Express warehouse.

Lionel Grandpa........here's a cousin to your little guy...........

A great little engine.....

Peter

great week this week guys, it's past my bedtime (I'm an early bird), see you next week!  

Lionel Grandpa posted:

New York Central switcher #8507 drags a short freight consist past the oil storage depot. An REA boxcar waits on the opposite siding to be unloaded at the Railway Express warehouse.

By the way......not to stray off topic, but I like what you did to the OGR building kit, doubling its length as a backdrop building with a little depth.

Peter

Murnane posted:

We haven't heard from Patrick/TrumpTrain yet today, I hope the flood in Ellicott City MD didn't impact him last weekend, I know he's not far from there, but most of the flooding was very localized (right downtown), so I'm thinking he's just goofing off and hopefully we hear from him sooner or later!

Thanks Rich.  I'm fine although I was near water for the past week ....

Lake Erie.  

I just got back in town this evening.  The flash flood in Elliott City ( I live in Howard County which is the same county ) was very tragic, to say the least.  As folks were saying on the news tonight,  the news photos and TV news footage are not nearly as bad as seeing the destruction first hand.  

Here is a contribution from the Free State Junction Railway.  Great information and photos everyone!!!

Putnam Division posted:

Lionel Grandpa posted:

New York Central switcher #8507 drags a short freight consist past the oil storage depot. An REA boxcar waits on the opposite siding to be unloaded at the Railway Express warehouse.

By the way......not to stray off topic, but I like what you did to the OGR building kit, doubling its length as a backdrop building with a little depth.

Peter

I agree. Whoever designed this particular building did a great job getting the window spacing right so when you put more than one kit together it blends seamlessly. Not all of the kits from that series are as well planned. I wish there were cut seams or breakaways on the backs of some of the buildings. To get the window spacing right because that sort of thing really bothers me I ran some of these through a table saw. As you can see one of the flats did not really go along with the plan and now I have to fix it but the spacing is right.  The cornice is even more messed up that is why the sign is there. Oh well. It is a flat for my switching shelf.

I am glad to hear that you are OK Trumptrain. 

Wow...very cool!  Somebody please make this !!!

Ok one more to make it into a Switcher Sunday. 

Yesterday I took a very long train ride. NYC 1 train to Penn Sta. NJTRANSIT to Newark Penn. Transferring to Raritan Bound NJTRANSIT to Dunellen. Disembark, walk around climb back on NJTRANSIT back to Newark Penn. Then PATH train to Hoboken. Then Hudson-Bergen Light Rail along Palisades and back to the PATH to WTC and 1 train back. Long trip. While in Hoboken I got a nice pic of a NJTRANSIT Geep with two classic towers in the background. 

These pics are not of switchers but the new PATH WTC station they are still building. Makes quite an entrance into the city. 

RJR posted:

Steamer, where is that #217?  It's a beauty.

all I could find is it's a 1908 Alco, pic is supposed to be in El Paso Texas

Now that MTH has finalized design of a small DCS board, used in the tiny 44-ton GE, I'd like to see more engines like #217 in O gauge.

And another Switcher Saturday offering from the FSJR!

I know this is late, but I was traveling.  Traveling through Portage, Wisconsin, where I caught an MU of two CP GP20C EVOs doing a little switching duty.

Thanks for thread Rich, it's right up there with Scott's Weekend Photo Fun in my book.  I see you've got MTH and Lionel represented in your switcher stable, do you have any of the other manufacturers?

That GATX switcher looks pretty new.  Does anyone have any info on it like builder, model and hp?

Hi Coach Joe,

I've got a few non-Lionel/MTH switcher engines, believe it or not I think all my diesel's are non-MTH/Lionel and all my steamers are Lionel or MTH.  I never even thought of this until you asked? Funny.  I also noticed I tend to lean more towards steamers than diesels, though I do like both - I just seem to use the steamers more often.

BTW, I also think that GATX looks cool, found another nice picture of it here:

http://www.railpictures.net/photo/560072/

Hope everyone is having a good week, is it Switcher Saturday yet? ;-)

not yet Rich...I may be late posting this Saturday..have a date with a beautiful Lady (as long as the weather holds)

coach joe posted:

That GATX switcher looks pretty new.  Does anyone have any info on it like builder, model and hp?

Coach Joe, according to the web, the GATX/GMTX MP15AC #326 (that I photographed last week and posted in this thread) is former Soo Line #1546, built in 1975.  It was out-shopped sometime last year from CAD in Lachine, Quebec.

Rich posted a much better picture of it than the one I took with my cell phone in very poor lighting!  I hope to capture some additional (and better!) photos of her working on the Grafton & Upton RR, and if I do, I will post them here on the Forum for all to see!

another work pic.  cloud of dust is from behind the loco, not exhaust

.