Switcher Saturday: 2016-Jan-01

Hey its Friday! Happy New Year!

franktrain

Rich,

Happy New Year! Although it is Friday not Saturday I have my first post to the Switcher Saturday thread:

ONE DAY EARLY!!!!

I was so excited for the weekend I jumped the gun!

Happy New year to All!

Great shots......Happy New Year, guys!

Peter

Probably the one of the biggest, honkin' 0-6-0's built, Lehigh & New England #207, and a long way from home:

Rusty

Mike, that's a very interesting paint job on your switcher.  What road is that?

A K-Line Anheuser-Busch 150 Anniversary 0-4-0 switcher pulling a short string off reefers around the tree.

Yay, It is SW (not quite)Saturday!

Happy New Year to all the car spotters out there. This week I am posting images of EMD-1 engines. These 101 engines were built between 1958 and 60 by the Canadian subsidiary of EMD. Interestingly some came equipped with 4 wheel trucks and some with 6. Some even had both kinds. A few are still around some in preservation and some still working. A few have come down into the states as well as some other countries.

I have always thought these were interesting looking units. They look like extended SW1500s with added short hoods. I also like the units with the split exhaust stacks. The variety in the trucks is also interesting. While no units are offered in 3rail O scale Rapido is making some of these in HO.

CNJ 3676 posted:

The Central Railroad of New Jersey is one of the roads most often associated with the Camelback locomotive. When one thinks of a CNJ Camelback, it is usually a vision of a ten wheel type whisking a Raritan clocker along the railroad's well manicured four track main. It is interesting to note the CNJ also rostered a sizeable number of Camelback 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 switchers. Bob

     

I wonder what yard crews using camel-back switchers did as far as working with hand and lantern signals.  On a typical steam locomotive, the Engineer and the Fireman occupy the cab, and the Fireman can relay hand or lantern signals given on the left side.

However, on the camel-back, there is absolutely no communication between the Engineer and the Fireman (who is back on the front of the tender). The Switchmen must have had to do a lot of "decorating" (climbing onto the roof of a high car to pass signals not otherwise visible to the Engineer.  Running from one side of the tender apron to the other, to pass signals, while firing the engine, does not sound like it would work very well, especially in the case of a stop signal.

Happy new Years guys

Most recent addition to the roster is this K-Line by Lionel A5.  I put it to work on completed trackage, shunting around a variety of 21" and 15" passenger cars, testing for clearances, track unevenness and possible grade issues.  Maybe Santa should have got me a new camera instead of a switcher?.......Nah!!!

Bruce

Great pictures and video so far guys!

Jeez, I missed the early start on this, so once again I am bringing up the rear...

Rich, thanks for your efforts in posting this once again for another year and making the rules (or no rules!?) as simple as possible. 

Bob, great looking Camelbacks.

Here are my posts...something old (B6 #5010 at Philly, taken in Dec. 1937) something new (well, the Lionel #233 version was built around the same time {1940-1942} as the 5010's photo was taken). Funny Winter/January story about that #233. I was looking for an affordable one for around 3-4 years. Finally, I saw one on a website in New Jersey around 3 years ago in January. I called the store early in the week and had them hold it for me and was planning on picking it up the next weekend. A big Winter storm of at least a foot was coming Friday of that week and my job was shut down in advance of the imminent storm. I convinced my wife that before the snow would come down heavily we should take a early morning drive from Westchester County, NY over to Northern NJ. Not my brightest idea, as we ended up getting lost and the weather on the way home was pretty rough, but we made it home safely. The things we do for a good locomotive. By the way, she would have done the same for a Teddy Bear.

Happy New Year everyone! 

Tom

B6 #5010 at Philly from http://prrsteam.pennsyrr.com

Tom:

Thanks for sharing your experience about getting the 233...a great story. I really enjoy stories like that. Our personal recollections are such an essential yet overlooked part of celebrating our hobby's history.

Silver Lake:

Thanks for the post about the GMD-1. Rapido Trains has released HO and N scale versions of this unusual locomotive. I purchased one for my N scale roster. I also have an actual GMD operating manual for the prototype but it's not immediately accessible for me to take a picture of at the moment. Anyway, here are a few images of my N scale model.

Bob 

Happy New Year to you Rich and all SWSAT friends!   Here is a shot of a real 1:1 scale  Norfolk Southern GP38 high hood road switchers.  I took this shot in the spring of 2013 near the Dundalk Marine Terminal ( outside Baltimore ) as they were either picking up or dropping off ( can't remember which now ) auto racks at the auto import/export facility there.  You can see an auto rack in the left background of the photo.   Just thought I'd include this photo for high hooded locos are a rarity.

Also - a video of a switcher power trio GP9, SW9, ( B&0 ) and SW9 calf in Canton markings on the Free State Junction Railway.  Also a camelback 4-6-0 pulling a mail train.  Most of the video is focused on the switchers.  Again Happy New Year everyone!!

A brand new MTH ARR MP15DC #1553.

Just found out about this today. It was on one of the Facebook forums, and Ben Fiorelio identified it as a Buckwalter electric tractor. It was used for switching in tight areas. The first models were battery powered and they had rubber tires, and license plates. This model is from 1915. They were first built in 1912. They were later converted to gas powered motors.

Don

coach joe posted:

Mike, that's a very interesting paint job on your switcher.  What road is that?

 

Armco Steel...a Rail King model.

that is neat, thanks Don

rail posted:

Just found out about this today. It was on one of the Facebook forums, and Ben Fiorelio identified it as a Buckwalter electric tractor. It was used for switching in tight areas. The first models were battery powered and they had rubber tires, and license plates. This model is from 1915. They were first built in 1912. They were later converted to gas powered motors.

Don

Thanks for posting this unusual switcher Don.  Pennsy used to switch the docks in the Fell Point section of Baltimore with one of these rubber tire switchers.  I guess one could call this a "road switcher" ... sorry I could not resist :-)

trumptrain posted:

rail posted:

Just found out about this today. It was on one of the Facebook forums, and Ben Fiorelio identified it as a Buckwalter electric tractor. It was used for switching in tight areas. The first models were battery powered and they had rubber tires, and license plates. This model is from 1915. They were first built in 1912. They were later converted to gas powered motors.

Don

Thanks for posting this unusual switcher Don.  Pennsy used to switch the docks in the Fell Point section of Baltimore with one of these rubber tire switchers.  I guess one could call this a "road switcher" ... sorry I could not resist :-)

I guess one could call this a "road switcher" ... sorry I could not resist :-)

You're a real "Road" scholar! (couldn't resist either) Thanks for the additional background.

Don

Picked up this Kline A5 switcher today at the local Greenberg show...it has TMCC and was only $170.00 !

Great Pics Everyone ! 

I hope to have my MTH Railking PROTO3  NYC RS-1 back & operating again ! 

I oiled it to much by the axles which created a chain reaction !  Track was full of oil that dripped from trucks. Traction tires did not work ! 

I flipped engine over to clean , to have the smoke fluid drip in side shell ! big mess !  I think I will have it back running by next weekend !