Switcher Saturday: 2016-May-14

Rich,

  Happy Switcher Saturday! Thanks for another week of posting this. Good luck if you proceed with your garden layout. Keep us posted as you move along. 

   My contribution this week is from Googling around this morning and finding a guy named Gary's website: http://www.angelfire.com/film/prrpics/B6sb.html

 He build this neat 1:29th scale version of a B6 switcher. See what you think.

Tom 

I have some old RMC articles on that style project, meant to do one myself at one point, but o gauge.

Go for it MURNANE.  You will not regret it.  In fact, it may surprise you how much fun it can be.  Of the locos you have pictured, go with the Hartland Mack.  Over twenty-five years in the hobby, I have learned what to buy and what not to buy.  

Secondly, if you find that the bug bites hard, look into battery power.  Best decision I ever made for my garden railway.  There are a few versions of battery power set-ups on the market, but I have been using G Scale Graphics products for over six years now, when I came over to the dark side.  I think you will find they have what you need.

http://www.gscalegraphics.net

a few quick pics and off to bed, midnights. have a great Saturday guys.

Happy SW Sat!

Great start so far guys. Last week I was really inspired by the pics of the Brush Terminal 300 hp Early GE engines CNJ3676 posted and went down a long Internet rabbit hole. Thanks for that. There were some interesting variations of this style of early switcher out there including some neat similar looking centercabs on the Boston and Maine. 

This week I am posting images of some interesting cab variations made on ore dock switchers either for clearance or visions sake.

These first up are side pusher engines that ran on narrow gauge tracks that were laid between standard gauge tracks. They have a side arm on each side near the frame. This can be lowered and push (using the poling pockets) cars on adjacent tracks. We talked about this practice earlier this year in another SWSat. Because of clearance issues they have very tight narrow cabs.

Note the big easy access sand box in front of the long hood and the lack of couplers at the ends. To switch it could only push the arms can push from both sides of the arms.

The pics I posted last week of the Maine Narrow Gauge Museum has one engine that was built like this but had a later added full width walk around porch which gave it a really odd look because it was no longer narrow in the running board width. 

This next one I have never seen the like of. It is a side rod 44tonner with a cab that has been extended up for better viewing over cars. I guess there are no vertical cleanse issues on this line. The old area the cab took up may have added weight added and the ladders on the outside to get up into the cab are a neat add on.

Have  a great week guys!

Just got back from yard sales, not a single  O-Gauge (or any gauge) anything to be found!  :-)

Rich:

Since you're a Maryland boy, if you decide to give large scale railroading in the garden a try, be sure to check out the USA Trains ALCo switcher in two different Western Maryland schemes.

Bob

Rich,

  I usually don't bother to stop, but always wonder if I am missing something. Can you give me an idea how often you find something good, like 10%, 20%, etc. of the time?

Tom 

When I went to yard sales I found that it really was great to find things if what you want was 15 or so years old or out of fashion. I used to collect toys from the time of my youth (the 70's and 80's) and I found that the late 1990's and early 2000's were the real time to find that stuff but now who knows. Ebay and "picker's" shows have made everyone experts. 

O gauge Toy trains have not had a popular with the the larger general public in quite a while so I would be surprised if you found any in yard sales. At best I would imagine finding some G Scale New Bright or Bachmann Big Haulers because those were sold in the big box stores more recently. There was a time you could find MPC or even postwar but now everyone thinks that is made of gold.

As far as switchers in Maryland. My roots are there too. My grandparents tobacco farm house backed up to the ex-PRR Popes Creek secondary. I found this unusual image of a GE center cab in DC Metro paint in the New Carrolton yard.

Great pictures so far guys!

Tom/MNCW, I'd say I find something <10% of the time, in fact I'm typically super-surprised when I do stumble across something good.  I think last year I picked up two items at yard sales, one was a girder bridge and the other was that ZW, but to be honest I knew that particular one sale had train items, because I have a saved search on CraigsList which emails me when keywords are included in for-sale or garage-sale posts.
By the way, that B6 looks real, like real real

I typically search out items for the yard or garage, my younger daughter (Sara, pics last week) still also likes hot-wheels so she usually makes out pretty well.  Overall I'm buying less and less these days then when I was first married, but I do enjoy the experience for some reason.

CNJ/Bob, that WM diesel looks great, although I was thinking more "critter" or steam if do go with a garden layout.  

OGAUGETRAINS23:  thanks for joining in the fun this week!  That Baltimore & Annapolis MTH #97 diesel is on my wish list, I'm sure you've heard me say that before, but the B&A bike trail where the train used to run is <1 mile from my house, we ride bikes on it often and last time I even found a loose spike by one of the old sidings.  

SilverLake/Andy, those pictures are neat.  I think we'd all need to chip-in and buy a 3D printer if we ever want to see them in O gauge.

Steamer/Dave, I really like that C&O picture for some reason, maybe next week I'll take a few pics of my 0-4-0 C&O Lionel and post!

Dan Padova and El Classico, I'm really going to mull the garden layout over a bit.  Thanks for the posts and I like the idea of battery power.  My buddy Howard saw the thread and recommended the following site too:  http://www.familygardentrains.com/

Enjoy the rest of your Saturday!

Best...Rich 

Tom:

Many thanks for posting the picture of the large scale B6. It's positively outstanding. 

Bob

Silver Lake, somehow that looks more like a Whitcomb than a GE.

Would love to have a switcher in the colors of "The J!"

Since my daughter is in the Air Force I took a K-line SP S-2 switcher and made it into this Air Force switcher

Great photos and information guys!!  Rich best of luck with the garden layout!  Garden trains have crossed my mine from time to time.   I may put them on my bucket list   

I'm in Toronto this week performing at an international  music conference..... so I don't have any new switcher shots to post.  Please pardon the re-run.  Have a great week everyone! 

ogaugetrains23 posted:

oguagetrains23 - got to love the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad!  Very nice photo shot with switcher 87 and B&A caboose..... and the Ellicott Brothers Ice Cream refer in the background!  Sounds like you might be a Marylander?

CNJ 3676 posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday, all

Fairbanks-Morse is a name familiar to most three rail O gaugers, thanks in large part to the popularity of Lionel's model of the firm's Train Master; however, a fact unknown to most is that the very first F-M powered locomotive was a Reading center cab unit which was built as a joint project with the Saint Louis. Car Company. Featuring two 300 horsepower in line engines, the locomotive was delivered in 1939 and, after suffering through ongoing reliability problems often resulting in availability for service of less than 30 percent, it was retired in 1953 and used as trade in material on an order for Train Masters by the Reading.

 

Bob

CNJ - great photo of a most rare switching loco.  Yet another interesting possibility for manufactures to reproduce in O gauge.  Heck  ... I'd buy one if a manufacturer were to reproduce one.  Many thanks for your post!!

Silver Lake posted:

When I went to yard sales I found that it really was great to find things if what you want was 15 or so years old or out of fashion. I used to collect toys from the time of my youth (the 70's and 80's) and I found that the late 1990's and early 2000's were the real time to find that stuff but now who knows. Ebay and "picker's" shows have made everyone experts. 

O gauge Toy trains have not had a popular with the the larger general public in quite a while so I would be surprised if you found any in yard sales. At best I would imagine finding some G Scale New Bright or Bachmann Big Haulers because those were sold in the big box stores more recently. There was a time you could find MPC or even postwar but now everyone thinks that is made of gold.

As far as switchers in Maryland. My roots are there too. My grandparents tobacco farm house backed up to the ex-PRR Popes Creek secondary. I found this unusual image of a GE center cab in DC Metro paint in the New Carrolton yard.

 

 

 Silver Lake -  thanks for this post!!  This switcher would look real good perched high on the Mountain Division of the Free State Junction Railway, pulling a couple flat cars of logs.  

Hi, Patrick. 

Since you mentioned you're in Toronto, have you had an opportunity to sample the city's incredible streetcar system?

Bob

The daylight switcher crew has finished their coffee break and they are easing MTH Alco-GE S2 2358 out of the team track, to do some more switching.

CNJ 3676 posted:

Hi, Patrick. 

Since you mentioned you're in Toronto, have you had an opportunity to sample the city's incredible streetcar system?

Bob

Bob - not yet.  Will do so tomorrow hopefully