Switcher Saturday: 2017-Apr-1

Here at the RiCHY (Richmond, Chesapeake, Hudson Yard) the yardmaster is grouchy and is tired of using the silly little engines for switching duty, why should those little guys have all the fun each week?  

On his orders, out of the shed comes "The Beast" and so begins a very long day with a very long "switcher" - the poor yard crew is in for a tough one!

p.s.  Great story and pictures Tom @PRR8976!  Thanks for starting things off!

Rich, Glad you liked it. I thought you were supposed to be sleeping late! Maybe The Beast woke you up?

Tom 

Yay! SWSat is onto a very weird start!

Very interesting info this AM Tom and Rich. I have a pics of a cable powered switcher that runs on 4 rails. If moves any cars something has gone horribly wrong. It has been in the same location for well over 100 years and is used constantly. 

I know some here think I sometimes stretch the idea of switchers and I'm pretty sure this one is my best yet. 

This is the Carroll St Brooklyn retractable bridge it is over the Gowanus Canal. It is shaped like a skewed parallelogram and retracts across the river into its home on the side along 4 rails using a cable. I thought it was interesting and unusual and technically fits as a rail-road. The best way to describe it is as moving like the slant of an "N" into and out of its place.

Here is some more traditional switcher pics from NYSME.

Have a great weekend.

Today's offering, Weaver VO1000s.   

Toot Toot! It's SWSAT!!!

Tom,

I have the uncataloged MTH Krazyhamma Verstopfung 0-6-0.  It came with locosounds, but I upgraded it to command with an ERR kit. It's a nice little locomotive, but mth used the wrong tender. I get tired of explaining, to visitors, why the steam engine doesn't smoke from the stack so it doesn't see much track time. I'll try to post a picture tonight. Very cool to find out you have a family connection to Krazyhamma!

No 'Tom'foolery in this post,

Here she is, the newest member of our conventional fleet, a Lionel Boxcab!

My sons have wanted a switcher to use on their 027 railroad for quite a while. I've been waiting for a good deal and finally found it at a show this past weekend.

LIRR

Happy SWSat everyone!  Although I'm not a regular, weekly contributor to this fun thread, I'm a very loyal follower.  Thanks to Rich and the "regulars" for keeping it going!

The Jersey Central and Lehigh Valley's tracks ran in close proximity through much of northeastern PA (where I grew up), at times actually paralleling and/or crossing each other.  Such is the case in the scene below as the local crews of both the CNJ and the "Valley" take a break from their regular, daily switching duties to say hello to each other...

Tom I think you need to crack open a window and maybe turn a fan on..all that ozone has taken it's toll....

and if Rich is letting the Big boys do the switching...

Steamer posted:

Tom I think you need to crack open a window and maybe turn a fan on..all that ozone has taken it's toll....

and if Rich is letting the Big boys do the switching...

 

 

Dave, With a little of that ozone, the chart I provided works just as good upside down! 

 Tom 

Well, much like when the weather rock at scout camp is spinning, there seems to be something funny going on .....

I have a little something that fits right between the traditional and the weekly theme.  You will have to allow for the pictures being take out of a moving automobile, but here we have the Entertainment Sports Network Rr motive power staged to move another load of basketball equipment and championship tee shirts for the 2017 NCAA tournament. Enjoy

Also, having been on industrial safari earlier in the week, we have a well seasoned 80 ton center cab, peaking it's nose out of its natural habitat, trying to determine if there will be 6 more weeks of switching duty before an oil change.

Happy SWSat Everyone!

A little steam and diesel switcher action this week.

OH yea- and these guys are still hanging around......

MNCW posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday everyone.

 

Today is April 1 and we expect some special little known train stories.

 

Here is mine…

On this Day in 1923, my great grandfather, Engineer and Inventor Prof. Klaus Krazyhamma invented his little known water additive, "B6 H₂²O."

His first application of this scientific breakthrough resulted in a select group of Pennsylvania Railroad switching locomotives getting the locomotive equivalent of indigestion. At first, the results were dismissed as being useless and he was the subject of much ridicule. Later advanced studies found the locomotives became subjected to "Lokomotive Verstopfung"  or "Locomotive Constipation." Like many advances in science, an unexpected and remarkable benefit was found in that locomotive boiler sheets, stay bolts, rivets, tubes, etc. could then be tested for strength. 

This is the rare first edition of his Locomotive Water Treatment book.

 

 

Here is Prof. Krazyhamma's easy to understand chart which explains everything regarding his water treatment process where the failure of the locomotive's components is plotted out:

 

Rare photos of the last surviving model used for Prof. Krazyhamma's 1:48 scale tests can be seen here. The photos show the testing at the moment the locomotive was experiencing "Lokomotive Verstopfung..."

The boiler sheets and other components did not suffer any failure in this particular study, so test #89354 was considered a success.

 

His other invention which involved trains is also known by only a few of his peers. It is his S-DUT (Simultaneous Dual-Use Track) system allowing trains to utilize a single piece of track by allowing separate trains to run at the same time both above and below the very same section of track, making passing tracks no longer necessary and revolutionizing efficient train travel. Sadly and unexpectedly, adhesion for the train operating underneath continued to pose significant problems as tracking conditions ranged from less than optimal to non-existent, with the latter being present in slightly more than 99.9% of the studies. Later patent applications were established, but railroads were surprisingly not quick to show a willingness to adapt. The only known attempts were made in Germany and by Caltrans in California. The applications for toy trains could be enormous.

 I am glad to share these little known facts about by kinfolk with you all today...I hope the ozone fumes emitted by my steam switchers while typing this did not alter my story...

Tom 

Well done Tom.

Better not sleep in any more Rich......

Hello switcher fans and thanks to Rich Murnane for hosting another Switcher Saturday. Sorry I missed last week. No April 1st humor here... All seriousness...

My Atlas O model of Great Northern SW8 diesel switcher locomotive 98 is shown below with a K-Line model of a BNSF steel caboose in matching colors (made in China)

The Electro-Motive Division of General Motors produced 309 SW9 locomotives for US railroads between 1950 and 1954. They were equipped with an EMD 567B 8-cylinder supercharged two-stroke diesel engine which developed 800 horsepower. Great Northern Railway rostered three SW8s with road numbers 98, 99 and 101.

The EMD SW8/9 switcher was one of the first locomotive models made by Atlas O, initially offered around 2001. It was the most detailed and accurate model of an EMD switcher at that time. Being enthusiastic about switchers, I bought examples of this type of engine in several road names. My model has never been run. As I took it off the shelf and cleaned off the dust for these photographs, I again began to admire it and appreciate what a fine model it is.

MELGAR

Top of the afternoon SWSAT friends!!  Love the photos and info as always!!  Here is some pics of my Canton Railroad SW1500 doing some switching work on the Free State Junction Railway.  The yard master has also requested that WM 2-8-0 be assigned for yard work duty this weekend.  Here are some photos of her being serviced before going on duty.  Have a wonderfully creative weekend!!

It would be great if the horn went, " DA-da-DA...DA-da-DA!"  

Great pictures/videos everyone. Not that all of you need me to comment on your great posts/pictures/layouts, etc., but I guess this falls under the "housekeeping" part of starting up the thread and follows Rich's standard plan. 

ABBRAIL/Thomas-If you made that video yourself, that was well done. Thanks for noticing the "Tomfoolery." 

Steamer/Dave- Yes, I will follow your advice! 

SIRT-Great looking, realistic yard that you have there. If I recall, the LIRR logo is of "Dashing Dan."

Andy/Silver Lake- Very interesting bridge that you found there. Glad there are many interesting places for you to visit. 

Trump Train- I always enjoy seeing your layout.

Melgar-Rich Murnane allowed me (Tom) to start things off today. Any blame for my original post rests squarely on his shoulders! 

CNJ#1601-Nice weathering and I like your backdrop. 

Murnane-Rich, thanks for giving us a place to enjoy all things switcher related. 

Everyone else & those listed above...thanks for posting, post more if you can and Happy April Fool's Day. 

Tom 

Tom (MNCW),

It is intuitively obvious that the professor's B6 locomotive needs to operate PRECISELY along the Oceanic Geotherm. This would result in a buoyant force on the inverted locomotive such that it would be in vertical equilibrium on the underside of the rail...

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:

Tom (MNCW),

It is intuitively obvious that the professor's B6 locomotive needs to operate PRECISELY along the Oceanic Geotherm. This would result in a buoyant force on the inverted locomotive such that it would be in vertical equilibrium on the underside of the rail...

MELGAR

You know, I could not have said it better myself! 

Tom 

Happy Switcher Saturday (almost Sunday) from Finland. Very nice pics & videos. I post some SOU NW2 & SP&S #600 pics this weekend.

abbrail posted:

Toot Toot! It's SWSAT!!!

Tom,

I have the uncataloged MTH Krazyhamma Verstopfung 0-6-0.  It came with locosounds, but I upgraded it to command with an ERR kit. It's a nice little locomotive, but mth used the wrong tender. I get tired of explaining, to visitors, why the steam engine doesn't smoke from the stack so it doesn't see much track time. I'll try to post a picture tonight. Very cool to find out you have a family connection to Krazyhamma!

No 'Tom'foolery in this post,

Here she is, the newest member of our conventional fleet, a Lionel Boxcab!

My son's have wanted a switcher to use on their 027 railroad for quite a while. I've been waiting for a good deal and finally found it at a show this past weekend.

Nice find Thomas.

Know that the prototype is a GE electric box cab made for the nitrate mines in Tocopilla Chile.

Lou N

I got this MTH SW9 recently!

I checked into the K-line Porter and Plymouth.  Chan at Korea Brass did not make the tooling, Sanda Kan did.  SDK was assimilated by Kader Industrial.  Looks like WbB has access to those tools.

Lou N

Lou,

Thanks for the 520 info! I just searched for a picture and was amazed to find Lionel even used the prototype number!

Mark Boyce, That is a great looking switcher!

---------------

Here's one more video for Switcher Saturday. Nothing special, just a Chessie work train heading back to AY.

Thomas,

Thank you!  Nice Chessie too!

Murnane posted:

Here at the RiCHY (Richmond, Chesapeake, Hudson Yard) the yardmaster is grouchy and is tired of using the silly little engines for switching duty, why should those little guys have all the fun each week?  

On his orders, out of the shed comes "The Beast" and so begins a very long day with a very long "switcher" - the poor yard crew is in for a tough one!

 

 

Well, I know two guys who are going to be happy.  The Engineer and Fireman are paid a daily rate based on weight on drivers, and they have already figured their wages for this shift.