Switcher Saturday: 2017-Dec-09

Yay! SWSat is on!

Tom. What a beautiful engine. I do agree the ROW version is probably the best out there. Some day I need to search one down for myself. I have always liked these little guys. There is a tender version without the saddle tank out there as well. At one point a pair of these C-16s were converted to tender versions removing the saddletanks. I believe Thomas industries offered them as kits many years ago but they are out there.

This week I am posting a few pics of switchers on a couple of my favorite railroads. First up a nice clean 0-4-0 with a Russia Iron jacketed boilerfrom the original Providence and Worcester.

Next up a double ended Whitcomb on the Washington and Old Dominion.Look at those chain handrails.

Have a great Saturday. I cant wait to see what you guys post. See you tomorrow Tom. 

great finds Tom, not just the Docksider, but the book. and have fun in the snow....

The O Gauge Garage welcomes a new addition to the fold: an Atlas Central of Vermont SW1200.

                                               getting ready for a days work....

                         pulling ole '977 to get her ready for today's excursion run...

Happy SWSat Everyone!

Waiting for the flakes to fly on LI this morning. I just got the last of the leaves to the curb yesterday. Snow already? UGHH!

I wasn't sure what I was going to post this week but since Tom started us off with his new docksider- very nice BTW Sir, I thought I'd keep the theme going.

Brian, Andy, Dave- great photos. Congrats on the new switcher Mike!

I just picked up this MTH version a few weeks ago and I love it. I need to letter it in B&O but its got the right number as one of the original 4 made. Not as detailed as Tom's ROW model (now I'll need to search for one too ).  I am setting up the trains under the tree today and I might put it out as the second train with my PE Berk set.

I have a 0-6-0 ATSF from Lionel too which is a great engine. If you ever have an opportunity to pick one up grab it. You will not be disappointed.

Have a great weekend!

Bob

Great pictures everyone. Thanks for the comments on my Dockside. It started snowing already in the Lower Hudson Valley.

Bob/RSJB18- How do you like the MTH version? Looks pretty nice! 

Dave/Steamer-I've seen plenty of real B&O Dockside pictures by now where they seem to often have chains hanging on their cylinders. I read somewhere that the chains were used to operate in close spaces...I guess they would pull out cars using their chains. Also, your top and bottom photos seem to have a hose appearing over the pilot. 

Dockside or any other switcher...feel free to post your pictures! 

Tom 

My Atlas O EMD Conrail MP15-DC #9624 has been running trouble-free for a long time on my 12-by-8 layout. The MP15DC was powered by a 1500 HP V12 engine. 351 were built between 1974 and 1983. The Blomberg 4-wheel trucks allowed speeds up to 60 MPH.

MELGAR

A VO-1000 is doing some early morning switching work.

The VO is a RK Scale and the boxcar is AtlasO.

Good morning fellow SWSAT friends!!  Great photos everyone!!!

Tom - I love that RoWI Docksider!!  WOW!!!  It's beautiful!!! Congratulations!  Yes E-bay can allow us to find some real treasures and you scored big time!   I actually remember the Pratt Street line of the B&O in Baltimore City.  I would see it on my visits to Baltimore, as a young kid with my parents,  and notice boxcars spotted at various buildings.  I always wondered when the train would come down the street, only to learn later that the train only ran at night.  We actually had a family friend who was the conductor on that switch job. Of course when I was a kid the line had been dieselized.  I do remember the Baltimore News building.  I'm sure that the NYC car in your photo must have been used for shipping newsprint. 

Btw- The Pratt Street line is the line that President Lincoln's funeral train used on it's long journey carrying the president back home.   

Thanks too, for pinch hitting for Rich today and getting us off to a great start.

Today on the Free State Junction Railway, a B&O SW 9 is in charge of a short string of MOW cars.   Have a wonderfully fun and creative week everyone!!

MNCW posted:

Great pictures everyone. Thanks for the comments on my Dockside. It started snowing already in the Lower Hudson Valley.

Bob/RSJB18- How do you like the MTH version? Looks pretty nice! 

Dave/Steamer-I've seen plenty of real B&O Dockside pictures by now where they seem to often have chains hanging on their cylinders. I read somewhere that the chains were used to operate in close spaces...I guess they would pull out cars using their chains. Also, your top and bottom photos seem to have a hose appearing over the pilot. 

Dockside or any other switcher...feel free to post your pictures! 

Tom 

 

Tom- It's really nice, runs great.  I run conventional and it has good low speed power. It has a fan powered smoker which seems out of place on a steamer though.

Thanks

         do you want,    small...

                     medium....

               or large....

There are always great photos posted on this thread, but I especially like that Pratt Street photograph--it’s stunning! My layout is down for repair, so am posting an older snapshot. That siding is being pulled up as it is just too close to the edge. The slate floor underneath would be unforgiving. Thanks for sharing everyone.

Great stuff everyone. 

I found 2 more videos of the AML/Accucraft version of a Dockside Live Steam locomotive. I believe butane is used to heat up the water. 

Santa has a new ride...Delivering ore to all the good little girls & boys!

And stopping along the way to have his picture taken...

Happy SWSat!!!

enjoying my semi-retirement...pulling these fine passengers thru this gorgeous scenery

Awesome stuff, sorry I’m Missing In Action today, at a train show this weekend in Fredericksburg Virginia today!   Got to run my LC+ RS-3 today on the club modular layout, catch you guys next week and thanks to @PRR8976 for running things.

Glad you could stop by Rich. Hope you find some goodies at the show.

Murnane posted:

Awesome stuff, sorry I’m Missing In Action today, at a train show this weekend in Fredericksburg Virginia today!   Got to run my LC+ RS-3 today on the club modular layout, catch you guys next week and thanks to @PRR8976 for running things.

 

Southern RS3 under the Christmas tree.

Complete with old time Christmas potato quality photo

jhz563 posted:

Southern RS3 under the Christmas tree.

Complete with old time Christmas potato quality photo

 

And the age old debate about which end is the front on an RS-3 continues.
Personally I think it looks right but this is backwards.

Nice touch on the photo too !

Brian's last post shows it the correct way

Lionel North Pole Central Lines 0-6-0T #25 makes it's annual appearance with a jolly ol engineer switching the 7 unit Christmas train

my contribution to Switcher Saturday...........

RSJB18 posted:

jhz563 posted:

Southern RS3 under the Christmas tree.

Complete with old time Christmas potato quality photo

 

And the age old debate about which end is the front on an RS-3 continues.
Personally I think it looks right but this is backwards.

Nice touch on the photo too !

Brian's last post shows it the correct way

Well, don’t forget, this one is a southern Co loco, so all bets are off on which way is forward!!  In this case however, Lionel said which way it should go

Every time it snows on a Saturday I think of this picture, such a great shot....Rich

Troy Union Railroad crossing guard John Moriarity and New York Central switch engine during snowstorm, Troy, New York, March 1955

Christmas over-lay on my layout.  The very limited snow we have in Western Pa.

Missing switchers are on display, Beaver McDonald's store, with several of the more elaborate building models.   Merry Christmas, all.   Mike CT.

Murnane posted:

Every time it snows on a Saturday I think of this picture, such a great shot....Rich

Troy Union Railroad crossing guard John Moriarity and New York Central switch engine during snowstorm, Troy, New York, March 1955

I've seen that before, too. I think it sums up the hard life of railroaders and especially railroading in the winter. 

Tom 

MNCW posted:

Hi Everyone and Happy Switcher Saturday! 

I'm pinch-hitting for Rich Murnane who can hopefully sleep late today! I told Rich I would not be running my errands this morning, but a small New York snow storm is forcing me to post this early so I can now run my errands earlier than I wanted...so please keep our topic bouncing along the tracks while I run in and out! 

I bought a new (used) locomotive this week and I thought I would share that with everyone that I have not already blabbed it to. Good that I don't have access to Top Secret info! 

As many of you know, my Pennsylvania Railroad prewar switchers are pretty important to me. However, as a youngster, I also had another locomotive that I was interested in and that's the B&O Dockside locomotive. A family friend passed down the HO version to me which I ran for many years and I guess it left an impression on me. 

Recently, I found a Right-Of-Way (3 Rail O Gauge) B&O Dockside that was being sold (thank you eBay) and I jumped on that opportunity. I remembered that in 2011, OGR's Allan Miller said that Right-Of-Way "Made the best 0-4-0 Dockside thus-far offered in O scale." Santa also sprung for an amazingly immaculate copy of the Sagle/Staufer book, B&O Power, which has some good info on these locomotives. My little Dockside #97 is probably the most quiet switcher that I have. It too is pretty immaculate and I would guess it probably has very little hours on its small drivers. 

Here's a rather classic shot of a B&O Dockside loco switching on Pratt Street at The Baltimore News in 1948:

Baldwin built 4 of these locomotives, class C-16, numbered consecutively #96 to #99, for the B&O in 1912. Unfortunately, the B&O did not preserve any of them. 

Here are some pictures of my Little Joe (as they were also known as): 

  I also found a Live Steam version of a Dockside (no, I did not buy this one!):

Feel free to let me know if you are a Dockside fan and what you think of my new addition !

Have a great weekend everyone and post those spectacular switchers! 

Tom 

 

Great find, and quite appropriate for your railroad if you consider that two of the C-16s worked the yards in Philadelphia. The other two were, of course, working the docks in Baltimore.

I still love my little MTH Docksider, which I bought new upon its release in a set in December 1999. It remains my favorite little locomotive.

Thanks Jim.

After admiring your little loco, I looked again at the classic Pratt Street/Baltimore News image (that I've seen for years) and just noticed now that there are at least 4 lanterns hanging around the smokebox door! Never noticed that before. I guess visibility was an issue. 

Tom 

MNCW posted:

Hi Everyone and Happy Switcher Saturday! 

Recently, I found a Right-Of-Way (3 Rail O Gauge) B&O Dockside that was being sold (thank you eBay) and I jumped on that opportunity. I remembered that in 2011, OGR's Allan Miller said that Right-Of-Way "Made the best 0-4-0 Dockside thus-far offered in O scale." Santa also sprung for an amazingly immaculate copy of the Sagle/Staufer book, B&O Power, which has some good info on these locomotives. My little Dockside #97 is probably the most quiet switcher that I have. It too is pretty immaculate and I would guess it probably has very little hours on its small drivers. 

Here's a rather classic shot of a B&O Dockside loco switching on Pratt Street at The Baltimore News in 1948:

 

Here are some pictures of my Little Joe (as they were also known as): 

 

 

Feel free to let me know if you are a Dockside fan and what you think of my new addition !

Have a great weekend everyone and post those spectacular switchers! 

Tom 

 

Very nice find!  If you look in back you will find a 4 pin socket.  All RoW steamers had a four lobe chug cam and the dockside is no different.  I'd have to look to check the pinouts but there is data there for a chug and a neutral detection circuit to enable airpump sounds when standing still.  The sound units were housed in B&O roundtop boxcars.  

Lou N

Bonus picture for the end of the weekend...Lehigh Valley #111 from circa 1930, West 27th Street, Manhattan. 

Thanks for all the excellent posts this weekend! 

Tom 

Jim R. posted:

MNCW posted:

Hi Everyone and Happy Switcher Saturday! 

I'm pinch-hitting for Rich Murnane who can hopefully sleep late today! I told Rich I would not be running my errands this morning, but a small New York snow storm is forcing me to post this early so I can now run my errands earlier than I wanted...so please keep our topic bouncing along the tracks while I run in and out! 

I bought a new (used) locomotive this week and I thought I would share that with everyone that I have not already blabbed it to. Good that I don't have access to Top Secret info! 

As many of you know, my Pennsylvania Railroad prewar switchers are pretty important to me. However, as a youngster, I also had another locomotive that I was interested in and that's the B&O Dockside locomotive. A family friend passed down the HO version to me which I ran for many years and I guess it left an impression on me. 

Recently, I found a Right-Of-Way (3 Rail O Gauge) B&O Dockside that was being sold (thank you eBay) and I jumped on that opportunity. I remembered that in 2011, OGR's Allan Miller said that Right-Of-Way "Made the best 0-4-0 Dockside thus-far offered in O scale." Santa also sprung for an amazingly immaculate copy of the Sagle/Staufer book, B&O Power, which has some good info on these locomotives. My little Dockside #97 is probably the most quiet switcher that I have. It too is pretty immaculate and I would guess it probably has very little hours on its small drivers. 

Here's a rather classic shot of a B&O Dockside loco switching on Pratt Street at The Baltimore News in 1948:

Baldwin built 4 of these locomotives, class C-16, numbered consecutively #96 to #99, for the B&O in 1912. Unfortunately, the B&O did not preserve any of them. 

Here are some pictures of my Little Joe (as they were also known as): 

  I also found a Live Steam version of a Dockside (no, I did not buy this one!):

Feel free to let me know if you are a Dockside fan and what you think of my new addition !

Have a great weekend everyone and post those spectacular switchers! 

Tom 

 

Great find, and quite appropriate for your railroad if you consider that two of the C-16s worked the yards in Philadelphia. The other two were, of course, working the docks in Baltimore.

I still love my little MTH Docksider, which I bought new upon its release in a set in December 1999. It remains my favorite little locomotive.

and I ust found a Right-of- Way catalog while doing some housecleaning in the train room

That Little Joe is one classy switcher....what a great find!    

My oldest Atlas switcher EMD SW900. 

Despite only running TMCC, this is my only Lionel Legacy locomotive.  Alco S2 I bought last fall.