Switcher Saturday: 2017-May-13

Rich,

  Very nice. Thanks for posting your Chicago Union Station pictures, your classy B6 and as always, thanks for getting up early to start us off. 

  Speaking of B6's...my contribution is Pennsylvania Railroad's B6 #8388 in a socially acceptable "rods down" shot. 8388 was built in 1906 by Juniata, rebuilt in October 1924 as a B6s and then scrapped in August 1949. 

 The picture is probably circa 1940's and to me, while the location of the photo is not known/listed, it reminds me of the area in Western Pennsylvania, Wilmerding, where I used to visit my aunt. Some of the town was located on a hill and overlooked the Pennsy trackage. 

Tom 

Rich,

Great pictures of Chicago!

Two weeks ago on Switcher Saturday, I did my weekly post, then got into my car and ventured 27 miles north to the town of New Milford, Connecticut, through which runs the Housatonic Railroad (reporting mark HRRC). The Housatonic is a short line Class 3 freight railroad that has a north-south line from Danbury, CT to Pittsfield, MA and an east-west line from Beacon, NY to Derby, CT. The original Housatonic was chartered in 1836 and began service between Bridgeport, CT and New Milford in 1842. The line was leased by the New Haven Railroad in 1892, which operated passenger trains from Bridgeport through New Milford to Pittsfield.

Entering New Milford and crossing the bridge over the Housatonic River, I arrived at the classic station built by the Housatonic RR in 1886. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and had passenger service until 1970. HRRC GP35M 3602, built for the Pennsylvania RR in 1964, was parked on the siding opposite the station, and Boston & Maine caboose 436 was just across the tracks. Some pictures below.

MELGAR

Happy Switcher Saturday everyone.  It's chilly enough here in NJ that I feel as though we could be in Canada!

Happy SWSat Guys!

Rich- looks like a cool station. Too bad we don't have the old Penn Station here in NY any more.

Nice photo Tom.

Here on the RSJ&B nothing new this week. I did take a ride yesterday and sneak a few shots of the Ringling Bros train parked just east of my neighborhood. The area where they park the train is surrounded by private property now so I could only get a couple of quick shots. It used to be old government property from Mitchel Air Force base. They have sold it off over the years to developers. Lot's of cool history in this area including the site where Charles Lindbergh departed on his trans-Atlantic flight not far from here.

This shot is from 2006. You can see the train spur toward the top left of the photo. The Meadowbrook State Parkway curves around the site of the old base. The rest of the base is now the home of Nassau Community College. When I went there in the early 80's we used to park on the old runways. Many of the buildings I took classes in were the old buildings from the base. I was a Technical Theater major and we used the old Chapel and Commissary buildings as our theaters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchel_Air_Force_Base

I missed the train arriving last Tuesday but I will be sure to see it depart a week from Monday for the very last time. I noticed that now that they don't travel with elephants any more the train is much shorter than it used to be.

Bob

good morning Saturday Switchers! Great pics of Chicago Rich. I was at Midway Airport for 20 minutes once.......

I don't see any work on my 1615 Project this weekend...my youngest  daughter and I arranged to have my oldest daughter meet us for dinner today (she lives three hours away) as a early Mothers Day surprise for Momma...and her and her hubby will be here for the weekend.So I'll toss up some real switcher pics.

getting ready for some Saturday  switching.....

heading out with train.....

more coal coming in ........

756 pulls out on turntable for a spin....

heading back to engine yard......

Yay SWSat is on!

We are off to a cold start this AM. It is a rainy day here in NYC. I was supposed to take my daughter to Randells Island (home of the Hellgate bridge) to a soccer game and luckily we were running late because the game was cancelled. So windfall.

I've always been interested in 19th century Steam with its elaborate one off paint jobs and experimental aesthetic design. The so called American Standard 4-4-0 design was the most common and used for almost every purpose but there were purpose built switchers. Here are a few images I found. 

Here is a UP builders photo of a sharp little tank engine. Look at the candlesticks on the pilot beam.

Here is a big B&O Camelback engine. Although these had no pilot or trailing trucks they were used as road engines. This image looks like it was taken during the Civil War era. A few of these lasted into the 20th century. One is in the B&O museum.

Here is a pretty worn D&H tank with an unusual tender with both a fixed axel and a truck on the tender. Here it sits cold on a wintery day.

This is the Badwin builders phot of Boston and Maine Achilles/47. It has an elaborate striping job and has a lot of brass work. I imagine it was intended as a passenger switcher.

Last up today in this somewhat random sample the famed NP Minnetonka. A nice little tank engine that still exists in preservation. I love that the headlight lens is nearly as big as the boiler diameter. This image seems like it probably dates to its early preservation appearance from a few clues.

Have a great weekend guys. 

Great SWSAT pictures, everyone.

I was on a family road trip this past week and spotted this little Plymouth as we passed through Berkeley Springs, WV. It sits on display outside the U.S. Silica plant.

We were met by a U.S. Silica employee who took a few minutes to tell my sons about silica and how this train was once used to move raw material from the mine to the plant.

now those would be great to see in O Gauge.

Great pictures in this thread as always.

SILVER LAKE said:

"I've always been interested in 19th century Steam with its elaborate one off paint jobs and experimental aesthetic design."

Oh wow... couldn't agree more. I came to appreciate the 19th century stuff many years (decades?) ago, but it grew to become an adjunct to my 1st generation diesel interests. Thus, I allow for my TOC19 interest via V scale and some HO piddling, along with my diesels in HO.

Minnetonka:

Originally, the Minnetonka came as a tank engine. (i.e. sans tender). The tender was added several years later.

I think I recall the picture above represents the Minnetonka after it was all spruced up for retirement.  Thus, not a representative of its early appearance. Also note the heavy rail (for its day) that it sits on, and the point switch which came into use right at the turn of the 19th century. Previous to that stub switches were the norm.

Good stuff as always! Gotta' run... work beckons...

Setting off a box car this morning....

laming posted:

Great pictures in this thread as always.

SILVER LAKE said:

"I've always been interested in 19th century Steam with its elaborate one off paint jobs and experimental aesthetic design."

Oh wow... couldn't agree more. I came to appreciate the 19th century stuff many years (decades?) ago, but it grew to become an adjunct to my 1st generation diesel interests. Thus, I allow for my TOC19 interest via V scale and some HO piddling, along with my diesels in HO.

Minnetonka:

Originally, the Minnetonka came as a tank engine. (i.e. sans tender). The tender was added several years later.

I think I recall the picture above represents the Minnetonka after it was all spruced up for retirement.  Thus, not a representative of its early appearance. Also note the heavy rail (for its day) that it sits on, and the point switch which came into use right at the turn of the 19th century. Previous to that stub switches were the norm.

Good stuff as always! Gotta' run... work beckons...

Technically it is still a tank engine. The tank being the big square box full of water on top of the boiler. I'm not sure if it is still called a 0-4-0T or not though because it does pull that fuel tender. 

You are right on the track pointing to it being a more modern picture. Also the paint scheme seems a bit off. 

My 2 rail on 3rails    PS3 0-6-0 Kadee equip. 

Nice looking engine, like the whistle and smoke....

RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat Guys!

Rich- looks like a cool station. Too bad we don't have the old Penn Station here in NY any more.

Nice photo Tom.

Here on the RSJ&B nothing new this week. I did take a ride yesterday and sneak a few shots of the Ringling Bros train parked just east of my neighborhood. The area where they park the train is surrounded by private property now so I could only get a couple of quick shots. It used to be old government property from Mitchel Air Force base. They have sold it off over the years to developers. Lot's of cool history in this area including the site where Charles Lindbergh departed on his trans-Atlantic flight not far from here.

This shot is from 2006. You can see the train spur toward the top left of the photo. The Meadowbrook State Parkway curves around the site of the old base. The rest of the base is now the home of Nassau Community College. When I went there in the early 80's we used to park on the old runways. Many of the buildings I took classes in were the old buildings from the base. I was a Technical Theater major and we used the old Chapel and Commissary buildings as our theaters.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchel_Air_Force_Base

I missed the train arriving last Tuesday but I will be sure to see it depart a week from Monday for the very last time. I noticed that now that they don't travel with elephants any more the train is much shorter than it used to be.

Bob

Some years ago, I was sitting at the crossing of the old Big 4 NYC line in Berea, Ohio when what to my wondering eyes did appear but the Ringling Bros. Circus Train heading on in to Cleveland. It was quite a sight, let me tell you!

And, yes, one car did have elephants on it with the side door open so you could see them. 

I sat there with my mouth open as the long train glided past. A sight I will never forget. Glad I caught it by pure chance. 

Similar to the time a pulled into a gas station near my home and found the Oscar Meyer Weiner Mobile filling up at a pump. 

...working in the engine yard.......then.......WOW "that didn't sound good !" 

oops !  great, now what do we do ?......there goes lunch......do you think we can use AAA  ?!?!   .....     well, suppose good thing that the crane is already here 

........RICKO, is this where you were headed too ?.......

don't let them diesel guys find 'bout this !!...

Great, now here come the metal scrappers already  .....

meanwhile, a coal train gets a shove up the hill......

later that evening, another load of coal arrives.....

hey, did you here, somebody drove one of them steamers into the pit today

yeah, we heard that too.....LOL

rut row......someone is going to be peeing in a cup.....

I wonder if the investigation will show that the engineer was texting on his vacuum-tube smart phone?  (Which uses tape instead of cloud storage?) 

Hi again Silver Lake:

My wording was a bit awkward... yes it was/is still a tank engine.  What I meant was the tender was added later and was not delivered with it.

In all, I think the Minnetonka, and its sister engines the Otter Tail, St. Cloud and the Itaska, were all very neat little tea pots!

Back to the TOC19 era...

In keeping with this thread, AND remembering that early-on in railroading's history every engine was a switch engine (used as such when needed), then I can play too!

Here is a picture of Vermont Central 4-4-0, the "St. Lawrence", switching around the service facilities at Northfield, VT, circa 1860's...

The short smoke box, funnel/diamond stack era is my favorite... and wood burning is a plus. One of my favorite V scale route projects is set in a portion in New England, circa the 1860's, where many smaller independent lines existed and interchanged. To boot, all ran through some very picturesque countryside, including some of the lines were among some significant mountains.

If you love smaller, ornate, funnel/diamond stack, wood burning, power... New England is hard to beat!

All fer now!

Great photos, videos, and humor everyone.  I'm a bit late to the party again.  Rich love the Chicago Union Station photos!!  Great B6 you have as well!!

I tore up part of Free State Junction Railway's main line thru Patsburg last week to install a new siding.  The new siding ( on the front side of the layout ) is still under construction as is the "Beer Town" neighborhood.  Had a bad switch in the back of the layout ( Murphys Law ... it had to be in the most awkward to place to reach ).  Took out that bad boy but had to take out the Beer Town neighborhood to reach the switch.  Beer Town is a mess right now and I must get the beer flowing for the construction crews before switchers can service the area.  

I'm posting from my photo archive again today.  Hopefully next week I'll have some fresh photos.   Have a terrific weekend and a most creative week everyone!!!  The top photo is "Beer Town".  Click on photos below for captions. 

clem k posted:

My 2 rail on 3rails    PS3 0-6-0 Kadee equip. 

What a smoker! I have always liked NYC steam. It's probably because of my Dad. I still love to hear him talk about growing up in Windsor, IL. on the Big Four CCC&St.L during WWII and watching double header war trains fly through there at 90 mph! Riding a local passenger train to Mattoon, IL. with his Mother. I never grow tired of him talking about the trains he's seen during his life, he'll be 80 this year. I like the REA piggyback, too!

trumptrain posted:

Great photos, videos, and humor everyone.  I'm a bit late to the party again.  Rich love the Chicago Union Station photos!!  Great B6 you have as well!!

I tore up part of Free State Junction Railway's main line thru Patsburg last week to install a new siding.  The new siding ( on the front side of the layout ) is still under construction as is the "Beer Town" neighborhood.  Had a bad switch in the back of the layout ( Murphys Law ... it had to be in the most awkward to place to reach ).  Took out that bad boy but had to take out the Beer Town neighborhood to reach the switch.  Beer Town is a mess right now and I must get the beer flowing for the construction crews before switchers can service the area.  

I'm posting from my photo archive again today.  Hopefully next week I'll have some fresh photos.   Have a terrific weekend and a most creative week everyone!!!  The top photo is "Beer Town".  Click on photos below for captions. 

I sure do like your locomotive roster on the FSJ Ry.

Hi All,

Kids had me running around yesterday playing Taxi-Driver, too bad I can't charge them Uber Fees!

@PRR8976 - Tom, thanks for the comments and I'm amazed you keep finding so many nice pictures of these engines, you must have a secret honey-hole of pictures somewhere!

@MELGAR - That Geep has the "perfect" amount of weathering, how did you do it ;-)  (joke obviously),  I love the pictures and wish I had one of those cabin cars in my backyard, I'd set up a home office / man cave / train layout and never leave!  That station is a real treasure too, great pics and thanks for sharing.

@mike.caruso - looks like the Canadians have finally "attacked" New Jersey so they can get some real McDonalds!  Great pair of switchers there Mike, love the picture!

@RSJB18  - I'm going to miss the circus when it's gone, another one of those cultural things that folks will look back on and not quite fully understand or grasp the significance of in the future.  Great pictures and thanks for sharing!

@Steamer - Dave, another fine week of pictures from the secret antique pictures honey hole Jedi Master!   You better watch out though, Tom and a few others are doing a fine job learning from the Master and may one day do an "Anakin Skywalker" on you!  I've been following your 1615 thread as well and I'm learning a ton.  Maybe one of these days I'll find a beater and the nerve to try to repair it!  Thanks for all you share!

@briansilvermustang - I love your pictures and the "stories" you're telling with them!  Great job and that turntable is awesome!  Thanks for sharing the pics!

@Silver Lake - Hey Andy, great pictures and info as always, these are the types of engines I wish the big guys would be making more of these days, it seems like the other scales (or gauges) get way more options for small steamers than we do in O.  

@abbrail - Love that Plymouth and I couldn't agree with Dave/Steamer more, too bad nobody's making it for us!  The Plymouth I have is great but that one seems sufficiently different that it warrants it's own model!  Thanks for sharing!

@clem k - man, that steamer smokes more than my Grandma did! :-)    Great engine and thanks for sharing the video!

@RickO - Great video, layout, and "set"!  Not only do I love that engine, the combo of the crane and working caboose (I think that is what it's called) is fantastic, love it!  The speed was perfect too, and the angle of the video, very well done! Thanks for sharing it!

@DaveP - awesome pictures - I don't know if you could pack any more fun into your layout, man it's jam-packed with all kinds of goodies!  I also love that NYC Caboose, I'm going to keep an eye out for one!

@laming - Where have you been???  lol  -   Welcome back to the SWSAT party, we've missed your humor, insight, and plain old fun comments!  No worries if you needed a SWSAT break, thanks for coming back and sharing!

@trumpettrain - Hey Patrick, I'm looking forward to seeing all the changes on your new siding!  Great pictures as always and no worries if they weren't "fresh", they are still awesome!

If I've missed anyone where in this "wrap-up" please forgive me, it's hard to scroll up/down and make sure you didn't miss something.  

Overall another fine week for Switcher Saturday, thanks again to everyone for coming out and sharing.  

See you next week...Rich

heavy move, on the move......

Hi Rich:

You said:

"Where have you been???  lol  -   Welcome back to the SWSAT party, we've missed your humor, insight, and plain old fun comments!  No worries if you needed a SWSAT break, thanks for coming back and sharing!"

Thanks for the kind words.

I check in almost weekly with this thread... but I've not been doing anything with my diesel theme of late, where the bulk of my switcher modeling resides.

I've also been busy with work (around 50 hours per week and 6 day work weeks from January to the end of March).  Plus, as retirement nears (my first month of retirement is hoped to be June 2018), I'm getting more heavily into music. Here's some pictures of a couple of some serious distractions to model trains that I've recently acquired:

Though I've played bass guitar for decades, I've been somewhat stagnant for the past decade or more. (Only accompanying on simplistic hymns at a small church during that time.)  As retirement nears, I intend to get more involved and brush off skills I've had in the past that are quite rusty.  I'm now on a Praise Team at our local church, as well as playing bass for a gospel group. In addition, I do a lot of practicing, as well as practice sessions for the above. I will eventually be hooking up with an ensemble (or creating my own) that will do blues, jazz, funk, classic/oldies rock, rhythm n' blues, soul, etc. As a bass player, I'm up for anything that has a lot of groove and "feel"!

However, I intend to again start trying to take part in this fun weekly thread on a more oft basis.

Thanks for remembering me!

All fer now... think I'm gonna' fire up the four string and accompany some pretty cool songs via the magic of the digital world we now live in!