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It's Switcher Saturday Time!!!!

Lots of us out there love switchers (shifters, docksiders, yard goats, critters, etc.), so lets keep #SwitcherSaturday (a.k.a. SWSAT) rolling!

If you missed last week's SWSAT, you should go take a look, Tom @PRR8976 did a great job being humble about hosting - thanks Tom, I hope your show went well!
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This week I've got a couple pictures of my K-Line MP15 NYC #2231 shifting some cars around, notice the new crew
member just hanging out hitching a ride? The new crew member was donated to the RiCHY (Richmond, Chesapeake, Hudson Yard) by a neighbor of my in-laws who needed help getting his American Flyer train running around his tree - he also donated a few TootsieToy tin cars which are a lot of fun - so now I've got tons of cars on the layout in all kinds of scales!

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I'll be doing lots of chores today but hope to run a switcher or two this evening at a friend's house.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all you humble switcher fans out there, please enjoy their weekend, and when you get a chance - please post some switcher stuff here!

All the best...Rich Murnane

p.s. Miss the post on Saturday? NO BIG DEAL, just keep posting pictures of your favorites until the next #SwitcherSaturday

 

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Last Sunday, I attended the Westchester Toy and Train Show in White Plains, New York, where I purchased a “near mint” 1955 Lionel 1615 0-4-0 steam switcher.

I have been buying only modern scale-sized locomotives since returning to O gauge railroading 21 years ago and building two layouts. Most of my engines and rolling-stock are by MTH, Atlas O, Weaver and Sunset – with only a couple of recent Lionel items. But reading the OGR Forum, Switcher Saturday, and memories of my childhood Lionel trains made me realize that something was missing. That is, a genuine locomotive made by the “original” Lionel Corporation (when it was run by JLC) in Hillside, New Jersey – with a label on the bottom saying “Made in U. S. of America – The Lionel Corporation, N. Y.”

Naturally, I would have liked something spectacular, such as a “mint” pre-war Hudson, but I was not prepared to spend the money that would require, so I began shopping for smaller, less expensive locomotives – such as a switcher. And since I’m particular, it had to be in exceptional condition.

The Lionel 1615 0-4-0 switcher that I came up with last weekend is shown below. One photo compares it, I think very favorably, with my modern MTH Premier 0-4-0 switcher. According to the seller, it had very little run time and had not been run for many years. It was stiff, so I rotated the drivers a bit before giving it a brief test run. I had intended to run whatever locomotive I bought, but his advice was not to do so. I like this little locomotive and it has replaced my beautiful Atlas O USRA 0-6-0 switcher on a siding on my layout. So, I would like the experts at Switcher Saturday to weigh in on whether or not to run it…

One more comment. I have noticed that the rods and drivers operate symmetrically – that is, they are not “quartered” but rather the left and right sides are phased together. Is that correct?

MELGAR

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Last edited by MELGAR

 

Yay! SWSat is on!

Last Saturday I met up with Tom P/MNCW, Melgar,  Arnold,  Leroof, CoachJoe, Railride  and a few other card carrying SWSaters at the Westchester Toy Train show. It was really nice to meet people I only correspond with here on line. It was really great I am so happy I had a chance to go.

I took the train to the show because the venue is a block or two from the White Plains MetroNorth Station. By far the most fun way to get to a train show. 

 

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Tom P directed me to the most interesting dealer and I was able to bundle some restoration candidate Pre war Switchers and boxcabs for a very good price.

Here is an Ives 3254 that goes nicely with my Lionel 152. That is a Karl Bub German Prewar gondola in the back.AE9890F6-02BC-43F4-8E42-EA21E0446B42B217B7BD-258F-49A9-9767-9DB554F1A99D

This one is an American Flyer 3019 that needed some bodywork. I wish I took a before picture. It had been driven full speed into a brick at the roofline. The whole tin body above the cast running boards was warped from the impact and the front of the roof above the windows was completely flattened. A half hour later with some wood blocks and jewelers mallets it looks much better. It is pulling a scale express reefer and looks pretty good as at least a scale height match.AAF5CF45-15E8-4D3E-A953-4114A6BE9BB03DA27EEB-2670-44A4-9F06-9E876B7B2B49

 

These surprisingly are both are operable and very clean inside for two toy engines approaching 100 years old. They will be my under the tree power this year. 

Have a great weekend guys. Can’t wait to see what you post. 

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Last edited by Silver Lake

Happy Switcher Saturday everyone. Great pictures so far!

Mel/MELGAR- I think that's a very clean looking 1615. They are nice little locomotives and I have at least one of them.

Here is my prior, prior layout...that's me back around the 1990's with a 1615 right next to my hand, going down grade.

I never really noticed the quartering. 

It was nice meeting several of you last Sunday in White Plains...keep in mind the next Toy & Train Show is in January. I would think Arnold would post a topic as it gets closer. 

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Tom

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Mel I'm not a collector so my vote would be to run it.  That being said I believe you run with a command system now so this little conventional runner would alter your operations.  Would that lessen the likelihood you would choose that switcher during an operating session?  Weather you choose to run it or just admire it as a static display should be determined by what will bring you the most enjoyment.

coach joe posted:

Mel I'm not a collector so my vote would be to run it.  That being said I believe you run with a command system now so this little conventional runner would alter your operations.  Would that lessen the likelihood you would choose that switcher during an operating session?  Weather you choose to run it or just admire it as a static display should be determined by what will bring you the most enjoyment.

Good morning, Joe,

I run conventional only and am not planning to become a Lionel postwar collector. And, this engine was not expensive, so its monetary value is not a factor in whether I run it or not. It seems to have been run very little, so I'm just thinking that I should keep it that way.

MELGAR

Guess I am on the same wavelength as Lee. While he was posting his above video. I was making mine, of the same switcher.

Do you think I have an obsession?

That's a 4 switcher lash up hauling coal.

I cannot resist buying one of these at a train show if it's offered for a good price. IMO, the Postwar Lionel ATSF NW2, especially the bell-ringer model, is the very best Postwar switcher. Arnold

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Good morning fellow Swsat friends!!  Great photosas usual and I really enjoy them all, especially today the Christmas tree photos!  

Rich - thanks for getting us rolling!  Have fun running trains with your friend tonight! 

Arnold I think that Camelback can be considered a switcher as long as it is doing switcher duties.

Here are some random photos of switchers doing work around Patsburg.  Sorry but some may be re - peats.   Enjoy the holiday season everyone!!   IMG_3862IMG_3865IMG_3926IMG_3920IMG_3985

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MNCW posted:

PS- I picked up 2 of my first Dorfan cars at that show. Very cool. I need to take a picture of them soon. 

Tom

Tom. There are some very neat looking Dorfan passenger cars with riders cast into the windows that I have always admired. 

B0A564D9-0BE2-43D1-9C14-AFD90230747C5BC2DA85-1C56-46CE-9303-8134BABCA565For some reason Dorfan seems to have been the only manufacturer to have done this. I don’t know why because it looks good to have bodies in the seats and shows a prosperous Railroad. 

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MELGAR posted:
coach joe posted:

Mel I'm not a collector so my vote would be to run it.  That being said I believe you run with a command system now so this little conventional runner would alter your operations.  Would that lessen the likelihood you would choose that switcher during an operating session?  Weather you choose to run it or just admire it as a static display should be determined by what will bring you the most enjoyment.

Good morning, Joe,

I run conventional only and am not planning to become a Lionel postwar collector. And, this engine was not expensive, so its monetary value is not a factor in whether I run it or not. It seems to have been run very little, so I'm just thinking that I should keep it that way.

MELGAR

Hi Mel/MELGAR- If it were me, I would run it and maybe put some white grease on those gears. Either way, enjoy. 

Tom 

Hey... SWSAT is happenin'! Now how cool is that?

Got several things to share this time 'round.

MELGAR:

'Ya gotta do what gives you the jollies. IF the pride of ownership of such a pristine little switcher makes you smile (probably one of the cleanest examples I've seen!)... then by all means keep it pristine! IF, on the other hand, you decide to run it and enjoy it in that way... it's the right thing to do for you! There is no "wrong way" here when it comes to enjoying your trains in a way you want to enjoy them.

All:

Well, let's see... I've modified/assembled FOUR HO Atlas Classic "Gold" undec engines this week: Two GP7' and two RS-1's. These for my upcoming HO scale layout. Both of these are switchers... but of the "road" variety...

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AND... since I'm on a roll here... thought I might repost (from years ago) a pic of my HO scale Lindberg Lines collections of switchers. These were manufactured in the early 1960's.

The switchers...

MySWs

And... since I AM really rolling... here's a pic of a replica set I picked up some years ago that represents a stand-in for my original Lindberg Lines set...

MySet1sm

My original set was long ago played to death, though three of the original cars survived: My CN&W gondola, my CN&W boxcar, and my SFRD reefer. That trio from my original set have served dutifully on every HO scale model railroad layout I've ever built to date, and are they're waiting patiently to be placed in service on my upcoming (final?) layout.

All fer this 'un!

Andre

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Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Guess I am on the same wavelength as Lee. While he was posting his above video. I was making mine, of the same switcher.

Do you think I have an obsession?

That's a 4 switcher lash up hauling coal.

I cannot resist buying one of these at a train show if it's offered for a good price. IMO, the Postwar Lionel ATSF NW2, especially the bell-ringer model, is the very best Postwar switcher. Arnold

Arnold, every time I see a bell ringer at a train show, I wonder, "Can I live with all the ringing in my ears?" So far I have declined, but I may still end up with one in the future - I love the engine, in fact I love my 623 non-bell-ringer. I guess I could get one and just disable the bell - did you? 

I also bought this 6220 shell for $1 at a train show. It was warped, stripped of all it's goodies, had no chassis, wheels or motor, but I just loved the look, so now it's my computer desk "ornament" 

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Happy SWSat!

Great stuff so far everyone.

Melgar- I'd run it. Service it, check for any frayed wiring, put it on the track and hit the throttle. These old beauties were built to run. Just look at how many survive and are still going strong. But it's your railroad so your rules.

This week I thought I'd go a little sideways. I was channel surfing last night watching 5 shows at once (drives my wife nuts), and stumbled across an episode of "Mysteries of the Abandoned". They were featuring an old logging operation up in northern Maine. The Eagle Lake Tramway was build in 1902 to move logs between two lakes, against the flow of the rivers. Very cool idea and amazing engineering for its day. The tram was steam powered and ran on a 6000' cable between the lakes. There are also a couple of abandoned steam loco's in the area too. 

Here's a neat video of the history of the tram.

Any my 623 contribution for this week.

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Have a great weekend.

Bob

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Thank you for the pictures Johan.  Is that a stock piece or did you build or modify it beyond your usual excellent weathering job?

Flysplanes-Playtrains, have you tried adding weight over the wheels that derail.  I believe many of the K-line switchers have a tendency to derail because the torque of traction tire drive wheels on the in-board axles of the the trucks tend to to cause the trucks to rear up a little causing the forward axle to derail at track imperfections.  A little weight over the forward axle may help.

coach joe posted:

Thank you for the pictures Johan.  Is that a stock piece or did you build or modify it beyond your usual excellent weathering job?

Flysplanes-Playtrains, have you tried adding weight over the wheels that derail.  I believe many of the K-line switchers have a tendency to derail because the torque of traction tire drive wheels on the in-board axles of the the trucks tend to to cause the trucks to rear up a little causing the forward axle to derail at track imperfections.  A little weight over the forward axle may help.

Joe: Thank you. That is a MTH car and i do it only weathering job.

Johan

MNCW, nice find! the IVES 3254  and the AF 3019 are a great souvenirs of the Westchester & Train show last Saturday. By your description of the historic accident of the AF 3019 (but you had to see the other guy!) you have made a magical recovery! Revived with scars of great character.The headlight on this engine is so classically placed. Really like the look.

nice to have met you.

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