Switcher Saturday: 2019-January-12

Happy SWSAT! 

Good morning Rich! Thanks for starting SWSAT.

This Atlas O model of New Haven Railroad EMD SW-1200 diesel-electric switcher 649 was announced in October 2002.

The first two pictures were taken on one of the truss bridges on my 12-by-8 layout completed in 2004. The third picture was taken on my nearly completed 10-by-5 layout which is the subject of an article now in print in OGR Run 304. I am building the New Haven control tower behind the engine from a kit by Forum sponsor TW Trainworx.

MELGAR

Post #2

Yesterday marked the 118th anniversary of a train accident at the Hoosac Railroad Tunnel in western Massachusetts which took the lives of my Great Grandfather (Orrin Kingsley, fireman) and his brother Archie (engineer).

I've managed to dig up a couple pictures of the engine, and the accident is well documented in a book titled "Hoot Toot and Whistle" by Bernard Carman.

The engine (BHT&W #10) was a Grant 2-8-0 Consolidation, and at the time the railroad was a narrow-gauge - so "close enough to critter" in my book - hence worthy of a SWSAT post.

Happy belated New Year everyone! The North Branch & Lamington Christmas Division has been put to rest for another year... but the mainline is always working. This morning, putting a new Lionel SW 7 through a shakedown. I'd love to see this in Strasburg paint.

This is a Legacy engine, with Bluetooth. Running in Bluetooth/Lionchief mode was interesting, and kind of fun. Still like Legacy, as you have finer control over the horn. The only thing I don't like is the generic 'cow horn' - I was hoping for a higher pitch horn like on the GP-9 from 1996.

A bonafied prototype "tinplate" locomotive :

Rusty

Still working hard after all these years!

Yay! SWSat is on!

We are off to a great start this AM. I am enjoying the posts so far. Here is my contribution this week of my current project a circa 1949 Thomas Industries B&O C16a in 2 rail O. The hooper is a model someone else scratchbuilt of the one Wagontop hopper B&O made. I want to find a matching wagontop caboose, boxcar and stock car to go with it. It is funny to start with the hard to find car. Apologies for my messy workbench. Planning to get some work indoors this weekend during the snow. 

@Rich  Murnane interesting story about your ancestors. The one train related Christmas gift I received was this book about the building of the Hoosac Tunnel from a friend who knows I like trains and history. I really have just started it and considering it clocks in over 600 pages I have a ways to go. 

Have a great weekend and stay safe. 

Happy Switcher Saturday To All.

A short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AQqPp0z4k

Silver Lake posted:

 

 

@Rich  Murnane interesting story about your ancestors. The one train related Christmas gift I received was this book about the building of the Hoosac Tunnel from a friend who knows I like trains and history. I really have just started it and considering it clocks in over 600 pages I have a ways to go.

 

hey Andy @Silver Lake - check out page #453, you'll see a story of my great great grandfather, Francis Kingsley, who was Orrin and Archie's father.

Attached are a couple pictures that I took a number of years ago.  First is from South Charleston, OH off the bike path at  Southwest Landmark, and the second one is near Hamilton, OH(I believe it is ex-PRR).  I might have posted these before, I forget...

Murnane posted:

Silver Lake posted:

 

 

@Rich  Murnane interesting story about your ancestors. The one train related Christmas gift I received was this book about the building of the Hoosac Tunnel from a friend who knows I like trains and history. I really have just started it and considering it clocks in over 600 pages I have a ways to go.

 

hey Andy @Silver Lake - check out page #453, you'll see a story of my great great grandfather, Francis Kingsley, who was Orrin and Archie's father.

@Murnane Wow! Quite a story. It is amazing his sons were willing to follow their father in that line of work. 

I don’t have any Giant Powder but I do have some similar Hercules Powder. 

Happy SWSat!
Great stuff by everyone so far.

I finally got my FM H10-44 home and unpacked. It is a MTH model with Proto sounds. Looks like new and was packed with the original foam on the front and rear handrails and under the chassis. The previous owner even had a note in the box about when the battery was removed and the make and model.

Lots of info about them here

Here's the prototype that was owned by the PRR. They owned 55 of these units over the years.

I love the long rear hood on these, looks like they should be pulling a tender behind them.

Have a good weekend all. At least the snow is staying south of LI. Stay safe if you are in the path of the storm.

Bob

Murnane posted:

Post #2

Yesterday marked the 118th anniversary of a train accident at the Hoosac Railroad Tunnel in western Massachusetts which took the lives of my Great Grandfather (Orrin Kingsley, fireman) and his brother Archie (engineer).

That is a very interesting but somewhat sad post, Rich. Certainly a significant family history. I'm going to look for the books at the upcoming show in West Springfield, MA.

MELGAR

Happy SWSAT everyone!  Really nice photos guys!   Rich - I love it that you got your father's boxcab up and running .... very cool!

Here are some new fresh photos of my C&O  0-8-0 ( Lionel ) and a B&O SW9 doing some work in Patsburg.  I weathered all the freight cars ( except the Budweiser reffer ) in these photos, however not the locos ( perhaps one day ). There's one photo showing the stark contrast between the weathered junk gondola and the clean shine of the 0-8-0 ( not prototypical ). In another photo a N&W J class streaks by, in the opposite direction, pulling the Fast Mail.   It's always fun to come up with new scenic scenarios for the switching fleet. I hope everyone has a terrific weekend, and if you are in the path of the snow storm, stay safe!  

Rich that Boxcab looks great. Got one on my someday list.

Wabash 0-6-0 #526 Chicago 1948

#527 chicago 1938

#534 unknown date and place

Wreck train passing through town...

Tom

RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!
Great stuff by everyone so far.

I finally got my FM H10-44 home and unpacked. It is a MTH model with Proto sounds. Looks like new and was packed with the original foam on the front and rear handrails and under the chassis. The previous owner even had a note in the box about when the battery was removed and the make and model.

Lots of info about them here

Here's the prototype that was owned by the PRR. They owned 55 of these units over the years.

I love the long rear hood on these, looks like they should be pulling a tender behind them.

Have a good weekend all. At least the snow is staying south of LI. Stay safe if you are in the path of the storm.

Bob

 

It is amazing how many engines are out there and for sale that were never run or only run a tiny bit. I encounter them all the time on Ebay, and often at a fraction of their original price. I have picked up some incredible bargains that way over the years  apparently, I am not the only one who buys an engine and then runs it once or twice, only to put it on the shelf .

I see you East Coasters are getting some wet weather of various kinds this weekend. Out here in SoCal, we have rain today with more storms lined up over the Pacific to move in during the upcoming week. This makes us very happy!

Stay dry and run your trains; that’s what I will be doing.

Happy Switcher Saturday everyone. Nice posts everyone.

Rich- Thanks for sharing your family's interesting history with us and Andy/Silverlake's book looks like a nice recap of the tunnel's history. 

My contribution is my "old" prewar Pennsy #228 alongside a Pennsy cabin car. 

Tom 

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday To All.

A short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AQqPp0z4k

 

Gorgeous as usual, Johan.

In view of the pending snow storm, MOW superintendent Kilo Watts ( a powerful man ) has directed a snow fighting team of men and machinery to higher altitudes.  A videographer captured the snow fighting train ( not yet in snow territory )  power by two GP9s  on the way up the mountain, as the rotary operator checks the rotary's blade rotation.   An ALCO FA2 B unit, trailing the rotary, powers the rotary's powerful blade. 

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday To All.

A short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6AQqPp0z4k

 

Gorgeous as usual, Johan.

Arnold: Thank you.

Johan

DaveP posted:

Happy belated New Year everyone! The North Branch & Lamington Christmas Division has been put to rest for another year... but the mainline is always working. This morning, putting a new Lionel SW 7 through a shakedown. I'd love to see this in Strasburg paint.

This is a Legacy engine, with Bluetooth. Running in Bluetooth/Lionchief mode was interesting, and kind of fun. Still like Legacy, as you have finer control over the horn. The only thing I don't like is the generic 'cow horn' - I was hoping for a higher pitch horn like on the GP-9 from 1996.

When you use Bluetooth do you hear the RPM level change as you throttle forward or reverse? My SW7 with Bluetooth just stays in the idle mode as it goes along. Everything else seems to work like it supposed to.

trumptrain posted:

In view of the pending snow storm, MOW superintendent Kilo Watts ( a powerful man ) has directed a snow fighting team of men and machinery to higher altitudes.  A videographer captured the snow fighting train ( not yet in snow territory )  power by two GP9s  on the way up the mountain, as the rotary operator checks the rotary's blade rotation.   An ALCO FA2 B unit, trailing the rotary, powers the rotary's powerful blade. 

Patrick,

  I was "shocked" to see Superintendent Kilo Watts came in early for the storm. I've heard stories that some of his co-workers call him "Low energy Kilo." He is famous for showing up to work without long pants, so much so, he's been told "No more shorts." 

Tom 

RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!
Great stuff by everyone so far.

I finally got my FM H10-44 home and unpacked. It is a MTH model with Proto sounds. Looks like new and was packed with the original foam on the front and rear handrails and under the chassis. The previous owner even had a note in the box about when the battery was removed and the make and model.

Lots of info about them here

Here's the prototype that was owned by the PRR. They owned 55 of these units over the years.

I love the long rear hood on these, looks like they should be pulling a tender behind them.

Have a good weekend all. At least the snow is staying south of LI. Stay safe if you are in the path of the storm.

Bob

 

I am looking for another one to make an H-12-44. The difference between the two is only the sets of vents on the high hood... And of course the road number.

                                                                       LIRR 170

Pat, I love your train story. Some of our Forum friends will need your snow plows to clear the right of way very soon, if not already. Also, your video shows a very nice tunnel portal, bridge and your always gorgeous autumn scenery.

SIRT, I really like the livery of your LIRR switcher, which looks like a heavy duty, hard working and always reliable engine. Arnold

My switcher contribution is this classic, taking diesel fuel:

Since we are getting snow right now, up to 6", I thought I would put the plow on the layout and clean it off.

Update:  6.6" of snow and another 1-2" overnight :-)

Another update 1/13/19:  Total of 10" of the white stuff!!!

TNKMARX:  We got about 8 inches here (KCMO).  I have that PRR snow plow.  Its an interesting car.

Dave Warburton posted:

RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!
Great stuff by everyone so far.

I finally got my FM H10-44 home and unpacked. It is a MTH model with Proto sounds. Looks like new and was packed with the original foam on the front and rear handrails and under the chassis. The previous owner even had a note in the box about when the battery was removed and the make and model.

Lots of info about them here

Here's the prototype that was owned by the PRR. They owned 55 of these units over the years.

I love the long rear hood on these, looks like they should be pulling a tender behind them.

Have a good weekend all. At least the snow is staying south of LI. Stay safe if you are in the path of the storm.

Bob

 

It is amazing how many engines are out there and for sale that were never run or only run a tiny bit. I encounter them all the time on Ebay, and often at a fraction of their original price. I have picked up some incredible bargains that way over the years  apparently, I am not the only one who buys an engine and then runs it once or twice, only to put it on the shelf .

I see you East Coasters are getting some wet weather of various kinds this weekend. Out here in SoCal, we have rain today with more storms lined up over the Pacific to move in during the upcoming week. This makes us very happy!

Stay dry and run your trains; that’s what I will be doing.

 

So true Dave. The second hand market is flooded with excellent stuff. My problem is that I keep finding stuff I want (and buy), to the point that I'm out of space and the CEO is running out of patience with me. Better lay low and off the interweb for a while.

I had my eye on a nice D&H RS-3...must.....resist....the force......

NS1975 posted:

DaveP posted:

Happy belated New Year everyone! The North Branch & Lamington Christmas Division has been put to rest for another year... but the mainline is always working. This morning, putting a new Lionel SW 7 through a shakedown. I'd love to see this in Strasburg paint.

This is a Legacy engine, with Bluetooth. Running in Bluetooth/Lionchief mode was interesting, and kind of fun. Still like Legacy, as you have finer control over the horn. The only thing I don't like is the generic 'cow horn' - I was hoping for a higher pitch horn like on the GP-9 from 1996.

When you use Bluetooth do you hear the RPM level change as you throttle forward or reverse? My SW7 with Bluetooth just stays in the idle mode as it goes along. Everything else seems to work like it supposed to.

I haven't experienced that issue - RPMs' increaed/decreased as expected.

What was interesting, in Bluetooth you can control the volume of the horn, bell, crew talk and motor independently of each other - and those settings hold in Legacy mode. When the loco switches out of Bluetooth when you close the app, a 'ding' is heard and it picks up Legacy. My only complaint is that you can't control the horn pitch on the loco via the app - it doesn't vary the 'cow horn'.

RSJB18 posted:

So true Dave. The second hand market is flooded with excellent stuff. My problem is that I keep finding stuff I want (and buy), to the point that I'm out of space and the CEO is running out of patience with me. Better lay low and off the interweb for a while.

I had my eye on a nice D&H RS-3...must.....resist....the force......

I love my NYC LC+ RS-3, the thing is fantastic and has become somewhat of my "workhorse" engine (when in doubt, run the RS-3), it really looks awesome pulling my baby madison passenger cars.

I was thinking about doing some sort of 1 page "about" document, including a picture like the below and laminating it, and bringing it to the club shows to show people when I'm running it with the passenger cars.

So, I very much would recommend the engine, it's a lot of fun and priced pretty well.

Another fantastic week of Switcher Saturday, thanks to all of you who came out and joined, or just stopped by for a visit and peeked at all the great contributions.

We've got about 6" of white stuff on the ground this morning, looks pretty and I'm guessing the kids will be off school for at least a couple days.  I still have my Angela Trotta-Thomas Christmas flag flying here at the house, it looks nice with the snow in the background.

Have a great weekend and if you're getting weather stay safe!

Best...Rich

Murnane posted:

Another fantastic week of Switcher Saturday, thanks to all of you who came out and joined, or just stopped by for a visit and peeked at all the great contributions.

We've got about 6" of white stuff on the ground this morning, looks pretty and I'm guessing the kids will be off school for at least a couple days.  I still have my Angela Trotta-Thomas Christmas flag flying here at the house, it looks nice with the snow in the background.

Have a great weekend and if you're getting weather stay safe!

Best...Rich

 

For us, a snow day is a train day to have fun and celebrate. No snow in Northern Westchester County, NY.

DaveP posted:

NS1975 posted:

DaveP posted:

Happy belated New Year everyone! The North Branch & Lamington Christmas Division has been put to rest for another year... but the mainline is always working. This morning, putting a new Lionel SW 7 through a shakedown. I'd love to see this in Strasburg paint.

This is a Legacy engine, with Bluetooth. Running in Bluetooth/Lionchief mode was interesting, and kind of fun. Still like Legacy, as you have finer control over the horn. The only thing I don't like is the generic 'cow horn' - I was hoping for a higher pitch horn like on the GP-9 from 1996.

When you use Bluetooth do you hear the RPM level change as you throttle forward or reverse? My SW7 with Bluetooth just stays in the idle mode as it goes along. Everything else seems to work like it supposed to.

I haven't experienced that issue - RPMs' increaed/decreased as expected.

What was interesting, in Bluetooth you can control the volume of the horn, bell, crew talk and motor independently of each other - and those settings hold in Legacy mode. When the loco switches out of Bluetooth when you close the app, a 'ding' is heard and it picks up Legacy. My only complaint is that you can't control the horn pitch on the loco via the app - it doesn't vary the 'cow horn'.

So, I have only recently got two new Legacy engines with Bluetooth. I don't have the Cab2 or Cab1 remote with a Legacy base. I have only been using the LC app and the universal remote to run the locomotives as advertised. I have now ordered a Legacy system because I have a hunch that if the engine is not started by a Legacy system it will not act right when you truly only use the universal remote and app. We shall see if this is indeed the case. Thanks for your comments.

Murnane posted:

Another fantastic week of Switcher Saturday, thanks to all of you who came out and joined, or just stopped by for a visit and peeked at all the great contributions.

We've got about 6" of white stuff on the ground this morning, looks pretty and I'm guessing the kids will be off school for at least a couple days.  I still have my Angela Trotta-Thomas Christmas flag flying here at the house, it looks nice with the snow in the background.

Have a great weekend and if you're getting weather stay safe!

Best...Rich

 

Speaking of Angela  Trotta Thomas, Lionel’s new three-car Baby Madison Christmas passenger set featuring her artwork is beautiful! The catalog depiction does not do it justice. I saw the set on display at my hobby shop, and it was a sale even though I never intended on getting it. If you get a chance to see these cars in the flesh, you will be impressed!

The world needs more 0-4-0, 0-4-0T, and similar little steaming teapots.  Affordable ones  in O27 if it can be arranged.