Switcher Saturday August 3, 2024- Triple H Edition

Happy. SWSAT to all. Thanks for getting us rolling today Bob.
Here is my Lionel BB1 set moving the Broadway limited cars to the wash track to get them ready for today’s departure.

My switcher for Saturday, August 3, 2024 is Long Island Rail Road Alco RS-1 #462 by MTH Railking (30-20894-1, MSRP $399.99, PS3), an exclusive and very smooth-running model from Forum sponsor Trainworld in 2022.

RS-1 #462 arrived on the LIRR in 1949. Photographs show it working in Sunnyside Yard in Queens, NY, where my father used to take me to watch trains in the early 1950s. It had a 1000 horsepower diesel engine, weighed 249,000 pounds, produced 34,000 pounds of tractive force at 8 miles-per-hour, and was scrapped in 1977.

Today’s pictures and videos are posted in the order of a trip around my 10’-by-5’ layout.

I place engines onto the layout atop the trestle.

Into the north curve, the train passes New Haven “signal station” SS71 and enters the tunnel’s east portal.

As it exits the tunnel’s the south portal, the train moves onto the truss bridge and over a narrow creek.

Coming off the bridge, the train passes Bridgeport Scrap Metals and behind the Idaho Hotel.

Entering the south curve, the rear of the Idaho Hotel and the Long Hill Fire Department are visible.

The train curves around the south end of town by Corner Deli and the railroad crossing.

As it approaches the station the train is at the center of town and across from Saulena’s Tavern and Mel’s Diner.

The two videos also show the trip around the layout.

MELGAR

Good morning, SwSat Nation!  Thanks, Bob, for taking the throttle on this HHH day.  It’s a good day to hang out by the layout in a cool cellar!

I’m in GE 44 tonner mood today.  The photos and video show my 1/48 Williams D&RGW no. 42 with a train of tankers and the 1/1 Grafton & Upton RR no. 10 (photo by a friend, posted with permission) parked on a siding on the Newport & Narragansett Bay RR  tourist line in RI.

I grew up with a view of the G&U RR from my boyhood home in North Grafton, MA.  No. 10 was one of two 44 tonners operated by the G&U along with an Alco S4.  No. 10 has been cosmetically restored; I don’t know if there are plans to restore it to operating condition.  The N&NB RR has other center cab switchers that are operational and in regular service.

John

Here’s my contribution for today, an MTH Conrail diesel switcher in the video below:

Thanks Bob for getting us rolling down the line this morning.

Arnold

@RSJB18 posted:

Welcome to the HAZY HOT AND HUMID! edition of the best weekly thread on the Forum, SWSat!

... the mighty G-5's eventually gave way to diesels.

So what better to share this week but my LIRR K-line Greenport Scoot set. I bought the original set from Trainz in 2017, which included a MP-15, 3 coaches, and a Alco PA dummy. I have added 2 more coaches that I bought from a forum member a couple years ago.

The LIRR started "scoot service" in the early 1970's as a "push-pull" shuttle to serve various low ridership branches. The Scoot trains used various power units from RS-1's to GP-9's. The ALCO PA's were equipped with cab controls to allow for head end train control.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bob

@RSJB18,

Bob,

Thanks for starting today's Switcher Saturday.

Question - Did LIRR Alco RS-1 #462 ever provide motive power for the Scoot?

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

@RSJB18,

Bob,

Thanks for starting today's Switcher Saturday.

Question - Did LIRR Alco RS-1 #462 ever provide motive power for the Scoot?

MELGAR

Mel- It may have. Here are photos of 461 and 463 that ran the Jamaica to Ronkonkoma train. Interesting to note that 461 is shown in the blue/yellow paint. Not the original black or DGLE.

Here's more photos.

Last weekend, when my New Haven Legacy Atlantic quit on me, the New Haven sent its 0-6-0 LionChief 2.0 New Haven switcher to get the train…..

The Atlantic is now visiting friends in Concord NC……

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

Thanks Bob for your effort and bringing us my favorite thread.
I have my recent purchase of the Lionel LNE Alco S2 #611pulling a NE track cleaning car with a custom removable boxcar that I kit bashed from Labelle. There’s quite a history to the 611 and as of now it’s getting a complete restoration by the Railroad & Industrial Preservation Society.

Gene

Happy Switcher Saturday! Thanks for kicking things off Bob with that nice write up on the LIRR scoot service.   On my pike, this week we saw my LIRR B6 switcher smoking up the rails working passenger service. This little steamer  probably wins the prize for most smoke generated per inch of engine. What a smoker and a great little runner to boot -

@Strap Hanger posted:

This little steamer  probably wins the prize for most smoke generated per inch of engine. What a smoker and a great little runner to boot.

Wow, what a great smoke unit! Did it come with an exhaust fan?🙂 Who made that engine?

Gene

@RSJB18 posted:

Mel- It may have. Here are photos of 461 and 463 that ran the Jamaica to Ronkonkoma train. Interesting to note that 461 is shown in the blue/yellow paint. Not the original black or DGLE.

Here's more photos.

@RSJB18

Bob,

The photos at the links you posted are excellent - a "must see" for LIRR fans. The link below goes to a photo of #462 on the Patchogue to Babylon Scoot.

LIRR #462 - Patchogue-Babylon Scoot

MELGAR

Well, here in SE Pennsy country we are going up to a heat index of 99° in a few hours.  Not as bad as last week.  The crew of this B6 has plenty of water in the cab as they do what switcher crews do best.

K-Line.

Here is a switcher from the Black Hills Central RR in Hill City, SD.  It was not in use but they do run another diesel frequently on the tourist trains.  
Have a great SwSat!

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

Another fine start Bob Agreed Hot and Humid in upstate NY, U.S. Army switcher moving some loads, God Speed All!

Rock Island Legacy GP-7 1265 on my folding tables layout.

@coach joe posted:

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

@coach joe,

This photo is a direct side view of my MTH Premier O Scale New York Central 0-4-0 #901 steam switcher (20-3261-1, PS2, MSRP $599.95, 2007). The MTH website lists it as having 1:48 Scale Proportions. The length of the handrail stanchions (measured along the tilted stanchion) is 5/8-inch (30-inches full scale).

MTH describes the model as a Pennsylvania A5s with the Belpaire firebox replaced by a standard radial firebox. I don’t believe the New York Central ever had this exact type of 0-4-0 locomotive. Photos of a PRR A5s in Pennsy Power by Alvin F. Staufer show the top of the tender’s main body at about the same height as the lower edge of the cab window and the top of the extra coal boards level with the top of the cab side windows. The model’s coal boards are ½-inch in height (24-inches full scale). The tender height is larger than scale in order to make room for the electronics.

MELGAR

@Genemed posted:

Wow, what a great smoke unit! Did it come with an exhaust fan?🙂 Who made that engine?

Gene

It certainly is, Gene and video doesn’t fully capture its true potential since it had been running for about 10 minutes before recording.  When a full 20 drops are added at the beginning of a run session, you can barely see the trains it’s so much smoke! The engine was made by MTH and it’s a ps3 model.  

@coach joe posted:

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

Coach, I would think waist high so they could easily be held on to. That’s my gut talking; I  have nothing to back it up.

My Little Engineer Grandson George, dropped by today to find a surprise: a Lionel Two-Truck Shay lettered for the “Roaring Camp and Big Trees” tourist railroad near Santa Cruz, CA. He and his parents were at the real railroad last week for a ride through the redwoods behind a real steamer.

Today I take a little trip in the wayback machine and present my MTH Rail King Baldwin AS-616 running the work train along side my RMT Bang S4 moving a local fruit express. Both models are running under DCC with Soundtrax Tsunami 4400 decoders.

Well the fella's are getting ready to have GE 44 Ton #1951 start assembling her train for the SRR.  She is a Williams loco and the figure with a lantern is Barclay.

Here she is, earning her keep for SRR and she moves a box car into the yard to couple up to the rest of the train.

Thank you Mel.  Don't ask me why I just didn't measure the height myself.  I guess it just looked so disproportionately high that it didn't occur to me.

Bob, that's what I was thinking the height should be but the scale rail just looked so much higher that I began to wonder.  Mel aligned the switch so that I can get on the right track.  I'll measure the height before I do any modifications to the length.  If it is a scale 30 inches and still looks too high on the traditional size tender I won't alter the length and just come up with another idea for a handrail.

@Strap Hanger posted:

It certainly is, Gene and video doesn’t fully capture its true potential since it had been running for about 10 minutes before recording.  When a full 20 drops are added at the beginning of a run session, you can barely see the trains it’s so much smoke! The engine was made by MTH and it’s a ps3 model.  

Thanks. Even though I have the Base 3 now, I may have to purchase a MTH setup some day. I like many of these MTH engines being released with positive reviews.

Gene

@coach joe posted:

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

Sent you a PM Joe.

Bob

Yes, thank you @RSJB18, Bob, for getting behind the throttle and moving us down the tracks to Switcher Saturday, a top 10 Topic to review. I love the LIRR Diesel you’ve pictured today… Also, there’s many beautiful pictures posted today. Happy Railroading Everyone

Thanks for giving us all an excuse to cool off with our switchers today, Bob! Your prescient observation regarding the addictiveness of BEEPs holds true for me once more. I found this one in Ohio Central livery on Forum sponsor Trainz's website last week and she drew me in:

She has the newer board:

And runs pretty well at just 2V:

The OC livery is probably one of the more unusual offered by RMT. OC consists of 10 short lines in Ohio and western Pennsylvania that connect various industries to the Class I railroads, like NS and CSX. They're currently owned by Genesee and Wyoming. Prior to this, OC was privately held by Jerry Joe Jacobson who also owned a rather extensive collection of antique steam. When he sold OC to G&W in 2008, he kept the steamers and opened a museum in Sugarcreek OH called "Age of Steam Roundhouse Museum" in Sugarcreek OH.

Though not prototypical, I've got her pulling Lionel's FARR#5 PRR consist plus WbB gondola inspired by OC's western PA operations.

Bob - thanks so much for being at the throttle today and last Saturday!!  Your Long Island Scoot set looks terrific with the MP15 providing the power.  Back in 1988 ( yep last century ) I took an AMTRAK to Stamford CT. Going past the Sunnyside yard during a Friday rush hour,  I saw a Long Island commuter train with an ALCO FA control cab unit leading and an end cab switcher pushing ... I assume a MP 15?  It was a neat site to behold!  

I returned home late last night ( exhausted ) after a long drive from Hamilton College in Clinton NY  (  Upstate NY is gorgeous IMHO! ).  The drive was challenging as several HUGE downpours punctuated the journey. All in all I had a fantastic week attending a music conference!!  

I just had time to finally view SwSat at length and of course as always SwSat NEVER disappoints!!  There is so much interestingly wonderful content in this thread  AND all of you who post here are the reason why this thread is a top thread here on the OGR Forum.  

I had a bit of time tonight to create these scenes on the layout and snap some pics.  A helper consist made of a N&W 0-8-0 and a Pennsy A5 have just pushed a long freight train up a 2.5 percent grade.  At the base of the grade, the train's caboose had to be removed and coupled onto the  second locomotive of the helper consist as the consist pushed the train up grade.  Now that the train is on level rail, the helper consist has just shoved the train's caboose back onto the end of trains.   The helpers will now back down the grade to a siding and wait to assist the next freight train.

Brakeman Biff Jones gives hand signals to the hogger in the A5.

Passengers waiting at the commuter station pay no attention to the two old tea kettles who have earned their keep for decades ... and are still earning their keep!

@coach joe posted:

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

First photo shows MTH Premier O Scale New York Central 0-4-0 #901 steam switcher.

Second photo shows postwar Lionel 0-4-0 #1615 steam switcher.

Third photo compares the tenders. The lengths are approximately equal. The MTH tender is taller but the height of the Lionel tender looks closer to scale as shown in photos of 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 steam switchers in Model Railroader Locomotive Cyclopedia – Volume 1 – Steam Locomotives by Linn H. Westcott.

MELGAR

Hey Bob - Love the Hazy Hot and Humid intro 🤣🤣🤣

My wife and I escaped Charleston SC ( 🥵 ) yesterday to spend a little time at my daughters house in Blowing Rock NC ( in the mountains on the side of a ski slope 🥶 ) - it’s a balmy 62 this morning 😊 - just wanted to say Thank You for doing this thread every week - always look forward to it and one of my favorites 👍🏼🚂

@MELGAR, thank you for the comparison Mel.

@trumpettrain posted:

Bob - thanks so much for being at the throttle today and last Saturday!!  Your Long Island Scoot set looks terrific with the MP15 providing the power.  Back in 1988 ( yep last century ) I took an AMTRAK to Stamford CT. Going past the Sunnyside yard during a Friday rush hour,  I saw a Long Island commuter train with an ALCO FA control cab unit leading and an end cab switcher pushing ... I assume a MP 15?  It was a neat site to behold!  

I returned home late last night ( exhausted ) after a long drive from Hamilton College in Clinton NY  (  Upstate NY is gorgeous IMHO! ).  The drive was challenging as several HUGE downpours punctuated the journey. All in all I had a fantastic week attending a music conference!!  

I just had time to finally view SwSat at length and of course as always SwSat NEVER disappoints!!  There is so much interestingly wonderful content in this thread  AND all of you who post here are the reason why this thread is a top thread here on the OGR Forum.  

I had a bit of time tonight to create these scenes on the layout and snap some pics.  A helper consist made of a N&W 0-8-0 and a Pennsy A5 have just pushed a long freight train up a 2.5 percent grade.  At the base of the grade, the train's caboose had to be removed and coupled onto the  second locomotive of the helper consist.  Now the train is on level rail, the helper consist has just shoved the train's caboose back onto the end of trains.   The helpers will now back down the grade to a siding and wait to assist the next freight train.

Brakeman Biff Jones gives hand signals to the hogger in the A5.

Passengers waiting at the commuter station pay no attention to the two old tea kettles who have earned their keep for decades ... and are still earning their keep!

Good to hear you’re home safe and had a good time Pat. Even after a long day, your dedication to this thread shows. Thanks for your effort and the cool scenes again.

Gene

@trumpettrain posted:

Bob - thanks so much for being at the throttle today and last Saturday!!  Your Long Island Scoot set looks terrific with the MP15 providing the power.  Back in 1988 ( yep last century ) I took an AMTRAK to Stamford CT. Going past the Sunnyside yard during a Friday rush hour,  I saw a Long Island commuter train with an ALCO FA control cab unit leading and an end cab switcher pushing ... I assume a MP 15?  It was a neat site to behold!  

I returned home late last night ( exhausted ) after a long drive from Hamilton College in Clinton NY  (  Upstate NY is gorgeous IMHO! ).  The drive was challenging as several HUGE downpours punctuated the journey. All in all I had a fantastic week attending a music conference!!

Passengers waiting at the commuter station pay no attention to the two old tea kettles who have earned their keep for decades ... and are still earning their keep!

Welcome back Patrick. Good to hear you had a nice trip. Upstate NY is a perrrty place.....

@dorfj2 posted:

Hey Bob - Love the Hazy Hot and Humid intro 🤣🤣🤣

My wife and I escaped Charleston SC ( 🥵 ) yesterday to spend a little time at my daughters house in Blowing Rock NC ( in the mountains on the side of a ski slope 🥶 ) - it’s a balmy 62 this morning 😊 - just wanted to say Thank You for doing this thread every week - always look forward to it and one of my favorites 👍🏼🚂

My aunt and uncle lived in Charleston, and we used to go visit every few years. Long Island summer's are HHH but Charleston takes it to a whole other level......
Hope you don't get flooded out by TS Debby. We were down there after Hurricane Hugo in 1989, the high water marks in some of the stores was up to my waist.

@Bill Swatos- As a charter member of K-line Plymouth Addict's Anonymous...... I feel your pain. Sharp looking BEEP.

Bob

@coach joe posted:

Happy SWSAT to all.  Great pictures guys.  I've got a question about 1/1 slope back tenders on many switchers and I'm not sure if I'll get an answer here or need to go to Real Trains.  How high should the rail besides the steps on the slope be?  I bought a scale rail from Lionel to put on a traditional size 0-4-0 so I understand why it's too long but it looks as if the height is a lot higher than I would expect even if it was a scale tender.  Were these railings shoulder height?

First photo shows MTH Railking Imperial Long Island Rail Road 0-6-0 #170 B6sb steam switcher (30-1710-1 scale-sized).

Second photo shows its slope-back tender. On this one, the length of the handrail stanchions is 3/8-inch (18 inches full scale). The tender body is the same as used on the MTH Premier New York Central 0-4-0 #901 steam switcher.

MELGAR