Switcher Saturday December 9, 2023

MTH PS2 PRR VO1000:

hauling coal and oil to keep us warm in the Northeast during the winter months:

Arnold

TALES OF THE DOCKSIDER

Good morning, SwSat nation!  Bob, love your new switcher.  I don’t have an FM in my collection, so I have a big hole to fill!

It’s been awhile since I featured famous NYC 0-6-0T shop switcher X-8688, so I’m going back to the archives for older photos of her in action.  She’s pictured handling her crew’s favorite assignment, hauling disabled larger locomotives back to the shop, while their haughty crews can only look on helplessly.  For SwSat fans that have not met X-8688’s crew, they are: Joe Safetyvalvoni, engineer, Vasik Semaphorowski, fireman and Mick O’Depot, brakeman.

John

Another great start Bob Enjoy the weekend

Thank you Bob for all these weeks getting us started with my favorite thread. Patrick is an excellent choice, (thanks Patrick for helping in keeping this enjoyable thread moving forward).

My favorite mighty steamer on an early morning switch duty.

Gene

Happy Switcher Saturday! Thanks for kicking things off once again,  @RSJB18 . That is a beautiful acquisition, certainly worthy of a momentary lapse in spending restraint.  

Here are some more shots of my oldest command engine, an MTH GP38, which is often used for switching duties on my pike.  -

A New Haven RS3 spots a car for the Connecticut Hard Rubber Corp.in the New Haven section of my layout. A big "Thank You" to everyone who jumped in to keep this subject going.

@RSJB18 wrote,

Despite my best efforts to keep the credit card in my wallet, it fell out again last week and another switcher has joined the fleet. Maybe if Trainz stopped running special deals......

Trainz has lately kept my wallet on the thin side too... I plan to post my latest purchase on next week's SWSAT. Meanwhile:

New Haven Railroad Alco S-2 diesel switcher #0617 is an MTH Premier model (20-20588-1, MSRP $449.95) delivered in 2016 with PS3. Photos and videos show it running on my 10’-by-5’ model railroad.

Twenty-two Alco S-2s were built for the New Haven Railroad (Class DEY-5) during 1943 and 1944. They had a 1,000 horsepower, turbocharged 6-cylinder 539T engine and a tractive effort of 57,500 pounds. On the New Haven, S-2s were used for heavy switching and to replace 2-6-0, 2-8-0 and 2-8-2 steam locomotives on local freights. Many New Haven S-2s were still running when Penn Central took over in 1969 and three made it into the 1976 formation of Conrail.

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

@RSJB18 wrote,

Despite my best efforts to keep the credit card in my wallet, it fell out again last week and another switcher has joined the fleet. Maybe if Trainz stopped running special deals......

Trainz has lately kept my wallet on the thin side too... I plan to post my latest purchase on next week's SWSAT. Meanwhile:

Probably 60-75% of my collection came from Scott. Sometimes I think I'm single-handedly keeping him in business.

Thanks for all you have done Bob!

Christmas Snoopy train is up & running.  Its an 0-8-0, so a switcher at heart!

Have a great SwSat everyone!

Really enjoying the new Railking RF&P on the layout.  I’m happy with the 3D spark arrestors.  Makes it look closer to the real ones I remember as a child.

Happy Switcher Saturday from Finland. A few more pictures of my new Atlas Premier MEC GE 44 tonner. It fits my layout perfectly. At some point, the AVR version will also be ready.

Good morning fellow switcher fans!  

First off,  I'm extremely grateful to Bob for keeping this thread moving forward since John ( JHZ563 ) left.  Bob has been the one to make sure someone was at the throttle each week to keep the trains rolling.  MELGAR has certainly done a good amount of stepping in when Bob was not available too!  Having been the host of another OGR tread, " Team Track Tuesday" which ran for 2.5 years,  I understand, through experience,  the investment of time involved in keeping a thread going.  I'm happy and honored to be the new host of Switcher Saturday. I've been a regular participant almost from the very beginning of this thread which was created by Rich Murnane.  I'm also grateful to John ( JHZ563 ) for stepping up and being SWSAT yardmaster for several years.   I'm sure from time to time I may have to call on Bob, Mel, or one of our regular contributors to start this wonderful thread when I'm not available to do so.  So without any further ado let's see those switchers!!!  

This weekend I have five gigs!  One last night, two today, and two tomorrow.  Plus a busy week of conducting concerts and teaching too.  Yes  tis the season!   So no new pics for today, however, I've dug into the archives for these photos.   Have a terrific weekend everyone!!  

A C&O 0-8-0 is in the hole as a J class N&W pulling a freight steams through town.  A B&O SW9 rolls by on the far track.  

Another view of the action at Butler Junction.

Up on the Mountain Division a switch crew takes a break.  The cold temps accompanied by a lite dusting of snow froze some switches and the crew is giving the MOW fellers time to remedy the problematic turnouts.  Engineer Buzzy Hawkins, brakeman Lou Riley stand on the 44 tonners deck, as brakeman Lanny Specter stands on the ground.  Can't figure out what o'l conductor Greasy Dawson is doing as he stands off to the right in the brush.

Buzzy yells " Come on Greasy we gotta go!"  Out the brush ( not in this frame ) Greasy yells back " That's what I'm doing!"  

@MELGAR posted:

@RSJB18 wrote,

Despite my best efforts to keep the credit card in my wallet, it fell out again last week and another switcher has joined the fleet. Maybe if Trainz stopped running special deals......

Trainz has lately kept my wallet on the thin side too... I plan to post my latest purchase on next week's SWSAT. Meanwhile:

MELGAR

@RSJB18 posted:

Probably 60-75% of my collection came from Scott. Sometimes I think I'm single-handedly keeping him in business.

@RSJB18,

Bob - You are not the only one who thinks they're keeping Scott in business... I'm the other one. The recent offerings from the largest manufacturers, and their prices, just don't fit my layouts. For me, there is much more to choose from on Trainz, and the prices are more sensible. Every engine I've bought from Trainz has been exactly as advertised.

MELGAR

Thank you Bob for keeping this thread going!  Thank you Patrick for agreeing to step in and Mel for agreeing to fill in!!

I thought I would show this conventional Lionel PRR RS3 I bought from a forum member a few years ago.  It doesn’t see much action, but I did pull it off a nearby shelf to check the track and power since I had to move a lot of stuff to get the Polar Express out.  Here it is on the under construction Christmas layout with the PE and a little HO train in the background.  I apologize for the poor lighting.  The lighting in this basement room is bad, so I used the iPhone 10 flash.

@RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!

Welcome back for the next chapter of the best weekly thread on the OGR Forum.

A brief pause for some business. I will probably be stepping down from the lead role in the tower after this week. It's fun, but also time consuming. I would prefer to have new scenes and photos to share each week but I just don't have the time lately, so with no objections, Patrick @trumpettrain will take over the yardmaster duties starting next week. An honorable mentioned to Mel @ melgar for also stepping up.  I have reached out to John @ JHZ but I have not heard back from him.

For the uninitiated- Switcher Saturday is a fun place to jump into the engineers or fireman's seat on a GEEP, ALCO, End-cab, 0-4-0 steamer or saddle tanker, Plymouth, or even a Track-mobile. The thread is open to all gauges, shapes, and sizes, foreign or domestic, old or new, steam, diesel, or electric, so feel free to share what you like.
Just make sure you own the pictures you are posting, or get permission to post from the owner.

Back to the switchers......

Despite my best efforts to keep the credit card in my wallet, it fell out again last week and another switcher has joined the fleet. Maybe if Trainz stopped running special deals......

I grabbed a Lionel New York Central Fairbanks-Moorse H-16-44. I've liked these engines for a long time. The styling of all of the early Raymond Lowey diesels are great. I especially like the round cab windows.  This is a TMCC equipped engine. If I get time to get it on the rails later I post some more pix or a video.

Have a great weekend.

Bob

Thank you for your service! Much appreciated. And welcome Trumptrain and great thanks to Patrick, as well!

Here's a nice one at Illinois Railway Museum.

Switcher Saturday was the primary reason my interest in the hobby was revived, so many thanks to Bob and others. I have always loved switchers and given my space limitations I knew that when I was finally inspired by looking at all the forum members layouts to build a small layout switchers would predominate my roster.

Here is my first attempt at Switcher Saturday, just unboxed an MTH H10-44 ATSF Zebra stripe, on my newly completed and wired track, but the scenery is yet to come. The layouts on this forum are tremendous but given my space constraints here in California(no attics, no basements just some garage space) I have humbly began on building my mini empire. It is L shaped, 12 ft by 10ft, middle section is only 2 ft wide.

I am using Atlas O track and switches , flexbed that was recommended by someone on forum that I purchased on eBay. It is a dogbone plan, 0-36 on one side and 0-45 on the other. There is an inside switching section and several sidings. On one end I will build an elevated town section. Thanks to all the members for inspiration, excuse my poor video and photography skills and crude layout but more is to come and much improvement on video skills with time, hopefully.

An enjoyable thread for sure--thanks to all who have made it possible. My 0-6-0 switcher is busy putting together the Coast Daylight in San Francisco. It’s late Autumn and the view from the observation car will be spectacular. California’s fields of plenty include missions, orchards, coast mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Happy Holidays, everyone.

@RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!

Welcome back for the next chapter of the best weekly thread on the OGR Forum.

A brief pause for some business. I will probably be stepping down from the lead role in the tower after this week. It's fun, but also time consuming. I would prefer to have new scenes and photos to share each week but I just don't have the time lately, so with no objections, Patrick @trumpettrain will take over the yardmaster duties starting next week. An honorable mentioned to Mel @ melgar for also stepping up.  I have reached out to John @ JHZ but I have not heard back from him.

For the uninitiated- Switcher Saturday is a fun place to jump into the engineers or fireman's seat on a GEEP, ALCO, End-cab, 0-4-0 steamer or saddle tanker, Plymouth, or even a Track-mobile. The thread is open to all gauges, shapes, and sizes, foreign or domestic, old or new, steam, diesel, or electric, so feel free to share what you like.
Just make sure you own the pictures you are posting, or get permission to post from the owner.

Back to the switchers......

Despite my best efforts to keep the credit card in my wallet, it fell out again last week and another switcher has joined the fleet. Maybe if Trainz stopped running special deals......

I grabbed a Lionel New York Central Fairbanks-Moorse H-16-44. I've liked these engines for a long time. The styling of all of the early Raymond Lowey diesels are great. I especially like the round cab windows.  This is a TMCC equipped engine. If I get time to get it on the rails later I post some more pix or a video.

Have a great weekend.

Bob

Bob, great looking engine, nice find.  Thanks for hosting this thread, it is fun to read every week.  I have been working on a problem switcher that is in my shop right now trying to help me get rid of any leftover hairs I still have up there on my bald head.  assuming the problems get solved, I will post it next week.

Art

@trumpettrain posted

This weekend I have five gigs!  One last night, two today, and two tomorrow.  Plus a busy week of conducting concerts and teaching too.

Wow Patrick, a concert musician, teacher, excellent model railroader and a terrific storyteller. What talent! Thanks again for keeping this going.

Gene

Well hello SWSat fans, here we are on another Saturday!  First I want to thank Bob for his work and effort to keep us going  and to welcome Patrick as he takes over the leadership.  "Welcome aboard"  as we used to say to when I worked for the Navy Dept.  I know Patrick will do a great job.

Now to switchers...well first of all, mine today is NEW (to me) just like Bob's but not nearly as fancy or famous...this one I believe came strictly from the design shop at Lionel's imagination.   Although with the tender it was said to closely resemble a logging engine used by the Northern Pacific RR.  It was offered early in the MPC era, 1972 & 1973,  and they designed first the "Kickapoo" switcher #8200 and then the "Pioneer" switcher #8209. Both engines were first offered in 1972 but as part of different sets.  They are identical except for the number but the #8200 was never shown with a tender.   The #8209 was sold in 1972 as part of the Pioneer Dockside Switcher set and it came with a 4 wheel tender.  In 1973 it became a separate sale item but without a tender.  My wallet / credit card fell open just like Bob's and Mel's but only for $25.

Here is the side view, it is missing a plastic (gold ) bell in front of the last steam dome and it arrived with the balloon stack broken off at the boiler top.  That is no problem to me and I am not sure I want that balloon stack anyway and even if I keep it the fix is a simple glue job to attach it back on.

You can see from this view, that this locomotive has a draw bar not a coupler so its likely this is a 1972 version that was intended to run with a tender.  I have various tenders so that won't be a problem either.  I may even use a Marx tender and use this gal to run some of my Marx freights.

Well Happy Saturday, only a little over 2 weeks before Christmas.  Happy Holidays to all.

Don

Greetings, everyone. Well, better late than never…

I present the newest addition to my diesel fleet (arrived yesterday), a classic Postwar Lionel #2038 Pennsylvania GP7. Put into switching service immediately, it is honored by being chosen to position Santa Claus and his reindeer to lead off the annual “Christmas Goodwill Train.”  Ho-Ho-Ho!  

Some steam switchers, 2 MTH and one Weaver…

painted by me…

Painted this one too…

Future repaint project…

Tom

Hi guys. Another great SWSat running.

Well, as promised, I got my new FM on the rails this evening.

No joy in Mudville though....it took the program from my Cab 1L, sounds and couplers work, but it won't move....😪😪

Looks like it's never been run, or at least it never had a battery in it, the harness was still wrapped in plastic.

Gonna get in touch with Trainz tomorrow and probably have to send it back.

Penn Central 9020 was called in to drag the old girl back to the shop.

@RSJB18 posted:

Hi guys. Another great SWSat running.

Well, as promised, I got my new FM on the rails this evening.

No joy in Mudville though....it took the program from my Cab 1L, sounds and couplers work, but it won't move....😪😪

Looks like it's never been run, or at least it never had a battery in it, the harness was still wrapped in plastic.

Gonna get in touch with Trainz tomorrow and probably have to send it back.

Penn Central 9020 was called in to drag the old girl back to the shop.

In keeping with the season, Bob Cratchit  - Bah… humbug 😡😡😡

Bob, that’s a bummer

@RSJB18 posted:

Hi guys. Another great SWSat running.

Well, as promised, I got my new FM on the rails this evening.

No joy in Mudville though....it took the program from my Cab 1L, sounds and couplers work, but it won't move....😪😪

Looks like it's never been run, or at least it never had a battery in it, the harness was still wrapped in plastic.

Gonna get in touch with Trainz tomorrow and probably have to send it back.

Penn Central 9020 was called in to drag the old girl back to the shop.

Thats too bad the new FM failed Bob. On the good side 9020 is a great looking switcher. I must have missed it if you've ever posted it before. You couldn't have picked a better seller to get a dud from. Trainz customer service is top notch & they always make it right.

Bob - Not that familiar with TMCC, but would it behave like that if the run/program switch were set to program?

Premier GP9

@RSJB18 posted:

Hi guys. Another great SWSat running.

Well, as promised, I got my new FM on the rails this evening.

No joy in Mudville though....it took the program from my Cab 1L, sounds and couplers work, but it won't move....😪😪

Looks like it's never been run, or at least it never had a battery in it, the harness was still wrapped in plastic.

Gonna get in touch with Trainz tomorrow and probably have to send it back.

@RSJB18,

Bob,

Sorry for your disappointment. Trainz will repair it if you send it back. Their listing for your model says it was functional.

MELGAR

Good to hear Patrick has accepted the trainmaster position for SWSAT! Thank you, Patrick! And thanks to Bob and Mel for the many assignments they have completed since John had to leave. He was SWSAT trainmaster when I started here. Looking forward to Patrick's tenure.

As is my wont, I'm posting my SWSAT entry on "SWSUN" due to a problem I had with my little K-Line Southern Iron & Equipment Plymouth switcher. She got a terrible case of the "herky-jerkies" yesterday. She was always a bit unsteady at lowest speed but got pretty much unusable. I "dropped" the drive and noticed that the stock collector carrier conical springs were quite flimsy and the stock retention washers, which are made of PET, had "dished" upward resulting in insufficient downward pressure to keep the collectors in good contact with the center rail. I replaced the stock springs with much more robust SS conical springs and the stock PET washers with steel ones. The photo below shows the original spring and washer on the left and the replacements on the right:

Now she runs better than she did when I got her. Here she is making short work of a string of tankers:

The silver PRR tanker is a diecast from MTH further increasing the load. I hope my experience can help anyone else having the same problem with their K-Line Plymouth switcher.

@RSJB18 posted:

Hi guys. Another great SWSat running.

Well, as promised, I got my new FM on the rails this evening.

No joy in Mudville though....it took the program from my Cab 1L, sounds and couplers work, but it won't move....😪😪

Looks like it's never been run, or at least it never had a battery in it, the harness was still wrapped in plastic.

Gonna get in touch with Trainz tomorrow and probably have to send it back.

Penn Central 9020 was called in to drag the old girl back to the shop.

Sorry to hear about this, Bob. Have you tried turning the motor flywheels by hand to check for binding? If the loco has never been run, sleeve bearings on the motors or wheelsets might have frozen up due to lubricant degradation. If the mechanicals are all turning freely by hand, Trainz can likely replace the requisite electronics.

Sort of got myself into a mess that's going to take a while to work my way out of it.

I wanted at least one Baldwin VO model with their early "Phase 1" (my term) cab that I call a "Flat Top". Essentially ALL HO models of Baldwin VO's have the "Phase 2" cab, which is more rounded above the cab side windows.

The closest cab that replicates a "Flat Top" is found on an ancient Athearn Baldwin S-12. I've toyed with the idea of grafting an Athearn roof onto a Stewart model, and went so far as to purchase the target model: A Stewart VO660.

Here's a comparison picture showing the two. The Stewart VO660 is on the left, the Athearn cab on the right.

However, the Athearn cab isn't actually "correct" either (not flat enough), so it's more of a 'tweener. (In between the Phase 1 "Flat Top" cab and a Phase 2 cab as modeled on the left.)

Long story short: Grafting an Athearn cab to a modified Stewart cab isn't going to work for several reasons I won't go into. Here's the state of my brand new model that I just received a few days ago:

That's an Athearn cab roof on the left. I didn't account for the extra thickness of the cab casting in the roof area. SO... I will now have to fabricate my own cab roof. That opens a new can of worms that I'm having to ponder before I make my next cuts/files. Here's the rough-cut cab temporarily arched and set in place with a Phase 2 cab equipped engine beside it:

The results are showing promise, but I have a loooong way to go yet.

Isn't it silly the extent we model railroaders will go to in the attempt to portray a particular feature that isn't readily available??

Andre

@Krieglok posted:

Future repaint project…

Tom,

What is your plan for the C1?  Is it going to remain a Penny?

@CAPPilot posted:

Tom,

What is your plan for the C1?  Is it going to remain a Penny?

Ron,

Most definitely Pennsy! The existing paint and decals are a bit beat up, so I figured I would repaint it into a fresh coat of black with the proper decals…

Tom

Thanks for all the comments and support.

@MELGAR- Yes- Trainz will make it right for sure. I will go through the reset steps one more time today and search the forum, before declaring it DOA. I even tried a conventional start up but it still won't move.
@Mark V. Spadaro- Yep- checked that first to make sure it was in the right position. It takes the program just fine. Smoke, lights, couplers, sounds all work. Just no movement.
@Dave Ripp.- Thanks Dave. I got the PC SW-1200 over the summer. It's been featured several times. It's a Lionel Legacy/ Bluetooth model. Nice smooth runner but a little noisy since it has a single motor shaft-drive. I detailed that adventure here.
@Bill Swatos- Nice repair work on your Plymouth. I'll tuck that one in the memory bank for the future. The motors spin freely so it's not a grease issue.
@laming- No shame in getting the details right. Should be a nice addition to the fleet.

Got this big east coast storm heading our way today so the basement will be a good place to hide. Gotta get the trains set up under the tree too!

Bob

@Bill Swatos posted:

Good to hear Patrick has accepted the trainmaster position for SWSAT! Thank you, Patrick! And thanks to Bob and Mel for the many assignments they have completed since John had to leave. He was SWSAT trainmaster when I started here. Looking forward to Patrick's tenure.

As is my wont, I'm posting my SWSAT entry on "SWSUN" due to a problem I had with my little K-Line Southern Iron & Equipment Plymouth switcher. She got a terrible case of the "herky-jerkies" yesterday. She was always a bit unsteady at lowest speed but got pretty much unusable. I "dropped" the drive and noticed that the stock collector carrier conical springs were quite flimsy and the stock retention washers, which are made of PET, had "dished" upward resulting in insufficient downward pressure to keep the collectors in good contact with the center rail. I replaced the stock springs with much more robust SS conical springs and the stock PET washers with steel ones. The photo below shows the original spring and washer on the left and the replacements on the right:

Now she runs better than she did when I got her. Here she is making short work of a string of tankers:

The silver PRR tanker is a diecast from MTH further increasing the load. I hope my experience can help anyone else having the same problem with their K-Line Plymouth switcher.

Great job Bill, she’s certainly running smoothly.

@RSJB18 posted:

Got this big east coast storm heading our way today so the basement will be a good place to hide. Gotta get the trains set up under the tree too!

Bob

Great, just what I need; I’ve been house bound since Wednesday.l missed my run assignment at the club layout. I had a great idea for SWSat. The mind was willing but the flesh was weak. Maybe I’ll get up to the train loft today.

@pennsyfan posted:

Great, just what I need; I’ve been house bound since Wednesday.l missed my run assignment at the club layout. I had a great idea for SWSat. The mind was willing but the flesh was weak. Maybe I’ll get up to the train loft today.

Hope you feel better soon Bob.

Bob

@RSJB18- Bob sorry to hear about your problem, unlike many I have never even tried any one of the electronic control systems (I am a 2-wires to my ZW guy) so I have no advice, but I do know how disappointing an experience like this can be after waiting for an anticipated delivery.  I am sure TRANZ will fix it if I can be fixed, their reputation is excellent.  Best of Luck.

For the two "Bob"s worried about the approaching storm...you guys just live in the wrong place.  Its 50 + degree's today and sunny here in central Texas!  It was high 70's yesterday and will be again later in the week.

Great switcher photo's everyone, thanks for posting.

Don