Switcher Saturday Mark II, 01/25/2020!

I took these photos early this week specifically for Switcher Saturday 

Happy Switcher Saturday 

Happy SWSat!

The switch crew brought a pair of cars from the excursion train up to check clearances on the new siding. The line is adding a stop here for guest who want to spend some time outdoors. A picnic area will be built to accommodate guests as well. Construction should be completed soon and be ready for Passenger's  when service resumes in the Spring.

Good morning fellow switcher fans!!  Here are a bakers dozen of switchers from the Free State Junction Railway doing there thing.   All diesel line up today .... B&O GP 9s & SW9,  Patapsco and Back Rivers VO1000,  FBM Reading Train Master, Ma & PA SW1 and B&O Plymouth.  

JHZ 563 -  I hope your kids feel better soon!  Great photo of the camelback switcher!  I can only imagine that operating one of those locos was NO picnic for the crew.  

rpmcobra posted:

I took these photos early this week specifically for Switcher Saturday 

Happy Switcher Saturday 

RPMCOBRA - very nice photos!!  Where did you take the photos of the 1:1 scale switcher?   What does STRT on cab of locomotive mean?  

                                                       Atlas O Rio Grande GP9.

          happy "SWSat" everyone !!

          Marci caught this one working out at the Anderson's last Monday...

          then ran across these one's working near Napoleon Oh. last Thursday...

                                               have a great weekend !!

A relatively new FS10 works the yard on a dreary morning in late 1949.  The Pennsy bought 55 of these 1,000hp shifters, twice as many as the next largest buy.  Unfortunately FM's 2-cycle opposed piston diesel engine, while a good submarine engine, did not work well as a railroad engine and many FMs were retired early.

This is a MTH model of a FM H10-44.

trumptrain posted:

rpmcobra posted:

I took these photos early this week specifically for Switcher Saturday 

Happy Switcher Saturday 

RPMCOBRA - very nice photos!!  Where did you take the photos of the 1:1 scale switcher?   What does STRT on cab of locomotive mean?  

Thanks Pat MA & PA #84 is located on a siding in West York along with 3 other diesels 1 MA & PA and a York Rail + 1 other. 

The Brianel Shops have been pretty busy lately and are waiting for a nice day to do some outside photos. There's a couple of Lionel MPC 2-4-0's that have been repainted and modified. And a Lionel low-end DC Rock Island Docksider now modified and repainted for the Lehigh Valley.

And the project that never ends is my version of the New York Central 4083. Lionel and K-Line did proper E-8 versions, so I thought it'd be fun to have my own version as in a K-Line Alco FA. This is the problem with using spray cans for paint along with trying to access correct color from internet photos. From a "maybe I'll like this a little bit more when I put more work into it" project, it became a "maybe I'll like this a little more if I stop focusing on the prototype." More to come on that one....

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Recently CoastsideKevin had a thread about traditional passenger cars. I think he opted for the MTH Railking ones, which is fine. It just goes to show how differently we all interpret "what looks correct" on our layouts.  But to me, those and the newer Lionel versions both look too "squat" in my viewing. There's a fine art to the selective compression of scale that just can't be done with a scale ruler.

@RSJB18, your photos show just how nice the K-Line version of the postwar Lionel steamliner passenger cars look in a traditional setting. My preference is for the Lionel ones as they are a tad shorter, but the K-Line ones (and the later RMT production) are certainly very nice and absolutely have that "postwar selective compression" with a little more added detail.

Greetings, switcheroos. (?). 

I scored a like new Lionel NYC Yard Chief set on Ebay this past week. This was the first set I bought when I got back into Lionel Trains back in the mid-1980’s but I eventually moved on and sold it. It was catalogued in 1985 just as the MPC era was ending and the Kughn era was beginning . Very basic stuff back then; 0-4-0 NYC steamer with work cars  

Now, I felt like I should have it again for nostalgia’s sake so I had been looking around. Not wanting to pay too much for it, I kept checking Ebay, and last week I found this one in perfect shape (test run at most) with all boxes for $115. Free shipping. 

That did it! 

Smoke but that’s all, and plastic trucks common to the period, but still pretty neat. Love having it again and it smokes like a devil. 

That’s my switcher story and I’m sticking to it. It does feel a bit out of place running on my SoCal layout though...

Enjoy your trains this weekend. 

Happy SWSAT, everyone!

Through the years Switchers have proven themselves to be very versatile, as evidenced by this Black Hills Central 2-6-2T at the head-end of the Varnish:

The same thing happens on the PER with the very capable SW1500. Most SW1500s were equipped with Flexicoil trucks which permit running at 60mph. 

First the crew spotted today's freight consist out of the way on the East End Lead:

Then a move to the switch and throwing it for the siding the Dinner Train was spotted on:

Coupled and aired up:

And a move to spot the train at the old station so this evening's Dinner patrons may board:

Here is my switcher for today.  The Marx MoPac "Eagle" switcher gets underway with his load.  This is nearly a complete set with box, track and transformer but the flat car load is not correct.  Should be 2 autos and not 1 truck...Oh Well. 

Have a great Sunday...I am "switching" to eating dinner .

Regards everyone   Don

Thanks for posting Brian, we have the PREX 1607-1608 and 1609-(Ex. CSX GP16's) here in Illinois. If you run across the PREX 3054-(Ex. ATSF GP20) there. I used to run that one all time, when it was here, on the Decatur Junction Ry.

Rusty