Switcher Saturday Mark II!, 03/07/2020

The newest addition to our crew is an Williams NW2 in blue.

abbrail posted:

The newest addition to our crew is an Williams NW2 in blue.

Very cool. I saw what I think was one of these running around Reading PA when I was growing up!  (could have been an mp-15 though, my memories from being 8 years old are a little fuzzy!) 

Photo shows my MTH Premier New Haven Railroad 0-8-0 switcher #3400 with PS2, viewed from the southeast corner of my 12’-by-8’ layout. The section of track on this corner of the layout is just a place to park an engine and complete the scene.

MELGAR

Williams NW2s, IMO, are very smooth runners, excellent pullers and affordable. Here is a Jersey Central:

Arnold

A little something from the real world. I peaked in on the New Republic switcher at work, snugly tucked inside the thaw shed.

Happy Switcher Saturday. Maine Switching action.

I've got one of those Conrail NW2s and a NYC.  Big Blue looks so good when brand new, before the dirt, grime and fading take their toll on the color.

Happy SWSat!

Great stuff so far today.

JHZ- Are those heaters all electric? WOW!

On the RSJ&B we were shifting cars around this morning.
A K-line NYC S-2 and WbB Pennsy NW-2 provided the power. I agree that the WbB's are great engines.

Both of these engines have been converted to series wiring across the motors to slow them down. At 6 V on my KW they can crawl now where before they took off like a rocket.

The Observation car was scheduled to be on today's run but a broken coupler took it out of service.

Everyone have a great Weekend!

Bob

Photo by Jonny Floyd.

                   happy "SWSat" !!!

                   some 'lil workers at the Anderson's...

            Marci's photos....

              my newest 'lil one...

Blast from the past on my ill-fated S scale experimental layout...

The Frisco engine I painted/decaled/weathered myself. All background images were my own that I doctored in photo software, printed, assembled and attached to the backdrop. It was fun creating the alley scene.

S is a really nice size, but eventually the variety available in HO drew me back into my nigh-lifelong interest in HO. (Been an HO modeler since 1962!)

Andre

briansilvermustang posted:

 

                   happy "SWSat" !!!

 

           

            Marci's photos....

 

              my newest 'lil one...

 

Brian, see there are a couple of nuts at the controls.

Ron

Rsjb18,

Yup all electric.   The heaters are used to thaw out the coal hoppers before they go to the rotary dumper. 

Here's another picture from the same angle,  just zoomed in a bit. 

Penn Central SW8 8616 (Atlas O) shifts a cut of covered hoppers:

Tom

Briansilvermustang's last photo of the Industrial Switcher, with the nuts showing, was my initial inspiration for making changes to these. I add window material made from the plastic of gallon milk jugs. I made a paper template, then make the windows long enough to cover two sides with a corner fold. This helps keep the window "glazing" in place.

With the included circuit board inside, there's not much room inside these. Then I accidentally fried the board of one that I was working on. Which got me to thinking, "If I ran these on DC current, I could still have forward and reverse, and then free up some space inside the engine to add some weights." Which was then also my inspiration for have the option of running the layout on either AC or DC current: albeit rectified DC current. I know some folks just wire in a rectifier to the motor, running these forward only. But what use is a switcher that cannot be backed up?

Though I may have posted these on the SWAT before, here's a couple of my redone Industrial Switchers. I have others repainted to CSX, Jersey Central, another Lehigh Valley, Reading and Norfolk Southern.

It's the same Mabuchi motor in these engines that is used in the starter set die cast steam engines... so that gives you an idea of how much weight can be safely added to these very light weight locos. With the added weight, I can remove the traction tire, which helps greatly with momentary stalling when running slowly on switch tracks.

One thing I know I never mentioned, is I used to remove the lockout switch and cover over the holes before repainting. With the LV switcher below, I decided to keep the included lock out switch on the back side of the cab, rewired as a shut off switch. So I can flip that button, and have the engine in a neutral position with the lights still on, but not moving. Which is a useful option to have.

                                                  New Haven RS11 #1400 at NJ Hirailers

Happy SWSAT everyone! 

My Atlas O 0-6-0 switcher.  Custom NH decoration by me and converted to PS3 by a MTH technician.

Happy SWSAT!

You can never have to many switchers in the fleet.

geysergazer posted:

Happy SWSAT!

        

       

Lew:

Do you know that's going on in this pic, what railroad is involved (F's look to be B&O), and where it was located? Looks like some type of toot convention w/carloads of toots. Also looks like it's from the 1950s?

Interesting setting and action.

Andre

briansilvermustang posted:

 

                   happy "SWSat" !!!

                   some 'lil workers at the Anderson's...

 

 

 

 

            Marci's photos....

 

              my newest 'lil one...

 

Those little Lionel switchers from the early 90s are interesting creatures. I have several. Fun to run and they’ll pull a few cars but very lightweight. Give them a little power and they will literally fly off the track on the first curve. They were around $40 or so when they came out and a great choice for newbies and also running a small 027 freight around the Christmas tree. Ah, the good old days!

Good afternoon fellow switcher fans!  As always you all have wonderful info, photos and videos  Here is my mine for today.... first photo are Maryland short line switchers L-R Baltimore and Annapolis, Canton, and Ma & Pa.  The video shows Patapsco and Back Rivers VO1000, B&O Sw 9, and Ma & Pa SW1 in action.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Here’s a little vignette I have set up on a shelf in my bedroom. As you can see, it features some Marx and some Lionel. A mix of PW and modern era. I really enjoy having it there!

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday. Maine Switching action.

Very cool! Did you make that caboose?

Jim

laming posted:

geysergazer posted:

Happy SWSAT!

        

       

Lew:

Do you know that's going on in this pic, what railroad is involved (F's look to be B&O), and where it was located? Looks like some type of toot convention w/carloads of toots. Also looks like it's from the 1950s?

Interesting setting and action.

Andre

Andre, that was an unusual joint B&O-Shawmut RR excursion. Dad took this pic at Brockway, Pa, the northern terminus of the Shawmut and also one of two locations where the Shawmut and the B&O interchanged. The SW9 is one of the pair of Shawmut engines that pulled the train that day. The train went North on the B&O, switched onto the Shawmut at Brockway (this pic) and returned South on the Shawmut.

Here is a morning pic crossing the Allegheny River Northbound on the B&O. Being pretty young I don't remember but because of the Shawmut power the trip must have originated on the Shawmut, probably either at Kittanning a few miles to the right down the river, or at Freeport, another few miles further South and Shawmut's Southern terminus. In that case we had just come up the interchange track from the Shawmut onto the B&O:

This pic was taken on the return (Southbound) trip 80ft down on the Shawmut line looking up at the bridge we crossed in the AM:

Mid to late '50s so I was 5-9yr old. My clearest memory of that trip is of a traction motor sitting on the floor of the Shawmut shop,  gearhead that I've always been. Notice the home-made open-sided car:

My Cousin Kent standing and my Uncle Glen above with the camera, both gone many years ago.

EBT Jim posted:

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Happy Switcher Saturday. Maine Switching action.

Very cool! Did you make that caboose?

Jim

Jim. Thanks. Yes, it´s a scratch-built, ex MTH Railking crane tender.

Johan

Thanks, Lew, for the information! Fascinating! Thanks for sharing more pictures of the event, too!

Andre

Well gentlemen, great photos and beautiful Switchers. Trumptrain, Fantastic Video, Geysergazer Lew, eggcellent Pictures, great older diesel Switcher on the trestle bridge, neat layout and I like your window pictures, Johan, great scenes, neat weathered diesel, fantastic layout, Dave Warburton, beautiful display, really nice trains, neat Lionel Logo, very nostalgic, Briansilvermustang, super pictures, and everyone else nice pictures. Oh yes, Bill T, your layout and Switchers are so cool,  Hope everyone has a great weekend. Keep middle Tennessee in your prayers, we had 10 tornadoes, 25 died that day. There are so many great folks helping one another, God is Good. All the Time. Happy Railroading 

laming posted:

Thanks, Lew, for the information! Fascinating! Thanks for sharing more pictures of the event, too!

Andre

Oh, and in the original enlargement it is clear those Fs are B&O. That is why it has to be Brockway because interchange between the two roads there and thus engines from both. I was so fascinated with these pics I put them on the wall as a sort of collage:

Great stuff, guys! Thanks for sharing and “stay on track” this coming week!  

Amazing thread this week every one!  

You know @lee drennen, the first I saw a photo of your Indiana Harbor Belt switcher, I thought to myself, "Oh he had to have used a logo intended for a Geep. That just looks too large."

So I googled it, and sure enough, that's just the way the switchers were on the IHB. Still looks too big to me, but alas, it is accurate. 

I'm not as much into scale stuff, but I gotta say @Steam Crazy, that's a nice looking 0-6-0 you have there. Almost looks small enough to look at home on a semi-scale type of layout. Of course, steam switchers were smaller in real life.

And don't shoot me, but I like the Penn Central regardless of many problems in real life. So I'm glad  @Tom Densel makes me feel a little less alone. Though I have to say, the yellow painted steps going over the PC logo look a little odd. But that's the cool thing about the Penn Central: They did manage to get some subtle variety in lettering and logo size/placement on an otherwise predictable paint scheme. Those early years of Conrail were visually interesting in much the same way.

@leapinlarry, isn't that BNSF paint scheme on the K-Line based MP-15 on of the best? And it took Lionel marketing K-Line products to finally get something really up-to-date modern on one of their basic starter types of products.

Nice shots everyone. Good to see folks having some fun with their trains... that's what it's really about.

My latest addition to my growing collection

trumptrain posted:

Good afternoon fellow switcher fans!  As always you all have wonderful info, photos and videos  Here is my mine for today.... first photo are Maryland short line switchers L-R Baltimore and Annapolis, Canton, and Ma & Pa.  The video shows Patapsco and Back Rivers VO1000, B&O Sw 9, and Ma & Pa SW1 in action.  Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Pat:

Your photos are breath-taking! The color and realism is out standing. I also immensely enjoyed your video. My favorite part was the Ma & PA  switcher on your Mountain Division. The short train headed by the Ma & Pa Diesel and ended with the bobber caboose running through the rural countryside is vintage Ma & Pa. Bravo on hitting another model railroad "home run"!

I totally agree with Randy's opinion of Pat's "breathtaking" autumn scenery. When I have attempted autumn colors on my layout, I found that it had an artificial look to it. Pat makes his autumn colors look real IMO. This could be a topic for Scenery & Structures.

The Ma & Pa switcher is also gorgeous cruising through the beautiful scenery. Arnold 

Randy and Arnold - I really appreciate your compliments!  Thank you both so very much!

For the me the most fun part of model railroading is creating scenery, especially the country side.  I've always loved the fall season of the year, with it's robust colors and aroma.  Of course being color blind ( actually shade blind ) I don't experience colors the way you might.  It's good to know that my color selections look good to the both of you!