Switcher Saturday Mark II, 9/28/19

On the Plywood Empire Route it's all switchers all the time. Even at night:

At the Mad River and NKP Museum, a B&O Alco beautifully painted:

https://www.madrivermuseum.org/gallery/boswitch.jpg

I bought numerous EMD SW diesel switchers when they were first offered by ATLAS O around 1998, although UP SW9 DS1875 was produced somewhat after that. I had never run it before taking this video. Started immediately and ran smoothly. Wood caboose by K-Line.

Photos and videos by:

MELGAR

Happy SWSat- another weekend is upon us

NY Central 2321- a S-2 by K-line. The caboose is a Lionel with an end of train strobe.

Happy SWSAT! Buzz is pulling some Lionel Standard O this morning and just dropped off one of my favorite ones of this series Enjoy your weekend 

Melgar - That switcher looks great but I am jealous of your finished layout!

Since I am at work today, here's a couple quick shots from the coal yard

The little yellow New Republic switcher is one of our absolute workhorses for dumping cars.  It usually gets parked in the thaw shed when not in use, as you see here.  

The indicator lights on the sides of the cab are for running via cat-tron remote controls. 

MELGAR posted:

I bought numerous EMD SW diesel switchers when they were first offered by ATLAS O around 1998, although UP SW9 DS1875 was produced somewhat after that. I had never run it before taking this video. Started immediately and ran smoothly. Wood caboose by K-Line.

Photos and videos by:

MELGAR

Mel

Great looking Switcher and thanks for posting a nice overall view of your layout.

               happy "SWSat" everyone !!

         while a 0-4-0 is busy working in the coal yard,   a pair of 0-8-0's,

                          are bringing in a new  string of empties to be filled at the mine...

Moving the hot slag.

Ron

Rebuilt K-Line Santa Fe MP15DC with a fixed pilots, Kadees & cab interior.

Early Atlas SW's had Dallee electronics.  Lionel TMCC control, sound, and electro-couplers was/were a few years later.   A conversion of a Dallee SW is a time consuming project.   Many years ago TAS  (Train America Studios) Youngstown, Ohio, then Mike Reagan, did a lot of these with frames and components manufactured and provided by Atlas. 

          My MTH S.P. Alco S2 switching on the "Orange Line" at NJ Hirailers. 

                           I added the marker lights and windshield wipers.

An excellent photo of SW9s with a coal drag on the Montour Railroad:

https://www.montourrr.com/images/Roster/MTR75_005.jpg

The pic is hosted on this webpage, which has lots of pics and information wrt the pike:

https://www.montourrr.com/roster.htm

geysergazer posted:

At the Mad River and NKP Museum, a B&O Alco beautifully painted:

https://www.madrivermuseum.org/gallery/boswitch.jpg

Always enjoyed a visit to this excellent museum when I lived back in Ohio!

Switcher action on the Seattle & Yakima RR

jhz563 posted:

Hello again fellow flanged wheel enthusiasts, and welcome to the 9th edition of Switcher Saturday - Mark II!

This is the place for your weekly dose of little engines that do big things.  That's right -if you prefer an A5 over an Allegheny, or a Plymouth over a Centennial, you found the right place.

 

This week's kick off image will be a SW-1, still in service at DC Union Station for the Washington Terminal Company.  This unit was spied by reddit user u/Trainsrule101 who gave permission to post the photo

Pretty neat to see this old beast still kicking the varnish around!

As usual, there's a few simple rules for Switcher Saturday:

1.This threads welcome switchers of all sizes and sources, such as 12" to the foot, live steam, HONGZ and of course 3 rail O gauge.  If it's related to switchers (model switchers, prototypes, critters, switching yards, switching layouts) - we want to see it! Videos, Pics, Stories (true or fictional), poems, whatever! 

2. If you miss the post on Saturday? NO BIG DEAL, just keep posting pictures of your favorites until the next #SwitcherSaturday. If you missed last weekend's post - check it out here.

3. Keep it friendly - we want this to be fun. (we haven't had any real problems with grumpy trolls, I'd like to keep it that way)

4. In regards to compliance with the letter and spirit of the OGR tos, this post is in the photo album section as the subject is switchers and small motive power.  Three rail O is the common medium but anything from prototype through Hongz, grand scales, live steam etc is welcome, as long you took the photo yourself or have permission to post it.  Feel free to post a link to something cool.

High Greens to All ! - JHZ563

Greetings everyone. FYI, I just received an email from OGR Publisher, Alan Arnold, asking me to stop posting a reference to this forum having moved over here on the regular OGR Three-Rail Forum where we used to be.  I had been doing that to draw folks over to our new forum site since we moved over here.

Obviously, Alan has his reasons for the request.  He deleted my post today which is, of course, his right.

Anyway, since I can’t direct people over to this forum for Switcher Saturday anymore, it’s up to all of YOU to personally contact your friends who might like to join us here and invite them.  Hope you do. Let’s keep this fun forum going strong!

Thanks.

Dave W.

pennsynut posted:

Very nice!

JHZ563,

Thanks again for starting Switcher Saturday Mark II, 9/28/19. I've been sitting at my computer on and off all day - reading this thread and the Forum.

MELGAR

MELGAR posted:

JHZ563,

Thanks again for starting Switcher Saturday Mark II, 9/28/19. I've been sitting at my computer on and off all day - reading this thread and the Forum.

MELGAR

One of my weekly favorites also.

SwSat!

Here's something you don't see everyday: A 3' gauge switch engine!! GE 44 ton as I recall. Shot this last week while the wife and I were in Chama soaking up some steam and mountains.

Did you notice it has talgo-type coupler/trucks? See? Prototype for everything!

Andre

All great switcher photographs!  Well better late than never!  Here is a Lionel Conventional 0-4-0 that is going to be moved to a happy new owner in my neighboring state of Ohio!

Dave Warburton posted:

geysergazer posted:

At the Mad River and NKP Museum, a B&O Alco beautifully painted:

https://www.madrivermuseum.org/gallery/boswitch.jpg

Always enjoyed a visit to this excellent museum when I lived back in Ohio!

I visited the Mad River myself back about 15 years ago!  I thought it was a great museum!!

To help balance out the Pennsy/NYC balance of power, here is my new/used MTH NYC 0-8-0 USRA switcher and Lionel NYC caboose...

Tom

Fair enough, Tom!  Actually I’m moving my PRR to make room for an 0-8-0 in my favorite Western Maryland Fireball!  It should arrive for next week’s SWSAT

Mark, Congrats on the new acquisition! Western Maryland steam will look great!

Tom

Thank you, Tom.

In general, switchers ain’t my thing, but I do have one or two. Not sure if I ever posted this before... this was my brother’s first engine which he got in the very early 60’s. I inherited it since his idea of trains is like Gomez Addams - the bigger the explosion, the better   

Paul, I have a 621 also.  I had to wait until I was 57, but I finally got a train set for Christmas!  My older daughter found the 621 set and a 2026 set at the thrift store and gave them to me on Christmas 2013, about 50 years after I had asked for one.  LOL

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, I have a 621 also.  I had to wait until I was 57, but I finally got a train set for Christmas!  My older daughter found the 621 set and a 2026 set at the thrift store and gave them to me on Christmas 2013, about 50 years after I had asked for one.  LOL

Mark;

Glad you finally got your dream set (mine was a Santa Fe F3 AA pair which I picked up in Madison Hardware in the 80’s after I got my first real full time job a few blocks from the store). I’m not sure if my brother’s engine was part of a “set” or was purchased by my parents where you got to pick and choose what cars you want. I know his set included a 6464 NH box car, a car carrier, a “flat car” with a few wheel sets, a rather generic caboose, and one or two other cars - could you tell me what was included in your set???

Thank you to everyone for a very successful switcher saturday!  

Apples55 posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, I have a 621 also.  I had to wait until I was 57, but I finally got a train set for Christmas!  My older daughter found the 621 set and a 2026 set at the thrift store and gave them to me on Christmas 2013, about 50 years after I had asked for one.  LOL

Mark;

Glad you finally got your dream set (mine was a Santa Fe F3 AA pair which I picked up in Madison Hardware in the 80’s after I got my first real full time job a few blocks from the store). I’m not sure if my brother’s engine was part of a “set” or was purchased by my parents where you got to pick and choose what cars you want. I know his set included a 6464 NH box car, a car carrier, a “flat car” with a few wheel sets, a rather generic caboose, and one or two other cars - could you tell me what was included in your set???

Paul, I have the list.  I’ll get that to you later.  I don’t recall numbers very well.  Actually it was a Forum member who gave me the set numbers and what was in each set, since everything from both sets was in a big cardboard box.

Mark Boyce posted:

Apples55 posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, I have a 621 also.  I had to wait until I was 57, but I finally got a train set for Christmas!  My older daughter found the 621 set and a 2026 set at the thrift store and gave them to me on Christmas 2013, about 50 years after I had asked for one.  LOL

Mark;

Glad you finally got your dream set (mine was a Santa Fe F3 AA pair which I picked up in Madison Hardware in the 80’s after I got my first real full time job a few blocks from the store). I’m not sure if my brother’s engine was part of a “set” or was purchased by my parents where you got to pick and choose what cars you want. I know his set included a 6464 NH box car, a car carrier, a “flat car” with a few wheel sets, a rather generic caboose, and one or two other cars - could you tell me what was included in your set???

Paul, I have the list.  I’ll get that to you later.  I don’t recall numbers very well.  Actually it was a Forum member who gave me the set numbers and what was in each set, since everything from both sets was in a big cardboard box.

Thanks Mark... appreciate it. No rush!!!

Paul, Here are the two sets:

1501S from 1953 - 2026/6066T, 6032 Gondola, 6035 Tank Car Sunoco, 6037 Caboose

1551W from 1956 - 621 CNJ, 6425 Tank Car Gulf, 6562 Canister Car NYC, 6362 Flat Car with 3 Trucks Load, 6257 Caboose

I was born in 1956, so I am wondering if any children got the 1551W set for their first Christmas!  I got it for my 58th Christmas.  

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, Here are the two sets:

1501S from 1953 - 2026/6066T, 6032 Gondola, 6035 Tank Car Sunoco, 6037 Caboose

1551W from 1956 - 621 CNJ, 6425 Tank Car Gulf, 6562 Canister Car NYC, 6362 Flat Car with 3 Trucks Load, 6257 Caboose

I was born in 1956, so I am wondering if any children got the 1551W set for their first Christmas!  I got it for my 58th Christmas.  

Thanks so much, Mark - definitely looks like my brother’s set. Our mother (the big train lover in the family) insisted that we were old enough to actually play with the trains ourselves before we got them, so we were about seven when we got our first sets, making my brother’s set around 1959/60. Unfortunately, I’m currently helping my brother after spinal fusion last Monday, so I can’t go down and check on the actual pieces I have, but I definitely remember the gray gondola with red canisters, the orange flat car with the trucks, and a “non-descript” (mea culpa) red caboose - Unfortunately, no original boxes for any of the cars. I’m pretty sure that there was a Gulf tanker, and the orange 6464 NH boxcar which may have been added later. One of my projects when I get home is to put his set and mine on display shelves.

Thanks again, Mark.

Paul, I took these photographs on New Years Eve 2013 once I learned which cars went with which engine.

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, I took these photographs on New Years Eve 2013 once I learned which cars went with which engine.

Yep, Mark, that is definitely my brother’s set - thanks for the pics. One question... the 621 has a horn that requires a battery. Does yours work??? My brother’s never worked from day one until I took it to Madison Hardware in the 80’s and their ace repairman was able to repair it (I can still see his face and his hands covered in what looked like permanent grease, but can’t for the life of me remember his name - he was there forever).