Switcher Saturday - October 14, 2023

Thank you, Mel, for starting us off this week. My 616 Santa Fe switcher with its 1961 Sears uncataloged set number 9674 gets the call this morning……

Have a great and safe weekend, folks!

Peter

Good early morning, SwSat folks!  The schedule is tight today, so a trip to the archives, for a couple of my favorite switchers, is in order.

NYC 0-4-0 no. 901 is seen double heading with NYC 0-6-0T no. X-8688 on a coal drag.  This train - consisting of mostly heavy die cast hoppers - might seem like “too much train” for no. 901, but she handles it with ease.  The Docksider, however, is in the train just for “show”.  Due to a literal meltdown, after at least  ten years of service, she is now a dummy.

John

Yay SWSat is on track again this weekend!

Some of you may not know me, I used to post here a lot. Even sometimes filling in for Rich Murnane who started this weekly post over 10 years ago. I still often read the post but only contribute a few times a years now. In those 10 years I have switched from 3 rail to 2 rail O scale and realize there is less interest in that here.

Nice post so far this week. @MELGARMel’s Union SW1 is great looking. I’ve alway like the little guys. Peter @Putnam Division your Zebra striped Santa Fe NW2 is a real classic. @Steamcrazy sorry to hear about your tank engine. You should look into a motor replacement. Those little engines are so nice looking it is a shame to not be able to run it.

Last weekend I attended the NMRA  North East Regional convention at the Marriott in Uniondale New York on Long Island. I serve on the BOD for the Sunrise Trail Division which organized and hosted it. There were many clinics and open layouts to visit and some to operate.

I took time out to operate on one that I thought maybe some here would like even though (gasp) it is in HO scale…I’ll pause to let you recover yourself…the layout is based on the Erie 28th street Rail Marine Terminal in Manhattan.

This facility is built true to scale and takes up one city block from 28th to 29th Streets and 10th to 11th Ave. There is track that crosses 11th Ave under the West side Elevated Highway to a float barge on the Hudson River. It is one of the most compact and efficient yards I have ever seen. The way it works is the one engine pulls some cars off of the barge and switches them in to inbound unloading positions. Moves loaded cars to outbound loading positions. Moves loaded outbound cars onto the barge. The 3 story building is the inbound unloading warehouse. The yard has leading and trailing switches all off a single central runaround track. The outbound loading warehouse is the smaller one story building on 29th st. Every barge has a list of cars where they are to be positioned and what cars to move where as well as what cars need to be loaded to the barge and off the layout. One additional track led to the Terminal Warehouse a large civil war era warehouse served by several railroads. The entire layout is 15 feet including the barge and 30 inches wide.

Usually this terminal is served by an IR boxcab #20 but it was off the island being serviced and we used an Alco S2.

The layout takes two to operate it an engineer and a conductor. The real terminal could handle 4 barges full of cars in a day. We were able to do a little under 2 barges in our 4 hours operating non stop.  

I just thought some here would be interested in such an unusual switching focused layout.

I attended many lectures. Gave one on a Logging RR I have some connections to and spent a lot of time troubleshooting projectors and giving directions. I did take some time to operate a local switching job on a HO scale Free Mo layout a group had brought and set up. Slow paced switching at scale speed is a lot of fun.

On this train I’m working a small yard with a D&H Alco. A friend grabbed this candid shot and you can see my mind melting trying to think three moves ahead.
Nice to be back for a little. Thanks for letting me drop in  

I can’t wait to see what you guys post this week  

@Silver Lake posted:

Yay SWSat is on track again this weekend!

Some of you may not know me, I used to post here a lot. Even sometimes filling in for Rich Murnane who started this weekly post over 10 years ago. Back when we didn’t have to include such a heavy handed legal disclaimer. I still often read the post but only contribute a few times a years now. In those 10 years I have switched from 3 rail to 2 rail O scale and realize there is less interest in that here.
Nice to be back for a little. Thanks for letting me drop in  

I can’t wait to see what you guys post this week  

Andy,

I always enjoyed seeing your posts, your unique collection of model trains, and your photographs of railroading around New York City. You are a great source of information about model railroad happenings in the New York metro area. Let us hear from you more often.

The legal stuff is not obligatory but I just want to be sure that everyone knows and observes the rules whenever I am the original poster. I'm not a lawyer but just act like one. The fellow who usually posts Switcher Saturday has been temporarily suspended due to a copyright violation - and it also has happened to others in the past.

MELGAR

Here's an MTH PS2 Pennsy diesel switcher hauling a very long freight train (for my layout) including some Postwar Lionel operating cars and others:

Arnold

Silver Lake, I remember you, welcome back!  I’m just as interested in O scale as 3 rail O and I think I speak for most of our brethren.  Keep those posts coming!

John

Thanks for getting us started Mel. Here is #447 spotting a few coal hoppers for the Long Island Coal Company. #465 is spotting a refrigerator car for the REA.

Andy

Andy -  WOW!!!  What a fantastic surprise to scroll through today's SWSAT thread and see YOUR post!!  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope you post here more frequently!   AND what an incredibly amazing switching operation you describe here in such wonderful detail too ( your trademark ).   Got to love a switching layout in any scale!    THE NMRA North East  Regional Convention sounds like an exciting experience.   Thanks so much Andy for posting!!

Mel - how’s the food at your diner? In all the videos by you that I’ve watched, never noticed that before! Nice!

Happy SWSat!

Thanks for getting us going again this week Mel. That SW1 looks great. Nice paint job, although I would think that the prototypes are not that clean and shiny.......

@Silver Lake- Hi Andy! Nice to see you stop by. I live about 15 minutes from the Marriot, too bad I missed the show. I'd love to build a scale switching layout one day if the space allows. I'm a HO kid at heart since that's what I grew up with. I used to post pix of the Lehigh Valley Bronx Terminal back in the early SWSat days with Rich Murnane (and before the copyright police).   It would be great to model. Please post more often. I'm with Mel, you always have interesting stuff to share.

@Steam Crazy- Second vote for a re-power of your 0-6-0t John.

@Putnam Division- looking more like a layout every day Peter. I bet it's nice to finally give your great collection some running time too.

I wasn't sure what to post this week so since Mel shared his SW1, I'll do the same. I purchased both of these recently after wanting one for a long time. The Reading is a PS2 and the B&M is PS3. As Mel said, they run great and handle my 027 curves with ease.

Have a great weekend!

Bob

Lionel SW8 RI #818 called out for some switching duties. This is my first Legacy locomotive I purchased when starting the layout in the fall of 2021.

Gene

Good morning fellow switcher fans!!  MELGAR thanks so much for getting us rolling this morning!  Your SW1 by MTH looks and sounds terrific!!   Everyone's posts look great this morning too and it's  wonderful to see Andy ( Silverlake )  post here again!  Always so much to see and learn from all of you!

Today's post are some fresh pics of my Washington Terminal Co. RS 1 number 63 by Atlas O and my Fairbanks Morse Train Master by Williams ( I started last weekend's SWSAT thread with some fresh solo shots of the Train Master ).  

This past week I saw a video of some 1950's switching operations in the N&W yard in Roanoke.  There were two Y6a's doing the switching, which I thought unusual until I remembered that I had also seen a video some years ago show a N&W Y6b switching at a large coal mine.  Today I posted a couple of photos of my N&W Y6b as a reminder that these behemoths also served in switching operations in addition to road service on the N&W.  

  I'm hoping to get to the Great Scale Model Train Show in Timonium , Maryland this weekend.  I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!!

Washington Terminal Co RS 1 lugs a transfer freight from East Yard to a waiting Fairbanks Morse Train Master who will provide the power for the long haul over the mainline.  

Y6b just completed a switching assignment at East Yard and is now on its way to the engine service facility.

Now that's a lot of switch engine!

On the far track a Pennsy A 5 waits for a green signal.

A VIRGINIAN Train Master waiting for this RS 1 to cut away from its' train.  Once the RS 1 is cut away the Train Master will couple to the train where it will apply its' 2400 hp for a haul up the mainline.

Happy Switcher Saturday. Great stuff everyone!  Here is my little K line Plymouth switching out a few subway cars on the underground subway line -

@MELGAR posted:

Good morning, switcher enthusiasts!

My switcher for today is the type of machine that we like to see and write about every Switcher Saturday - an ordinary small locomotive that usually goes unnoticed and overlooked in favor of the latest big, heavy, powerful engines that pull high-speed passenger trains or 125-car freights.

Union Railroad SW1 #475 is an MTH Railking model (30-20789-1) delivered in 2021 with PS3. Both my layouts are small, so I run small locomotives. The SW1 model is 12 inches in length. MTH’s manufacturing quality is excellent, and I couldn’t find any defects. With two pickup rollers on each truck, it runs very smoothly at low speeds and has the realistic sounds of an EMD 567 diesel motor. The videos show it running conventionally at 12 scale miles-per-hour powered by a Z-4000 transformer on my 10’-by-5’ layout. This blue locomotive is pulling blue CNJ boxcar #22485 by Weaver and blue Conrail caboose #1411 by K-Line.

EMD built 661 SW1s between 1938 and 1953. They had 600 horsepower, 49,000 pounds of tractive effort, and were capable of tracking through a curve radius of about 105 feet, which translates to O gauge O-52.5. The model is listed for O-27.

The Union Railroad is a Class 3 switching railroad that serves the steel industry within a 10-mile radius around Pittsburgh. It owned 22 SW1s.

Please observe the OGR Forum Terms of Service pertaining to “posting of copyrighted photos.” You are permitted to post only photographs that you have taken or for which you have the specific permission of the copyright owner to post. OGR has adopted a no tolerance policy on copyright infringement and you agree to be responsible for any infringement on your part on this forum knowingly or unknowingly that results in financial damages to OGR. OGR will seek reparations to the maximum extent of the law in these cases.

So, let’s see what switchers you’ve been running this week.

MELGAR

Mel I presume this is of the Union RR in Pennsylvania that heavily supported the steel industry.?

They had some massive steam switchers of ten drive wheels if I recall correctly.

Ron

edit -956, checked my image of it.  It was a 0-10-2!

Ron

We are camping this weekend so I thought I’s try to post the pics that did not upload last week.

Happy Switcher Saturday!

Great start again MELGAR, Great History you put out Have a great Switcher Saturday all! God Bless America!

@PRRronbh posted:

Mel I presume this is of the Union RR in Pennsylvania that heavily supported the steel industry.?

They had some massive steam switchers of ten drive wheels if I recall correctly.

Ron

edit -956, checked my image of it.  It was a 0-10-2!

Ron

Ron,

Yes - that's correct. There is a Union Railroad website that shows the various steel mills that it serves (or served) around Pittsburgh.

MELGAR

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

Mel - how’s the food at your diner? In all the videos by you that I’ve watched, never noticed that before! Nice!

Mark,

I don't know because I've never eaten there. But the food must be OK judging from the number of "railroad passengers" hanging out in the back by the tracks. I built the diner from a Whistlestop Diner kit made by Twin Whistle Sign and Kit Company.

MELGAR

@MELGAR posted:

Ron,

Yes - that's correct. There is a Union Railroad website that shows the various steel mills that it serves (or served) around Pittsburgh.

MELGAR

Oh yes. drove and road by the area many of times.

Ron

@Silver Lake posted:

I took time out to operate on one that I thought maybe some here would like even though (gasp) it is in HO scale…I’ll pause to let you recover yourself…the layout is based on the Erie 28th street Rail Marine Terminal in Manhattan.

<snip: more cool pics>

Oh my! THAT turns my crank!

I've often thought an urban switching layout could be an ideal theme for a compact layout that still offers operational (and prototypical) intensity.

Though this layout is larger in scope than I would envision for my "givens n' druthers", the concept is the same: Lots to do in a smaller space, yet still prototype based.

Andre

Good morning SWSAT crew!

I went to the archives and found this video of Penn Central SW8 8623 (Lionel) working a cut of covered hoppers:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tom

MELGAR,

Love the Union Freight SW-1. Wonder how long those pristine white decks stayed clean switching for the steel industry.
Twenty two SW-1s. That is standardization!
How many of us are fortunate enough to have 22 switch engines?

Here are my two SW-1s. Both are MTH RAILKING with PS2 and PS3.

BOSTON & MAINE 1129 pulls out with a consistent of Weaver PS-1 boxcars.

Well @Genemed called forth the ever bankrupt Rock Island this morning so I thought I might follow suit.  This is a Marx #1998 Alco S3 switcher from 1962 along with several Marx RI boxcars.  The videos are of the same engine at various points on the layout.  

Best Wishes, hope your weekend is going well

Don

@ctr posted:

MELGAR,

Love the Union Freight SW-1. Wonder how long those pristine white decks stayed clean switching for the steel industry.
Twenty two SW-1s. That is standardization!
How many of us are fortunate enough to have 22 switch engines?

Here are my two SW-1s. Both are MTH RAILKING with PS2 and PS3.

62 and counting....... (not including the F units)

The photographer caught a Pennsy ARS10 moving some cars to nearby local industries. 

Oops.  I forgot.  My layout is set in 1949 and the Pennsy did not receive the non-steam generator equipped ALCO RS-1s for another couple of years.  They did have one RS-1 (AS10) that they purchased in 1948 that had a steam generator for commuter service.  It would be easy to modify my Atlas RS-1 with the small exhaust stack on the short hood, just need to make the time to do it.

Mel, thanks for starting up another incredible SWSAT.  The Union RR SW1 is a smart looking switcher to kick things off with.

Peter, nice set.  I don't know which set we had as kids but we did have that Track Maintenance car, the AC condenser car and the flat with shovel that are part of your set.

Steam crazy, some nice die cast hoppers there.  Which brand are they?  I've got some nice K-Line ones.

Yeah Andy's home.  We miss the railroading pictures of your walks around the neighborhood.  Do you still have a small layout at home and are you still collecting the small Lionel DD boxcars?  As you can see we've got some two rail action here.

Arnold that is a mighty long train.

Strap, I love those K-Line Plymouths.

Patrick another wonderful post.

Thanks all!

@Don McErlean posted:

Well @Genemed called forth the ever bankrupt Rock Island this morning so I thought I might follow suit.  This is a Marx #1998 Alco S3 switcher from 1962 along with several Marx RI boxcars.  The videos are of the same engine at various points on the layout.  

Best Wishes, hope your weekend is going well

Don

Don, I enjoy all your posts with amazement in the collection of locomotives and rolling stock you have.

Gene

@Genemed posted:

Lionel SW8 RI #818 called out for some switching duties. This is my first Legacy locomotive I purchased when starting the layout in the fall of 2021.

Gene

Gene - that is an awesome looking layout you have there!!  WOW!  Lots of switching action!  Love your new SW8 .. it looks and sounds terrific!!   Also loved how you set up the sequencing of the videos with the SW 8 on the turntable.  Nice turntable action too!  

@ctr posted:

BOSTON & MAINE 1129 pulls out with a consistent of Weaver PS-1 boxcars.

Did Weaver produce any other boxcars than the PS1 model?

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

Did Weaver produce any other boxcars than the PS1 model?

They made an outside braced, or single sheathed, boxcar and a 50' modern one.  They also made outstanding rib-side boxcars for the Milwaukee Road and Wagontop Boxcars for the B&O.  I also think they made one with similar dimensions as the PRR X-29.

@RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!

Thanks for getting us going again this week Mel. That SW1 looks great. Nice paint job, although I would think that the prototypes are not that clean and shiny.......

I wasn't sure what to post this week so since Mel shared his SW1, I'll do the same. I purchased both of these recently after wanting one for a long time. The Reading is a PS2 and the B&M is PS3. As Mel said, they run great and handle my 027 curves with ease.

Have a great weekend!

Bob

@ctr posted:

MELGAR,

Here are my two SW-1s. Both are MTH RAILKING with PS2 and PS3.

.

@RSJB18 and @ctr,

Somehow, I missed these SW1s when MTH offered them. I will buy the first good one that I find for sale...

The white frame on Union RR #475 looks way too clean - but I avoid weathering on engines. I'd rather not make a mess of a nice model...

Bob - that's quite a collection of engines too.

MELGAR

@CAPPilot posted:

They made an outside braced, or single sheathed, boxcar and a 50' modern one.  They also made outstanding rib-side boxcars for the Milwaukee Road and Wagontop Boxcars for the B&O.  I also think they made one with similar dimensions as the PRR X-29.

Thanks, Ron.

@trumpettrain posted:

Gene - that is an awesome looking layout you have there!!  WOW!  Lots of switching action!  Love your new SW8 .. it looks and sounds terrific!!   Also loved how you set up the sequencing of the videos with the SW 8 on the turntable.  Nice turntable action too!  

Thank you Patrick. I’m very pleased with the revised layout plan adding the turntable. With all the help and suggestions from other members during the layout planning, there’s lots of switching action if needed. My next project is finally hanging the backdrop I’ve had since April.

Gene

Coach, the first two B&O diecast cars are prewar Lionel with postwar trucks (no modifications needed, just unclip the original trucks and clip on the postwar).  The next five are K-line diecast cars and the last four are plastic MTH models.

I think the K-line cars are the nicest freight cars I own.  Nice detail, realistic coal loads and super smooth rolling trucks.  Trainworld was selling them cheap when K-line went out of business - wish I had bought more !

John

@Genemed- Gene thank you for your comment.  Glad you enjoy the posts...thanks again

Don

Another remarkable Switcher Saturday! Gets the juices rolling!  thank you everyone.

Andy! I guess I will reassemble my float bridge. My other passion is O scale Rail-marine activities as you may remember.
time to get out the old B-3 RATS and the old IR Boxcab.

great to see your post as everyone’s tour de force!

OK, @coach joe, here's a K-Line Plymouth haulin' a Weaver Plymouth:

A "twofer" for SWSAT week!

Great stuff this week I’ll try to be back next week.