Your Best Switcher and Why?

Good evening from snowy Pennsylvania,

Just before the holidays last year I purchased my first switcher engine which is a MTH Railking Pennsy B6 Switcher.

Since I put this little work horse on my layout I have spent more time on my layout moving freight cars than ever before.

This is the first engine that I ever owned with a working front coupler.

My current rooster is all steam engines with either a dummy front coupler or no coupler at all. Shuffling cars was all done using the rear operating coupler on the engines tender.

Having two operating couplers makes moving freight cars around almost twice as fun !!!!!!

Mark, The B6 looks great!  I'm glad you're having fun with it.  Why did we know your switcher would be a PRR?  

It's always been the C&O 624.

Love the colors and it just screams classic PW Lionel.

geysergazer posted:

 

My only complaint (and pretty much everyone's who does slow-speed switching with MTH engines) is the little lurch these engines give when starting but at 3-4smph they settle down. I'll live with it compared to the rocket-starts of most O Gauge engines. The exception is the Atlas SW8/9s which start beautifully

Lew, this issue annoys me too, and here's my take on it...  MTH, K-Line, Williams all use two vertical motors, but unlike postwar Lionel the worm gears in each truck are self-locking.  Thus one motor truck cannot "push" or help the other.  My testing without speed control showed that neither motor is really happy below 800 RPM (about 10 mph.)  The speed control will force them to run at speeds below that, but reluctantly.  And not always both motors at the same time.  If one motor starts to stall you'll see bucking, "chuggle," or a lurchy start.

Most of these locos are grossly overpowered.  A single motored loco with die-cast trucks and rubber tires can probably pull 15-20 freight cars.  So if you really want the smoothest possible starts, one reversible mod anyone can do is a radical motor-ectomy!  Remove the motor without the speed control sensor and tape off the wires.  No, the loco won't pull 40 cars anymore.  But it *might* start and run consistently at 2-3 mph instead of 4 mph or more.  Because now the motor with the sensor won't have to fight against its twin in the face of transient frictional events.  Lionel's LionChief NW2s have only a single motor.  They run smoothly and still have plenty of pulling power.

Over the years, MTH changed their catalog text related to PS2.  The early catalogs touted smooth operation at 3 smph.  In some later catalogs the claim was increased to "5 scale mph or less," possibly to reduce warranty complaints of poor starting and jerky operation at the slowest speeds. 

Lionel beat the lurch by switching to back-drivable gears in their dual-motored Legacy locos.  The two 5-pole motors in those trucks can actually help each other, delivering as many as 38 power pulses per inch!  Going to a single motor with a very low gear ratio (like the Vision Genset) would be another definitive way to get smooth starts and reliable single-digit speeds.

I only have two switchers, one historical, and one active.

First, this was my brother’s first (and only, sad to say - he’s more of the Gomez Adams type) engine from the early 60’s...

And one I added for work in a freight yard I added to my layout...

brianel_k-lineguy posted:

 

That all said, I'm truly content with what I have. For me, the best switcher is NOT the one that I don't have yet: The best switchers are ones I already have. With miminal alterations, they can crawl, run slowly and even steadily on tight 027 curves. Roadname issues: Ah, I just repaint them.   

I do have a favorite switcher. And though I bought the Lionel legacy ALCO S-2 in Southern RR colors, I sent it to Malcolm (Brother Love) for some paint and decal magic to transform it to L&N #2310. And though I also have a couple hooded road diesels, L&N #2310 is my go-to switcher

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

In the meantime, which of your switchers is your best one for purely operational purposes, and why?

I don't own it anymore, as I switched over to 2-rail, but my best slow-running 3-rail locomotive was my Lionel Genset. Really smooth and slow. Mine was the Vision Line NS model, but I assume the Legacy models ran the same.

Good luck.

Paul, That 621 has a strange resemblance to mine.  LOL

My brother was Gomez Adams too, but with our slot cars.  I guess I am glad no one ever bought me a train, he would have broken it.  LOL. Since I saved up and bought my own, he didn’t touch it

I have the old 622 which I've had for over 65 years but has been upgraded with TMCC and operating front and rear couplers, now a real switcher it may  not be the best but will always be my favorite.

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, That 621 has a strange resemblance to mine.  LOL

My brother was Gomez Adams too, but with our slot cars.  I guess I am glad no one ever bought me a train, he would have broken it.  LOL. Since I saved up and bought my own, he didn’t touch it

Definitely twin brothers of different mothers, Mark!!!

I actually got my interest in trains from my mother. As a kid, she used to take the train from Brooklyn (actually Manhattan) to Asbury Park down on the Jersey shore for the summer, so she would have seen plenty of Jersey Central motive power. My first engine was a Pennsy 637 steamer, and I’m sure she saw plenty of Pennsy power in those days as well. Needless to say, her favorite engine was the GG1, which I totally agree with.

I lived close to the B&O Pittsburgh and Western line.  My maternal grandfather was a fireman on the B&O before stints in the Marines in the Philippines and when he was disabled in WWI.   He passed on before I was born, but I watched trains where he had fired engines 

Paul, one of my favorites is this Williams Jersey Central NW2 that I recently purchased for a very reasonable price st a LHS:

It's an excellent puller and, IMO, gorgeous. It might be a great candidate to upgrade to a modern operating system for slow speed, sounds and electrocouplers. The same is true with the Postwar 622, 623, the blue and orange Seaboard, and similar Liinel Pistwar switchers from the early and mid 1950s. Arnold

Fast, Strong, Reliable.  Universal and unlimited capabilities.  Works with any road name.

Runs on nearly any liquid beverage.

Have Fun!

Ron

Chesapeake Western Cab #662. It was one of the Lost Engines of Roanoke. The engine has been cosmetically restored and is on display at the Virginia Museum of Transportation. This engine was painted by Christine Braden. To the best of my knowledge, it is one-of-a-kind.

This started in Atlantic Coast Line livery. I purchased it with the intention of a repaint. The project was stalled for about 10 yrs because of a lack of decals. Christine "made it happen".

For operational ability these...for nostalgia these...

Here are some pictures of my 44 Ton Switchers,SP&ATSF and SP SW 2 Switcher

I couldn’t get rid of the 2 odd pictures,sorry

Ron045 posted:

Fast, Strong, Reliable.  Universal and unlimited capabilities.  Works with any road name.

Runs on nearly any liquid beverage.

Have Fun!

Ron

 

Obviously, Ron, you are a believer in the “deus ex machina“ principal   

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Paul, one of my favorites is this Williams Jersey Central NW2 that I recently purchased for a very reasonable price st a LHS:

It's an excellent puller and, IMO, gorgeous. It might be a great candidate to upgrade to a modern operating system for slow speed, sounds and electrocouplers. The same is true with the Postwar 622, 623, the blue and orange Seaboard, and similar Liinel Pistwar switchers from the early and mid 1950s. Arnoldwhi

Arnold;

Very nice. While I’ve always preferred the NJC blue/orange schemes, they did have a nice green. Somewhere in the basement I have a Lionel caboose in matching livery.

Among my currently owned switchers, my favorite is this MTH Railking Proto 1 Jersey Central FM Trainmaster, which is very large but I believe it still qualifies as a switcher:

Here it is in action:

Why?

It's a very good smoker and puller with heft and traction tires, and it has good sounds. Most importantly, it has a front and rear electrocouplers that can operate anywhere on my layout.

Negatives? It's a bit of a jack rabbit, and use of the electrocouplers is a bit cumbersome when operated conventionally.

Good night folks, Arnold

Best switcher - Lionel Docksider

Why - Because it's my only switcher.

Pete

MikeH posted:

The MTH RS-1 (30-20384-1) is my favorite switcher and one of my favorite engines period.  Reliable, great sounds, big smoke, and very detailed.  Hard to believe it's RailKing (a bargain).  If MTH releases future RS-1's in one of my road names, I won't hesitate to buy another.

MIKEH beat me to it. I totally agree. I have often said that MTH RS-1's are not only my favorite switcher but also my favorite railking diesel. These RS-1's are definitely premier quality and affordable. Tread on walkways, separate grab irons, smoke,crew figures, and so on. I thought I would share a few pics of my 11. I have been in contact with MTH and have asked them to do the RS-1's in Penn Central black with the WHITE worm logo. Powered and dummies would be nice. I picked up my last RS-1 (Illinois Terminal)  recently from a hobby shop closing. Awesome price of 214.00. I tried to walk away but couldn't. MTH...….If you are reading this...….2 things....Please don't ruin this by turning it into  a premier model and Please do this in Penn Central.

My favorite switcher is my MTH NYC 0-6-0. Sorry I don’t have any pictures as it is packed away. Why? Because it runs as smooth as silk. 

Mine is MTH first FM H10-44 Milwaukee switcher with photo 1. It's old but still sounds and runs good. The reason it's my favorite is it's the first locomotive my wife Vicky bought me for Christmas. She ordered it from the Train Shack in Burbank Ca. It was a premier engine then, but I guess it's been downgraded to a RailKing now. It's scale sized  and I will never sell it. Don

jini5 posted:

MikeH posted:

The MTH RS-1 (30-20384-1) is my favorite switcher and one of my favorite engines period.  Reliable, great sounds, big smoke, and very detailed.  Hard to believe it's RailKing (a bargain).  If MTH releases future RS-1's in one of my road names, I won't hesitate to buy another.

MIKEH beat me to it. I totally agree. I have often said that MTH RS-1's are not only my favorite switcher but also my favorite railking diesel. These RS-1's are definitely premier quality and affordable. Tread on walkways, separate grab irons, smoke,crew figures, and so on. I thought I would share a few pics of my 11. I have been in contact with MTH and have asked them to do the RS-1's in Penn Central black with the WHITE worm logo. Powered and dummies would be nice. I picked up my last RS-1 (Illinois Terminal)  recently from a hobby shop closing. Awesome price of 214.00. I tried to walk away but couldn't. MTH...….If you are reading this...….2 things....Please don't ruin this by turning it into  a premier model and Please do this in Penn Central.

Wow JINI5!!  The Penn Central would make an even dozen.  You have a great looking collection of them!!  Yes, the price is hard to beat, if it can be beat.  I do like the RS-1, but as mentioned above I am more partial to the RS-3.  I agree, powered and non-powered ones would be nice!

Mark, that is a great looking engine and paint job. WOW! That's a show stopper. Don

scale rail posted:

Mark, that is a great looking engine and paint job. WOW! That's a show stopper. Don

Don, Do you mean Mike H's Illinois Terminal RS-1?  I was just commenting on previous posts!

I have two.  My Western Pacific VO-1000 for diesels and my Texas & Pacific 0-6-0 for steam locomotives.  Just like the looks of them.  Matt

My favorite switcher is a scratchbuilt S.B.R. Alco HH660. 

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

My favorite switcher is a scratch built S.B.R. Alco HH660. 

Awesome engine Johan! Only one I've seen in O scale. Great detail work. 

I was hoping you would find this topic, Johan!!  Excellent choice, as I didn't even know it was scratchbuilt!  You are one up on most of us!!  

Picking a best/favorite switcher is not easy. My favorite steam switcher is my WM 0-8-0. I have two favorite diesel switchers. The Canton SW-1500 was a gift from Paul Strickland. The WM 44-ton is really fun to operate.

Charlie

PAUL ROMANO posted:

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

My favorite switcher is a scratch built S.B.R. Alco HH660. 

Awesome engine Johan! Only one I've seen in O scale. Great detail work. 

Paul. Thank you very much. 🤝

Johan

Mark Boyce posted:

I was hoping you would find this topic, Johan!!  Excellent choice, as I didn't even know it was scratchbuilt!  You are one up on most of us!!  

Mark. Thank you Sir. I have been a little busy but i am glad that i found this topic. 🤝

Johan

Charlie, The WM 0-8-0 is the same one I have!  That's a snazzy Fireball caboose.  Do you have the fireball Heritage engine too?

Rick, The TMCC 0-8-0 is really nice too!!

Mark,

No, I do not have the Lionel engine. You and I have very similar WM tastes. I have a Williams BL2, an MTH RSD-5 like yours, and an MTH Hudson steam engine. I also have other WM engines too.

Charlie

Arnold D. Cribari posted:

PRRronbh posted:

Have to say all of the below.

 

Don't think I could pick one of these over the others.

Ron

Ron, I have pre-ordered the above 8332 NY Central RS-3, assuming it's the MTH Railking Proto 3. I would love to know anything you want to say about how it operates as a switcher. Best, Arnold

PS, I realize it's very hard to pick one of these beauties as the best, as is evident from my own utter failure to do so. LOL

Arnold sorry for the delay, has been a hectic few days.  No my NYC RS-3 is not a PS-3.  In fact it is probably the very first MTH NYC RK (scale) RS-3 cataloged 2000 Vol 3, delivered Dec 2000.  It is PS-2 albeit 5V system.   My first "modern" 3-rail diesel after switching back to O-Gauge.  Bought to head my NYC MOW cars MTH RK 120/150 ton crane and tender and MTH Premier snow plow.   Received it just before taking down my temporary 6'-6" X 8' layout.  Before my 6-moves in 2-years.  Did not get a lot of run time before tear down but it ran great.  My personal experiences have been that PS-2 5v systems in diesels ran better and slower (smooth at 1 and 2 (SMPH) then the 2.4V and/or PS-3.  And from the pic you can see it looks great.

Ron

Ron, My Western Maryland RS-3 is the same vintage as yours.  PS2, 5V.  It does run well at low speed.  Of course we aren't helping Arnold with the new PS3 version.  I would like to get one of those in WM scheme, but did not pre-order.

Mark Boyce posted:

Ron, My Western Maryland RS-3 is the same vintage as yours.  PS2, 5V.  It does run well at low speed.  Of course we aren't helping Arnold with the new PS3 version.  I would like to get one of those in WM scheme, but did not pre-order.

Mark, I see that the MTH site shows the WM RS-3 PS-3 in stock now.  Also have you checked with "
Mr. Muffin (Steve Nelson).  He normally orders many more for stock.  And he has good prices.

Ron

PRRronbh posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

Ron, My Western Maryland RS-3 is the same vintage as yours.  PS2, 5V.  It does run well at low speed.  Of course we aren't helping Arnold with the new PS3 version.  I would like to get one of those in WM scheme, but did not pre-order.

Mark, I see that the MTH site shows the WM RS-3 PS-3 in stock now.  Also have you checked with "
Mr. Muffin (Steve Nelson).  He normally orders many more for stock.  And he has good prices.

Ron

Ron, Thank you!  I do see it is in stock now.  That was quick for 2019 Vol 2.  Mr. Muffin's price is $314.95 and McCormick's price is $309.95 and I can pick it up at the store, since I pass it on the way to visit my aunt in the nursing home.  Now it look in my thin wallet!  

RickO posted:

........ 4 chuffs per revolution ,.....

 

Did this engine come with 4 chuffs/rev or did you upgrade it?  Thanks.