a picture a day....

Walt, I’ve known for a long time you have to put a good bit of thought into each of your Christmas layouts.  You have really shown how much over the past couple weeks!  Bravo!  

Walt number 31 is super impressive!!!  BRAVO!!!!

FOR TODAY:  " Well good golly gee!  Here comes one of those new fangled road switchers. Must be one of those Fairbanks - Morse Train Masters everyone's been talking about." exclaims O'l Pot Belly Peterson as he waves at the Train Masters' crew.  Meanwhile brakeman Ned Rawlings gives hand signals to the engineer of the A5 to move forward. ... just another day on the railroad.

Fireman Quincy Coleman stands on the A5's tender deck.  Engineer Ed Lottsford keeps his eyes trained on the track ahead.  

Later Quincy stands on the top step of the tender as he checks the water supply.  

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  " Well good golly gee!  Here comes one of those new fangled road switchers. Must be one of those Fairbanks - Morse Train Masters everyone's been talking about." exclaims O'l Pot Belly Peterson as he waves at the Train Masters' crew.  Meanwhile brakeman Ned Rawlings gives hand signals to the engineer of the A5 to move forward. ... just another day on the railroad.

Hi Patrick, a quote from your post, "Well good golly gee! Here comes one of those new fangled road switchers. Must be one of those Fairbanks - Morse Train Masters everyone's been talking about." Calling the FM Train Master H24-66 a Switcher was exactly why they were unsuccessful, the railroads didn't know how to use them. At 2400 horsepower with six axles weighing in at 384,000 pounds they had massive tractive force compared to the many popular F and GP series of the time, and they were fast. Southern Pacific figured out what to do with them, passenger service.

When I was a teenager living in Palo Alto, CA south of San Francisco, I saw them almost everyday pulling the San Francisco to San Jose Peninsula Commuter trains. I wish I had taken a photo of them with my Kodak 64 camera. LoL

Here are my two Lionel FM Train Masters H24-66 for "a picture at day". I just received #4803 yesterday from a eBay seller

Happy Railroading Patrick, as always, love you photos and stories!!

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Hi Patrick, a quote from your post, "Well good golly gee! Here comes one of those new fangled road switchers. Must be one of those Fairbanks - Morse Train Masters everyone's been talking about." Calling the FM Train Master H24-66 a Switcher was exactly why they were unsuccessful, the railroads didn't know how to use them. At 2400 horsepower with six axles weighing in at 384,000 pounds they had massive tractive force compared to the many popular F and GP series of the time, and they were fast. Southern Pacific figured out what to do with them, passenger service.

When I was a teenager living in Palo Alto, CA south of San Francisco, I saw them almost everyday pulling the San Francisco to San Jose Peninsula Commuter trains. I wish I had taken a photo of them with my Kodak 64 camera. LoL

Here are my two Lionel FM Train Masters H24-66 for "a picture at day". I just received #4803 yesterday from a eBay seller

Happy Railroading Patrick, as always, love you photos and stories!!

Thanks for your kind words Scott! ...  AND for your thoughts and experiences regarding the H-24-66 Train Master by Fairbanks - Morse.  Congrats on your new Southern Pacific Train Master, it looks terrific!!   Your TM fleet has now grown by 50%!  Keep on breeding those wonderful locomotives!

The H - 24 - 66 was quite an amazing locomotive for its' time.  I think their opposed piston engine was difficult for shop crews to maintain and that was part of the reason for their limited production run.  

I'll bet those Southern Pacific Train Masters were a sight to behold as they led their passenger consists down the tracks!   I would have loved to have seen them!  As a matter of fact I've never had the opportunity to see on in action.   I lived near  a B&O mainline.  B&O didn't purchase any H-24- 66 locomotives.   They did roster the H - 16 - 44 which was nicknamed the 'baby Train Master", however I never saw one of those in action on the mainline either, only a parade of EMD F, E, and GP units, Budd RDC cars,  plus ALCO road diesels.  

Back in the 1950's when I was a very young feller,  I saw the Lionel Virginian Train Master in a dept. store.  I thought that was the most beautiful engine I had ever seen ( as if I had ever seem them all at that age .. lol!).  Priced at $39.50 it was more than my parents could afford and of course my train layout was 027, so the loco. wouldn't negotiate my curves ... however, that engine made an indelible imprint in my brain and I never forgot its' beauty.  Fast forward to present day and I roster both a Virginian and a Reading Train Master in my fleet.  

It's terrific that we can allow the Train Master to live on in our wonderfully creative little worlds.

FOR TODAY:  ( For Scott - Western Pacific 2217 .. in celebration of the Train Master) A consist of two Fairbanks - Morse H - 24 - 66  Train Masters arrive at the Patsburg Commuter Station.   Both units are Williams by Bachman.

#32 on my continuing count"UP" of Christmas layouts

- walt

For those that had them: Contrux!

I just love wires (dripping with sarcasm he wrote)

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  ( For Scott - Western Pacific 2217 .. in celebration of the Train Master) A consist of two Fairbanks - Morse H - 24 - 66  Train Masters arrive at the Patsburg Commuter Station.   Both units are Williams by Bachman.

Hey Patrick, awesome, thanks for sharing your FM Train Masters, they look great on your layout!! The paint schemes on your locos are very cool! Nice celebration.

When I was looking for SP FM Train Masters I was looking for the bloody nose and grey paint scheme because that is how I remember them. Originally the two that I have, SP 4803 and 4809, were in the Black Widow paint scheme. That was when they were doing freight duty. I looked at the Williams models too, but they are in the Black Widow paint scheme, so I kept searching until I found the Lionel Legacy that I have now.

Note: When 4803 and 4809 were relegated to passenger service they were repainted from Black Widow to Bloody Nose red and grey and renumbered! 4803 became 3023 and 4809 became 3029. I guess Lionel decided to keep the original freight numbers. I'm good with that.

Real railroad history is stranger than fiction! LoL

Have a great day Patrick, and keep those FM Train Masters runnin'!

@trumpettrain posted:

FOR TODAY:  ( For Scott - Western Pacific 2217 .. in celebration of the Train Master) A consist of two Fairbanks - Morse H - 24 - 66  Train Masters arrive at the Patsburg Commuter Station.   Both units are Williams by Bachman.

Patrick and Scott, Funny that critics and RR History state the FM -TM was not very well received by many roads.  My Father worked on the NY Central and always said the Fairbanks Morse was the best engine in the fleet, 2nd to the Hudson 464 Steamer, which was his absolute favorite'.. Go figure'...

Nice shots Pat'...and Scott too..👍😀

Count"UP" #33 on my Christmas layouts

- walt

And one closeup of a scene that I like.

FOR TODAY:  A moving picture to commemorate and celebrate National Train Day!  

Pennsy U36B moving some freight

@trumpettrain posted:

The H - 24 - 66 was quite an amazing locomotive for its' time.  I think their opposed piston engine was difficult for shop crews to maintain and that was part of the reason for their limited production run.  

I'll bet those Southern Pacific Train Masters were a sight to behold as they led their passenger consists down the tracks!   I would have loved to have seen them!  As a matter of fact I've never had the opportunity to see on in action.  

I always wanted a Lackawanna after seeing them in the 50's Lionel catalogs.  The Erie tracks were a bike ride away and when Erie and Lackawanna merged I could go watch three units pull an ore train out of Erie Docks on the Cleveland lakefront.  It was the ruling grade and they ran at full throttle with the ore loads at 8mph!

Oh to have a camera.

Lou N

Lionel postwar RDC duo.......

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Hi Patrick, a quote from your post, "Well good golly gee! Here comes one of those new fangled road switchers. Must be one of those Fairbanks - Morse Train Masters everyone's been talking about." Calling the FM Train Master H24-66 a Switcher was exactly why they were unsuccessful, the railroads didn't know how to use them. At 2400 horsepower with six axles weighing in at 384,000 pounds they had massive tractive force compared to the many popular F and GP series of the time, and they were fast. Southern Pacific figured out what to do with them, passenger service.

When I was a teenager living in Palo Alto, CA south of San Francisco, I saw them almost everyday pulling the San Francisco to San Jose Peninsula Commuter trains. I wish I had taken a photo of them with my Kodak 64 camera. LoL

Here are my two Lionel FM Train Masters H24-66 for "a picture at day". I just received #4803 yesterday from a eBay seller

Happy Railroading Patrick, as always, love you photos and stories!!

Growing up in Half Moon Bay I too saw these massive, smokey beasts as a kid whenever we went to town, but I wasn’t a teenager till 77!

I believe they ran the commuter lines till the early 80’s when the new trains were introduced, now those NEW trains are being replaced as worn out! The existing CalTrain trainsets are being shipped off to less busy commuter lines around the country. That’s what I get for getting old!

The story I’ve heard is the Bayshore Yard maintenance crew was so good with the F-Ms that SP transferred them all there and they actually had more uptime than the EMD units I saw running freights on the peninsula- High nose GPs and SDs.

I remember the cars- Harriman type single levels (I’ve read they weren’t ACTUALLY Harriman, but were built to similar specs) and the grey double deckers from the fifties.

These trains were rattly, noisy and dusty as I recall, the NEW cars were clean and shiny, though those F40’s running at full throttle all the time for HEP were weird to this picky railfan kid.

Once in high school, I would ride the bus to Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo to get out of our summer fog!

Then ride the train to wherever on the peninsula and back, eat my sack lunch in the park then take the 5:35 bus back into the fog to our quiet, comfortable neighborhood.

@Russell - Idaho USA posted:

Growing up in Half Moon Bay I too saw these massive, smokey beasts as a kid whenever we went to town, but I wasn’t a teenager till 77!

I believe they ran the commuter lines till the early 80’s when the new trains were introduced, now those NEW trains are being replaced as worn out! The existing CalTrain trainsets are being shipped off to less busy commuter lines around the country. That’s what I get for getting old!

The story I’ve heard is the Bayshore Yard maintenance crew was so good with the F-Ms that SP transferred them all there and they actually had more uptime than the EMD units I saw running freights on the peninsula- High nose GPs and SDs.

I remember the cars- Harriman type single levels (I’ve read they weren’t ACTUALLY Harriman, but were built to similar specs) and the grey double deckers from the fifties.

These trains were rattly, noisy and dusty as I recall, the NEW cars were clean and shiny, though those F40’s running at full throttle all the time for HEP were weird to this picky railfan kid.

Once in high school, I would ride the bus to Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo to get out of our summer fog!

Then ride the train to wherever on the peninsula and back, eat my sack lunch in the park then take the 5:35 bus back into the fog to our quiet, comfortable neighborhood.

Hi Russell,

Yes those FM Train Masters were smokey and fast, particularly acceleration.

Here's the timeline you mention above: In 1980 "Caltrans" contracted with SP and began to subsidize the Peninsula Commute. Caltrans purchased new locomotives and rolling stock, replacing SP equipment in 1985. Caltrans also upgraded stations, added shuttle buses to nearby employers, and dubbed the operation "CalTrain".

Yup, the F40PH-2 had gear drive HEP and the engines ran at full 900 RPM all the time. They are affectionately referred to by locals as, "Screamers"!

Pretty cool you actually used Caltrain!

Here's the latest, Caltrain is electrifying with Stadler KISS train sets. All the overhead infrastructure is 99% complete, and the Sadlers will begin service this coming September. Here's a link if you're curious.

https://www.caltrain.com/projects/electrification

Also, Union Pacific still has right of way for freight service into South San Francisco.

My hope is to find some 1:48 scale double deck Gallery cars and paint them SP grey to go with my FM Train Masters. No O scale manufacturer has ever made SP Gallery cars that I've been able to find.

Thanks for sharing your teenage Peninsula commuter story!

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Hi Russell,

Yes those FM Train Masters were smokey and fast, particularly acceleration.

Here's the timeline you mention above: In 1980 "Caltrans" contracted with SP and began to subsidize the Peninsula Commute. Caltrans purchased new locomotives and rolling stock, replacing SP equipment in 1985. Caltrans also upgraded stations, added shuttle buses to nearby employers, and dubbed the operation "CalTrain".

Yup, the F40PH-2 had gear drive HEP and the engines ran at full 900 RPM all the time. They are affectionately referred to by locals as, "Screamers"!

Pretty cool you actually used Caltrain!

Here's the latest, Caltrain is electrifying with Stadler KISS train sets. All the overhead infrastructure is 99% complete, and the Sadlers will begin service this coming September. Here's a link if you're curious.

https://www.caltrain.com/projects/electrification

Also, Union Pacific still has right of way for freight service into South San Francisco.

My hope is to find some 1:48 scale double deck Gallery cars and paint them SP grey to go with my FM Train Masters. No O scale manufacturer has ever made SP Gallery cars that I've been able to find.

Thanks for sharing your teenage Peninsula commuter story!

Thanks, I don’t remember the dates.  

I have so many things I remember from when I was really little- the deadline at Bayshore Yard (not likely steam as those were all cut up before I was born in 64), the Construction of BART through Daly City, the massive trench that was Mission Street in San Fran when they were installing MUNI Metro, unloading a boxcar out in the middle of Minnesota Street at my dad’s work sometime in the late 60’s, my dad’s friend Ted’s O scale 2 rail layout in Pacifica…

Lots of things I really can’t remember fully but I don’t know anyone who could confirm or deny these memories. None connected with dates in my head, just flashes of recollections. Sometimes when I read things like the about about the F-M locos, I am there again…

beans and franks, a warm fire, great companions and a little muscatel.....

@gandydancer1950 posted:

beans and franks, a warm fire, great companions and a little muscatel.....

Nice photo like the blocks, Mark

Nice scene Gandy'..

Reminds me of Onion Town'..