IT's SWITCHER SATURDAY 6/22/24 Edition

My MTH Premier model (20-3148-2) of New Haven #3400, a USRA 0-8-0 switcher with PS2 and scale wheels, was advertised in the 2005 Volume 1 Catalog at an MSRP of $599.95. I bought this version because I like the look of scale wheels and don’t need traction tires for the short trains that I run. Although it runs through the Atlas O-54 curves of my 10’-by-5’ layout and has adequate tractive force, I don’t recommend buying scale-wheeled versions to run on 3-rail track.

#3400 was one of thirty-five Y-3 class USRA 0-8-0 heavy switchers built by Alco for the New Haven Railroad between 1920 and 1923. Although the Y-3 class was successful, the railroad’s next switcher purchase was sixteen more powerful Y-4 class three-cylinder 0-8-0s between 1924 and 1927. The last New Haven 0-8-0 switcher was retired in 1952.

Pictures and video show #3400 pulling three New Haven boxcars and New Haven NE6 caboose C-681 (by Atlas O). Train speed in the videos is 18 scale miles-per-hour.

MELGAR

• Revived from the junk pile Western Pacific NW2

Taking a break from another Panther hockey implosion to find  this nice respite from the game. What a great time to kick off switcher Saturday!  Here’s my LioneChief Dash-8 running on the mainline this morning.

Lionel 6-31747 Pennsylvania 4751 BB-1  moving a string of mixed freight to the yards . The engine is out of a PRR Ballast Train set with TMCC. Built in 2006.

Here is a short video from the Raritan Valley Hirailers layout at the TCA Convention.....doing some "roadwork".......

.......and, there are a few switchers in this picture that I took viewing a collection during a convention tour.........

Have a great and safe weekend, everyone!

Peter

Thanks, again, Patrick, for starting up SwSat.

Railking PS3 P&LE RS3 redux

Happy SWSat!

Greetings SWSat Nation. Another week has passed quickly by. We were away on a brief vacation to the Poconos this week. No train activities but it was nice to get away.

The crews on PRR 94 and #9331 were both busy this week. The 44 tonner (WbB) had to swap out one car for two at the local distributor. They then spotted the New Haven car for #94 (K-line) to pick up and take back to the interchange as part of a short train.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bob

Bob - sharp NH car. Made by ?

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

Bob - sharp NH car. Made by ?

It's a Menards clunker.......had to rebuild the trucks to get it to stay on the track. Also the airbrake tank assembly they put on the car was removed because it was catching switches.

Nice graphics though.......at least they got the NH right on this one.

Thanks for prompt reply!

Good morning, SwSat Nation!  Having lived in Central MA all my life, I favor Northeast trains, but I have a small collection of Western locomotives.  My theme for the next couple of weeks will be “the West”.

Let’s start with my MTH Railking Scale Union Pacific EMD GP20 no. 475.  Like many of you, I think Railking Scale engines are a great value.  They have good detail, the same “prime mover” as the more expensive Premier engines and are great smokers.  My 475 has run flawlessly for the 7-8 years I’ve owned it.  I also think it has one of the best sound sets of any of my diesels.

I’d also like to share some switcher terminology I recently learned, a term I don’t recall seeing in this thread.  I was watching a video recently; the narrator referred to the yard switcher as “the drill”.  The process of switching, of course, was “drilling”!

John

It’s SwSat again.  A Canadian Alco S2(MTH) on the move this morning.

Have a great day!

Today I saw a GP30 running some cars up the grade to the industrial area on the Piedmont subdivision.  Captured a video as she passed through the recently completed cut.

Another in the old Pittsburgh Brewery series

- walt

@jstraw124 posted:

Today I saw a GP30 running some cars up the grade to the industrial area on the Piedmont subdivision.  Captured a video as she passed through the recently completed cut.

Very nice scene of the cut and great video. It appears that’s a corner of your layout. You should post on here as well.
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...5#184720406476110785

Just out of the shops, this Williams NW2 now with Lionchief control.

Pete

Happy Switch Sat.!

I have been waiting years for a RS-1, I wanted a custom re-release in New Haven colors, But I'm not holding my breath.

I saw this RS-1 30-20870 Soo Line w/ PS3, It's very nice and I love the sounds.

Unfortunately my  videos are not downloading on the computer.

Take Care, Ray

Here is a little Hornby 0-4-0 Type M1 on her rounds with a few cars for the yard.  Passing the commuter platform and instead of a nice ride to town all those folks are going to get is a shower of cinders!   She is postwar, available in the middle 50's to early 60's, clockwork like most Hornby but still runs fine.

Best Wishes

Don

RayKay, a new iPad cured the problems I was having downloading video to the Forum.  You may need a new device because the memory on the old one is nearly full.  Unfortunately, a new device will cost as much as a new switcher!

John

In honor of my late father.  From Father's Day last Sunday, here's his custom painted CNR NW-2 pulling a small string of Dow Chemical tankers past his scratch built CNR roundhouse. He worked for Dow for 35+ years. 

Rob

@pennsyfan posted:

Very nice scene of the cut and great video. It appears that’s a corner of your layout. You should post on here as well.
https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...5#184720406476110785

Thanks for the link.  I did post over there.  It’s the In-Law Inn.

Enjoy another humid day in upstate NY, K-Line Alco Wabash

When I finally got a loop of track on the table this WBB Conrail NW2 was the first engine I threw on the tracks.  I grabbed a Lionel starter set 40 watt transformer and away it went.  Williams and WBB simply bullet proof!  After 4 or 5 laps around I cycled from forward through neutral to reverse it went about a foot and died.  So much for bullet proof after sitting boxed up or on a shelf for I can't even remember how long.  Okay grab something else, another WBB NW2 in NYC livery.  Same result.  Okay lets open them up and check the grease.  Pull out the directions to check how to remove the shell and where to lube,  And right there in the first paragraph, 90 watt transformer.  Pull out the GW 180  and problems are solved.  These two along with a Great Northern NW2 dressed in Green and orange with yellow striping were picked up from TrainLand when they were clearing out a lot of Williams and WBB for $99.

While the photos and videos show a model of an NW2, the real Conrail 9344 was an EMD SW1200, built in November 1957, as Pennsylvania Railroad No. 7925.

Joe, Best pull the motors out and check the grease. The tan stuff sets up like epoxy. Checked three of my pre Bachmann Williams and they were all seized or about to seize. They might be well made but they made the wrong choice for grease.

Pete

Thanks Pete.

Here is a couple of Burlington Junction's switchers. Their yard is about a 15-minute walk from my house.

@coach joe posted:

When I finally got a loop of track on the table this WBB Conrail NW2 was the first engine I threw on the tracks.  I grabbed a Lionel starter set 40 watt transformer and away it went.  Williams and WBB simply bullet proof!  After 4 or 5 laps around I cycled from forward through neutral to reverse it went about a foot and died.  So much for bullet proof after sitting boxed up or on a shelf for I can't even remember how long.  Okay grab something else, another WBB NW2 in NYC livery.  Same result.  Okay lets open them up and check the grease.  Pull out the directions to check how to remove the shell and where to lube,  And right there in the first paragraph, 90 watt transformer. Pull out the GW 180  and problems are solved.  These two along with a Great Northern NW2 dressed in Green and orange with yellow striping were picked up from TrainLand when they were clearing out a lot of Williams and WBB for $99.

While the photos and videos show a model of an NW2, the real Conrail 9344 was an EMD SW1200, built in November 1957, as Pennsylvania Railroad No. 7925.

Joe, some of those low-wattage starter set transformers are DC and they aren't clearly labeled as such. Does yours look like this?

Lionel started supplying DC transformers in many "starter" sets because the Kughn-era diesels with the Mabuchi can motors in the trucks could be run on either AC or DC and some even cheaper locos, like the 2-8-0 8902 could only be run on DC.

At low current DC I think the bridge rectifier in your WbB will pass through DC current one way and block it in the other without rectifier damage. My WbB PRR NW2 runs just fine on my MPC-era repro 4850/4851 and it's only 50 watts AC.

Late, once again, I'm continuing the Conrail theme @coach joe started with my K-Line SW1500 (identical to K-Line's MP15, btw) in Conrail livery moving her employees' safety award consist:

As I mentioned in an earlier SWSAT post, the prototype was built for the Reading Railroad as RDG #2765 in August 1969. She was then transferred to CR shortly after its 1976 formation and served in this livery until she was sold in 1996 to Juniata Terminal Switching Co in Philadelphia and was assigned #9276. She was on long-term lease to NJT for MOW operations as recently as 2014.

The K-Line locomotive was part of a special set given to Conrail Shared Assets Operations (CSAO) employees to commemorate safe operations during the first full year of CSAO's operation, 2000. CSAO was formed in July of 1999 after most of the trackage of CR had been sold off to CSX and NS concluding in 1999. The remaining trackage became CSAO with 4 divisions, (1) Mt Laurel, NJ, (2) South Jersey, (3) North Jersey/Philadelphia, and (4) Detroit, MI, and is jointly held by CSX and NS and operated as an independently managed entity. The commemorative set consists of a caboose (originally built by PRR as one of 200 N5B cabin cars) and 3 cars that, together, represent awards for each of 4 quarters of safe operation in 2000 with the locomotive representing the year-end award:

Note that each of the 4 cars also bears the name of one of the 4 above-referenced CSAO operational divisions. An oval of track and "power pack" were also included. I acquired the SW1500 locomotive and 4 cars from a seller in unopened boxes, but not the whole set. It is possible the individual pieces were given to employees as the year progressed and the complete set was compiled later.

Bill, the transformer did not look like that.  It was a two piece, transformer and controller, and is AC.  I'm now using the GW-180 and a MTH Z-750 and neither of the Williams or WBB locos I'm running seem to balk when on the Z-750 loop.  I guess the 40 watt rated Lionel transformer just didn't supply enough power for continued ops.

@coach joe posted:

Bill, the transformer did not look like that.  It was a two piece, transformer and controller, and is AC.  I'm now using the GW-180 and a MTH Z-750 and neither of the Williams or WBB locos I'm running seem to balk when on the Z-750 loop.  I guess the 40 watt rated Lionel transformer just didn't supply enough power for continued ops.

I think @Norton may have the answer, Coach. It seems you have a fair amount of internal friction that is causing your WbB locos to draw more current than they should due to grease solidification. Here's my WbB PRR NW2 pulling an easy-rolling 027 consist on my 50W 4850/4851 on nearly the lowest voltage setting:

She had already been running about 20 min. before I took this video with only the slightest warming of the transformer.

As is my practice with all newly-acquired vertical DC can-motored or "China-drive" locos with all-metal gears, I supplemented the lube in this one with "Yamalube" molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) grease:

I highly recommend this grease as it is designed for the sliding friction encountered in worm and gear drives and is compatible with all hydrocarbon-based greases, so you don't need to clean every trace of old grease out of your gearbox. It should get your WbB CR NW2 running like new!

My SWSat friends: As a longtime member of this rewarding train group, I posted an update on my health this past Saturday ((improving!) because I had asked you for your prayers several weeks ago. It then disappeared. I followed up with a query about that happenstance.

Kindly,  OGR Publisher Alan Arnold stepped up with a very respectful and informative response by noting that this forum is about trains and that purely personal posts should not be used here. I believe the word “algorithm” was used  

I respect his explanation and thank him for it. Obviously, I never saw my post from such a perspective but what Alan said made good sense.
I apologized to Alan and I apologize to you, as well. But getting back on the track (!) now, let’s continue to enjoy our trains.
And thank you.  

No need to apologize...JUST GET WELL!!

Don