Switcher Saturday 02-11-23

@jhz563 - Have fun at your train club meeting.

Last week, @Steam Crazy posted about the MTH Railking Boston & Maine SW9 switcher #1230 that he acquired for the bargain price of fifty-bucks at the Springfield, MA show. It’s a model that all Boston & Maine fans would like to have – including me.

Around 2000, Atlas O began offering high-quality die-cast models of EMD SW diesel switchers. The first run included models of B&M #1220 and #1223, items 6125-1 and 6125-2, at a list price of $359.95. I bought one of each. To me, they were special. I tested both, then put #1220 in a cabinet and #1223 on a shelf in my train room, where they have remained ever since.

Steam Crazy’s post induced me to give both models a brief test run. I started by inverting the models, attaching test leads, and applying power. I was surprised when the wheels on both began to turn immediately. I then set them up on my 10’-by-5’ layout, ran them, and took the attached photos and videos. They ran with typical Atlas smoothness – #1220 at 34 scale miles-per-hour and #1223 at 30 scale-miles per-hour. I ran them somewhat fast to get them loosened-up. When I reduced power, they also ran smoothly at lower speeds. Then, I returned the engines to cabinet and shelf.

I don’t plan to run these engines regularly. I’m happy just to own and admire them. They probably would not be easy to replace, and I have Atlas O SW switchers in the liveries of other railroads that I do run. I will look for a Railking B&M SW9 like John’s. Are there any more selling for $50?

MELGAR

Yay SWSat is on track!

Thanks for getting things going this weekend @jhz563. I love that switcher and it is so cool that you have such a close connection to the real thing. Hope you are recovering well.
I like that B&M SW @MELGAR. I like the brown and gold  scheme. I have a B&M NW2 in the black and red scheme. Mine is General Models or All Nation hard to tell.

This week I am posting a three rail engine on my two rail switching layout. It is new to me and I am really not sure who made it.

It is a London North Western Railway 2-4-0T a so called Chopper tank. Designed by Webb, 50 of this class were built between 1876—80. The last of these were scrapped by the late 30’s. My model is an odd one because it is in Midland Railway red paint. This engine would have never been in this paint scheme. The LNWR and the MR became the LMS and the Choppers would have eventually made it to LMS red and black paint.

I got this to relieve some of my prewar engines on holiday tree duty. I have a few Bassett Lowke and Exley cars that would be appropriate to pull with this.

I am going to take a ride out to Long Island today for the Sunrise Trail Division of the NMRA meeting. I hope everyone has a good weekend. I can’t wait to see what you guys post.

Happy SuperSWSat Weekend!

I've got a couple from the archives this week. B&0 5616 is a GP-9 by Lionel with TMCC and railsounds.

Next up is a RS-3 from MTH in Western Maryland black with the fireball logo with QSI locosound.

Hope everyone has a great weekend. I'm not a big fan of either team in the Superbowl this weekend just as long as the Eagles loose.

Bob

Happy Switcher Sat, everyone!  This week, my trusty RS3 was called into service. I love using this engine for switcher duties.

Here she is taking a load of freight to the industrial side track -

Here she is heading to the yard to pick up a load of boxcars after dropping off the freight on a siding -

And here she is after picking up the load of boxcars from the yard -

As always, it is 1949 on the layout and an early BS10 is moving a meat reefer to the grocery store’s warehouse off the east yard.  The observer can tell this is one of the 8 Pennsy BS10 eight-cylinder engines, not one of the 136* turbo six-cylinder BS10a engines, by the four stacks.

This is an MTH Railking Scale VO-1000.

*Actually, a few of the early BS10a engines still had the 8-cylinder prime mover but not the 4 stacks.

PRR H12-44 on the move again.

Happy SwSat everyone!

Gooood morning, switcher fans!  Mel, I like your Atlas SWs, but I think you should run them more often.  Model trains are like cars, they were made to be run.  If I find another MTH SW like mine for fifty bucks, I’ll pick it up for you!

Last Saturday I mentioned Mel’s post featuring his B&M GP9 no. 1563 would be the inspiration for my post today.  The PS1 board on my no. 1555 gave up after about 15 years of service, so she has been converted to PS3.  The cost of the conversion two years ago was $225, but the cost of the kit has increased it to $300 today!

Your Yardmaster headed out to the B&M Central MA branch again to catch no. 1555 in action.  She is shown with a freight in Berlin, MA.

Next Saturday I will be going to a show in Augusta. ME with my grandson.  I’m hoping to find an engine from another of my favorite roads, MEC.

John

Everyone, this is one of the best Switcher Saturdays with some great pictures of awesome switchers, old and new, beautiful videos looking so real. @jhz563, it’s great to see your unique switchers and real ones to, thanks for getting this fun to review thread started. Also, @MELGAR showing his beautiful Boston and Maine workhorses and awesome videos, @RSJB188, Bob, that beautiful B&O GP9 looks ready for duty, @CAPPilott, your VO-1000 Pennsylvania switcher is really nice as is so many of your Pennsylvania Steam Locomotives, @Strap Hanger, you have a cool layout and neat videos, that’s a colorful RS3 diesel ready for its daily duties, nice, Today I’m getting my little K-Line TMCC 0-4-0 steamer ready for a little work out. Happy Railroading Everyone  (also my friends beautiful postwar Lionel Seaboard switcher)

Good morning SWSAT crew.  Sorry I missed last week.  We were in sunny California preparing for our son's upcoming wedding.  His future father-in-law works for the LA County Port Authority and oversees the Port of Los Angeles.  He gave us a tour of the port facilities.  I've never seen so many containers in one place! Train upon train of double stacks waiting to pull out.  I saw a couple of Pacific Harbor Lines locomotives, but unfortunately my phone was dead and I couldn't get any photos.  I promise to get some good shots when we go out for the wedding!

In the mean time, I visited the archives to pull up a couple of shots from another trip we took to the Illinois Railway Museum:

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tom

@Steam Crazy posted:

Gooood morning, switcher fans!  Mel, I like your Atlas SWs, but I think you should run them more often.  Model trains are like cars, they were made to be run.  If I find another MTH SW like mine for fifty bucks, I’ll pick it up for you!

Next Saturday I will be going to a show in Augusta. ME with my grandson.  I’m hoping to find an engine from another of my favorite roads, MEC.

John

@Steam Crazy,

John,

I'm not quite as crazy as the people who buy a locomotive model and leave it in the box without ever opening it - but maybe close... I don't run some of my favorite engines - or I sometimes buy two (different road numbers) - run one and have the other for display. Similar to being "steam crazy."

Enjoy the show in Augusta with your grandson.

MELGAR

Good morning.  This week saw a rare quadruple switcher lineup, something that occurred only once in 2022.  The North Pole Express is a bit out of season but the attitude was, let's run it anyway.

And one from the Archives.

Have a good Saturday OGR, MPC U36 moving some freight and coal.

Great pics, everyone!

Peter

Great stuff switcher staff!

so, back in the early 80’s  I bought an all nation NW switcher and some MEC decals at the Stamford Connecticut scale show. It would be the beginning of my Re entry to model railroading.

so I know MEC didn’t have NW’s in the multi stripe MEC, but I decided to go for it, airbrush in hand and decals.

All nation drive was strong and the the lack of detailing didn’t matter to me then.

I later bought another and decorated one in the maroon/ black hood livery. These all nation switchers were my intro.
Three years later I bought a 44 tonner W&R phase IV brass piece. So it became a MEC #14.

those early days of switchers were filled with magic. Slow switching 40 foot boxcars and such.

still fascinated with slow MEC switchers, my last project came from a similar W&R 44 tonner I was truly fortunate to find.

as some my remember this last  project. Pictured

incidentally I too will be at Augusta with lots of 3rail for sale. Come by say Hi!

Here is an MTH 44 tonner fueling up to go clear a wreck.

A few of the above posts show 44 tonners; here’s mine, which began as an MTH Boston & Maine, and was masterfully custom painted and decaled by Ron045, to pull my RK Conrail Work Train Set.

Good afternoon fellow switcher fans!   I love all of your posts!   JHZ563 thanks so much for notching out the throttle and getting us rolling today!    Have a terrific weekend everyone!

A glance through the yard reveals a Pennsy A5 about to take on water.  Looks like she's already taken on a full load of coal for today's work.  

Lets take a walk up the tracks to get a closer look.  I can here the high pitched wine of the dynamo and the thumping of the air compressor as we get closer.  

Wow!  There she is!  I'll bet she'll pull forward soon so the tender's tank hatch will align with the water tank spout.

As we approach we can here some banter twixt the fireman and conductor.  Looks like the brakeman is sitting inside the cab. The conductor and fireman are betting each other on who will win the  Super Bowl.  

After taking on water the A5 has pulled forward and it's crew is waiting on the orders to be cut.

The orders stated the engine take a cut of empty hopper cars to be set out at a small local coal mine.  Just the start of another day on the railroad.

Another wonderful SWSAT.  Thank you all for posting.

JHZ, you could use beads for the remote control light trees if you're not worried about operational lights.

Larry, where were the photos of the 1:1 switchers taken?  Did you ever get Instructions for the 0-4-0?

Nice 44 tonners LeRoof

@Coach Joe, the real switchers in my pictures were taken at the North Carolina Railway and Transportation Museum near Salisbury North Carolina. We stopped there on our way to Norfolk last year. I recommend anyone traveling through that area to stop for a fun bit of railroad history. No, no instructions for the little K-Line 0-4-0 steamer (I will run a want ad on that OGR Forum) …. @trumptrain, your pictures and stories are great, what manufacturer made your cool little steamer, and I like the weathering look. @Sitkaa, wow, beautiful pictures of a beautiful layout. Happy Railroading Everyone

@leapinlarry. The #94 0-4-0 is also a K-line. This is the conventional model.

@RSJB18, Bob, wow, that’s a good looking steamer, and I like your Christmas tree gondola, cool scene, and the steamer is almost identical to the command version but equal in fun to run value. I miss K-Line products very much and wish Lionel would bring them back. Beautiful pictures everyone.

@leapinlarry posted:

@RSJB18, Bob, wow, that’s a good looking steamer, and I like your Christmas tree gondola, cool scene, and the steamer is almost identical to the command version but equal in fun to run value. I miss K-Line products very much and wish Lionel would bring them back. Beautiful pictures everyone.

It's one of my faves Larry. Recently there were a few posts comparing the K-line and MTH A5's. The MTH model was closer to scale (and smaller) than the K-line.

Thanks

@RSJB18 posted:

It's one of my faves Larry. Recently there were a few posts comparing the K-line and MTH A5's. The MTH model was closer to scale (and smaller) than the K-line.

Thanks

I have been entertaining getting an A5 myself.   The K-line model is available at a few outlets.   The mth model is nowhere to be found.

@jhz563 posted:

I have been entertaining getting an A5 myself.   The K-line model is available at a few outlets.   The mth model is nowhere to be found.

Go for it! nudge......nudge......

I’m also in the market for one of these A5s. I was close to buying an MTH PS2 one from a local guy a few months ago but he wanted significantly more than original list price and refused to budge.  The search for me continues. Hopefully  MTH or anyone they may have sold the molds to will make another batch with updated electronics.

JHZ, the MTH A5 is one sweet engine, if you can find one.  It has great detail and is a really smooth runner.  My A5 is one of my favorites!

John

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

A few of the above posts show 44 tonners; here’s mine, which began as an MTH Boston & Maine, and was masterfully custom painted and decaled by Ron045, to pull my RK Conrail Work Train Set

Thanks Mark.  It was my pleasure.  This is the first time I've read a switcher Saturday thread.  What a cool thing.  I will make it a habit.  Great stuff everyone.

For my next project, I'm searching for an Atlas SW9 so I can create this.

@RSJB18 posted:

……. The MTH model was closer to scale (and smaller) than the K-line.

The MTH A5 is great runner, scale, and noticeably smaller than the K-Line, although the MTH tender is a bit large.  My upgraded K-Line is nice, but it now sits on the shelf and I plan to sell it some day.

@RSJB18, Bob, yes the K-Line TMCC version I have was purchased at a really special price for fun and it is a surprisingly good runner. I do have Lionel’s new Legacy 0-4-0 B&O switcher on order and it’s scheduled for July delivery, from the 2022 signature catalog. @Coach Joe has reached out to me with a the instructions paperwork for which I’m grateful. This OGR Forum is so great. I’m wondering if this new Lionel model will be made from the MTH tooling? Maybe someone will chime in… Happy Railroading Everyone

@Ron045 posted:

Thanks Mark.  It was my pleasure.  This is the first time I've read a switcher Saturday thread.  What a cool thing.  I will make it a habit.  Great stuff everyone.

For my next project, I'm searching for an Atlas SW9 so I can create this.

Welcome to the SWSat  crew Ron.  Can't wait to see your posts.

Bob

@MELGAR posted:

@jhz563 - Have fun at your train club meeting.

Last week, @Steam Crazy posted about the MTH Railking Boston & Maine SW9 switcher #1230 that he acquired for the bargain price of fifty-bucks at the Springfield, MA show. It’s a model that all Boston & Maine fans would like to have – including me.

Around 2000, Atlas O began offering high-quality die-cast models of EMD SW diesel switchers. The first run included models of B&M #1220 and #1223, items 6125-1 and 6125-2, at a list price of $359.95. I bought one of each. To me, they were special. I tested both, then put #1220 in a cabinet and #1223 on a shelf in my train room, where they have remained ever since.

Steam Crazy’s post induced me to give both models a brief test run. I started by inverting the models, attaching test leads, and applying power. I was surprised when the wheels on both began to turn immediately. I then set them up on my 10’-by-5’ layout, ran them, and took the attached photos and videos. They ran with typical Atlas smoothness – #1220 at 34 scale miles-per-hour and #1223 at 30 scale-miles per-hour. I ran them somewhat fast to get them loosened-up. When I reduced power, they also ran smoothly at lower speeds. Then, I returned the engines to cabinet and shelf.

I don’t plan to run these engines regularly. I’m happy just to own and admire them. They probably would not be easy to replace, and I have Atlas O SW switchers in the liveries of other railroads that I do run. I will look for a Railking B&M SW9 like John’s. Are there any more selling for $50?

MELGAR

MELGAR That is a great looking layout, don't know what I like better the engines you run or just looking at that layout well done sir! Mark

@Sitka posted:

MELGAR That is a great looking layout, don't know what I like better the engines you run or just looking at that layout well done sir! Mark

@Sitka,

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. It is a small (10'-by-5') layout with just a single loop of Atlas O-54 track for the curves. I built the bridges, hill/tunnel and some of the structures from scratch. Other structures from kits. Took me five years. The railroad is meant to model a single-track branch line and a small downtown in New England. Article and cover photo appeared in OGR Magazine Run 304 (February/March 2019).

MELGAR