Switcher Saturday 07-22-23

Thanks, Melgar, for stepping up and getting us started with Switcher Saturday, my favorite thread.

I also have a locomotive to share that's in the LionChief family; specifically,  a LionChief Plus Delaware & Hudson RS3 diesel switcher. Here it is hauling boxcars across my Goerge Washingmachine Bridge and passed the Polo Grounds:

Arnold

After a misstep discussed here.  My now re-designated SW1200 from SW9 is getting closer.  As an interesting note, the protoptype I'm modeling started its life as an SW9 and was upgraded to an SW1200.

Good morning, SwSat Nation!  Thanks, MELGAR, for getting us rolling!

Today your Yardmaster is reaching into the archives for today’s featured switcher, MTH Railking B&M 0-8-0 no. 613.

No. 613 started life equipped with Mike’s most primitive, sound system, Locosound.  The antique system stopped functioning after about ten years, necessitating an upgrade to PS2.  No. 613 has been, and still is, one of your Yardmaster’s best smokers (fortunately, he gave up the habit 47 years ago!).  No 613 has also been detailed by painting the driver tires black, adding a “real” coal load, engineer, fireman and a coupler cut lever on the pilot.

John

Thanks for kicking things off, Mel.  We’ve  been running our favorite MTH RS1 this week -

@Steam Crazy posted:

No. 613 started life equipped with Mike’s most primitive, sound system, Locosound. No. 613 has been, and still is, one of your Yardmaster’s best smokers

I have one of those old LocoSound steamers and upgraded it to PS2 also.  You are VERY correct, it is a magnificent steamer.  It generates more smoke than any other MTH engine we have.  And if you get the speed/chuff just right it makes smoke rings.

I like the real coal load idea.  I may have to do that.

Ron

We have been in the UP for a few weeks and I managed to get a few pics of the Carmeuse switcher & side dump cars in action.  It is a 5 mile rail line that takes the dolomite from the mine to lake freighters.  
Happy Switcher Saturday!

Ron, there are many options for coal loads, just like ballast.  I used chicken grit made by my friend, Dick.  He sifted it to the proper size (too big is a no-no!) and painted it black.  Dick and I attached it with white glue because it dries clear. It takes some time to sprinkle it on and fill in empty spots, but I think it’s worth the effort.

John

@MELGAR , Mel, thank you for taking the helm this fine Saturday morning and leading the way for Switcher Saturday, a magnificent tread. Your Steam Switcher looks right a home and is ready for duty. I wish everyone a great weekend.

"Here he comes to save the day . . ."

No, this is not literally Mighty Mouse, but it sure is metaphorically so.

Literally, what we have here is an MTH PS3 Long Island B6 steam switcher, which is hauling with ease numerous and various train cars with loads. Don't be fooled by its diminutive size, it's got plenty of heft and is a powerful puller.

It's my #1 steam switcher.

Notice the two interesting and entertaining Bronx Zoo cars with giraffes ducking under the tell tale at the end of the train. Those giraffes from the Bronx Zoo are heading to the Stadium to play left and right field for the Yankees because their relief pitching, which was the best in baseball, is now burned out, and those giraffes are needed in the outfield to catch long fly balls that would otherwise be home runs. Tune in to the Yankee game today and you will see those giraffes playing in the outfield in the 8th and 9th innings as defensive replacements. Unfortunately, they are terrible hitters, so you won't see them at bat. LOL, Arnold

Happy SWSat!

Thanks for manning the throttle this morning Mel. I was awake in the wee hours of the morning too and remembered that @jhz563 needed a pinch hitter. When I checked the forum, you had already jumped in!

I have a new member of the switcher fleet to share this week. Could have replaced John's 0-8-0 one day in the past.

Boston and Maine SW-1 is a MTH Railking model with PS3 and was released in 2013. I picked it up from a forum member last week. I still need to service and reset the boards to factory original so it will run on my remote commander. I love these SW-1's. They pack a lot in a small package.

The SW-1 was EMD's second entry in the diesel switcher market and quickly became the platform to launch one of the most successful line's of modern diesels. The B&M owned 24 SW-1's.

This model is in the Minute Man maroon and gold paint, not the blue/ black that was seen in the latter years of the B&M after Patrick McGinness took over as President in the 1950's.

Figure it would look right at home.....

Have a great weekend!

Bob

@Wvm posted:

Prior post didn’t work out right. Was trying to show and respond to Arnold’s post. Such a fun looking layout you have Arnold

Wym, you might try to post again.

Glad to hear you found my post entertaining; that's my #1 goal, to entertain you folks. Arnold

Nice shots of some good looking equipment everyone! It’s been a while since I’ve posted. I haven’t bought or built anything new but I still have a little switching session at least once or twice a week. Here is some shots of the session yesterday.

Morning Switcher fans, WTG Melgar for stepping in again a man of knowledge God Speed All!

Good morning fellow switcher fans!!  I'm in Rocky Mount NC on my way to the University of SC in Columbia where I play a concert tonight which kicks off a week long music seminar.  

Thanks Mel for climbing up into the cab and sitting behind the throttle this morning!  Got to love an 0-6-0 !! And yours look terrific!  As is always the case all of guys have wonderful content posted!!

In the cold and in the heat switchers  will not accept defeat. Here are some pics that remind us of cooler days.  Have  a wonderful weekend everyone!  

Brakeman Dee Scruggs is thinking " Golly dang!  Is it cold out here or what?!  There's only one thing separating the Mountain Division from the North Pole and that's a barbed wire fence, and that must be partly tore down!"  

Later o'l Dee climbs up in the engine to warm himself and fireman Scooper Ainsley steps down on the ground for some fresh but cold air.  These fellas got a loooooong switch list for today.   Good think they wore several pair of wool socks.  

@Wvm posted:

Prior post didn’t work out right. Was trying to show and respond to Arnold’s post. Such a fun looking layout you have Arnold

Hover over the gear icon in the lower right corner of the person's post that you want to comment on. Click on "reply with quote" and you will be good to go. Just please delete out repetitive pix and videos.

Bob

What a neat topic, and enjoyable videos to watch as well.

This little switcher (a Lionel B6) pulling a deadhead freight and her crew has to have a lot of patience waiting for the big guys to clear the junction.

Good morning SWSAT crew!

I did some more archive mining and found this gem.  Penn Central GP9 7180 (Atlas O) runs light with a transfer caboose in tow:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tom

@RSJB18 posted:

Hover over the gear icon in the lower right corner of the person's post that you want to comment on. Click on "reply with quote" and you will be good to go. Just please delete out repetitive pix and videos.

Bob

It works.  Thanks Bob

@trumpettrain posted:

Good morning fellow switcher fans!!  I'm in Rocky Mount NC on my way to the University of SC in Columbia where I play a concert tonight which kicks off a week long music seminar.  

Thanks Mel for climbing up into the cab and sitting behind the throttle this morning!  Got to love an 0-6-0 !! And yours look terrific!  As is always the case all of guys have wonderful content posted!!

In the cold and in the heat switchers  will not accept defeat. Here are some pics that remind us of cooler days.  Have  a wonderful weekend everyone!  

Brakeman Dee Scruggs is thinking " Golly dang!  Is it cold out here or what?!  There's only one thing separating the Mountain Division from the North Pole and that's a barbed wire fence, and that must be partly tore down!"  

Later o'l Dee climbs up in the engine to warm himself and fireman Scooper Ainsley steps down on the ground for some fresh but cold air.  These fellas got a loooooong switch list for today.   Good think they wore several pair of wool socks.  

Bravo, Patrick, you tell the best stories to go along with the photos of your trains, layout and little people that are works of art. Arnold

Well thanks Melgar for getting us going today, most appreciated.  Here are a couple of hard working gal's this fine (and hot) Saturday.

The USN from Philadelphia Navy Yard gets going moving a refurbished test range patrol plane down to Patuxent River Naval Air Station (where I worked for 10 years).  Loco is a BEEP and the flatcar / load are from Menards.

This husky looking brute is a Marx 1998 Alco S-3 in SF black/white (made between 1955 and 1962)

Happy SwSat everyone!

Don

Have to do a file photo today of the switcher in the mountains on the layout.......because.............

.........I'm in the garage rebuilding my Rear Engine Snapper to get my clutch/brake pedal changed to the right side because of my bum left leg.      My creativity on the layout seems to have helped me in this endeavour. 

Have a great Saturday all.  God speed. 

I was going through my trains in storage and found this K-Line Collector Club MP-15 in Kennecott Copper Corporation livery.  Went back through my records and it looks like I got it in October 1997 when I renewed my membership in the KCC.  I believe it was a York special, and the total for the engine and membership was $45.  I checked my inventory and have 71 K-Line items listed, many of them sets like the 9-car 18" Golden State and the 8-car 21" PRR passenger set.  Sure miss K-Line.

Love this locomotive, but not sure if it qualifies as a switcher:

What do you think?

It's a Lionel TMCC NY Central 10 wheeler 4-6-0 which I believe was a top of the line model in the early 2000s. I don't have TMCC or Legacy so I run it conventionally. I like its sounds, smoke and looks and IMO it runs just fine conventionally, and it fits The Put theme of my layout.

Honestly, when it comes to Lionel steamers, I now generally prefer those made in the 1990s and early 2000s compared to most of the recent Lionel steamers because I believe there's less that can go wrong, although ironically my #1 overall locomotive is a Lionel Legacy NY Central 10 wheeler with whistle steam and wireless infra red drawbar arrangement which I like.

So, my question is: does a 10 wheeler 4-6-0 steamer qualify as a steam switcher?

Arnold

It's a little late to be checking in on SWSAT for the first time today but I made it.  Mel thanks for filling in for JHZ.  You did an admirable job as usual.

Thank you to all who posted making for another great SWSAT.

Ron, glad you're feeling better about your project.  I had a feeling you'd be making corrections.

Paul you've got all sorts of doubleheaded and helper action going on there.  Very nice.

Arnold tanks for all your contributions today and yes the ten wheeler qualifies.  Maybe not doing it's original job pulling those coaches but I bet a lot of them ended their careers performing switch duties.

@CAPPilot - This will likely amaze or astound you but I recently purchased the same locomotive, the K-line MP-15 in Kennecott Copper Company livery.  I also love it, it runs smooth and powerful and pulls like mad.  I purchased it at the Austin (Tx) train show on May 6, 2023 and also paid $45 (but no membership to the K-line club ).  It was new or nearly new and still in the box.  If yours runs anything like mine, you need to take it out of storage and get her goin' again.

Best wishes

Don

Railking GP20 PS3:

@Don McErlean - I ran this engine a lot when I first got it; many scale miles on it with no issues.  You will really like it.  Somewhere I have matching oar cars and a caboose.  Need to find them to run at the shows my club goes to.

While I can run conventional on my layout, it is something I rarely do unless a friend brings over a conventional engine.

Here are a few of my members engines running at today's open house.

@CAPPilot - Hey thanks for the information on that MP-15, sounds like it will be a reliable engine.  I am almost the opposite of you and although I have 2 "Lion Chief" engines I rarely run them.  I never have really figured out the electronic control systems.  I just bought a book on the subject from Kalambach so maybe I can learn.

Don

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Bravo, Patrick, you tell the best stories to go along with the photos of your trains, layout and little people that are works of art. Arnold

you are so right Arnold...........and I can't wait until Patrick's huge photo illustrated story book is published .

@RSJB18 posted:

Hover over the gear icon in the lower right corner of the person's post that you want to comment on. Click on "reply with quote" and you will be good to go. Just please delete out repetitive pix and videos.

Bob

I've no trouble deleting pix Bob but I can't seem to get rid of videos.

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Love this locomotive, but not sure if it qualifies as a switcher:

What do you think?

It's a Lionel TMCC NY Central 10 wheeler 4-6-0 which I believe was a top of the line model in the early 2000s. I don't have TMCC or Legacy so I run it conventionally. I like its sounds, smoke and looks and IMO it runs just fine conventionally, and it fits The Put theme of my layout.

Honestly, when it comes to Lionel steamers, I now generally prefer those made in the 1990s and early 2000s compared to most of the recent Lionel steamers because I believe there's less that can go wrong, although ironically my #1 overall locomotive is a Lionel Legacy NY Central 10 wheeler with whistle steam and wireless infra red drawbar arrangement which I like.

So, my question is: does a 10 wheeler 4-6-0 steamer qualify as a steam switcher?

Arnold

Arnold,

While many types of locomotives were used occasionally for switching, 4-6-0 types were designed as road locomotives and not specifically as switchers. In fact, they were designed as passenger locomotives with two-axle leading trucks that steered them into curves at high speeds. Steam locomotives designed specifically as switchers did not have leading/trailing trucks - such as 0-4-0, 0-6-0 and 0-8-0. The lack of leading/trailing trucks placed the entire weight of a switcher on the driving wheels and gave the engine maximum tractive force for getting heavy cars in motion as quickly as possible. Since steam switcher locomotives operated in yards at low speeds, it was not necessary for them to have leading trucks that steered them into curves. The purpose of trailing trucks is a subject for another day.

MELGAR

Thanks for your input. Melgar. So, I gather from what you say that 0-4-0, 0-6-0, and 0-8-0 steamers are regarded as steam switchers, but not 4-6-0 ten wheelers. Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Thanks for your input. Melgar. So, I gather from what you say that 0-4-0, 0-6-0, and 0-8-0 steamers are regarded as steam switchers, but not 4-6-0 ten wheelers. Arnold

Yes.

0-4-0, 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 steamers were specifically designed for switching. 4-6-0 steamers were not.

However, on your model railroad, you can use any type of locomotive for switching and it will be your call for Switcher Saturday.

MELGAR

@CAPPilot posted:

I was going through my trains in storage and found this K-Line Collector Club MP-15 in Kennecott Copper Corporation livery.  Went back through my records and it looks like I got it in October 1997 when I renewed my membership in the KCC.  I believe it was a York special, and the total for the engine and membership was $45.  I checked my inventory and have 71 K-Line items listed, many of them sets like the 9-car 18" Golden State and the 8-car 21" PRR passenger set.  Sure miss K-Line.

Here's my K-Line Conrail MP15AC. While I've posted about her before, this K-Line MP15 thread has gotten me to "show her off" again:

She's got a handy series/parallel operation switch so no need to rewire for series operation:

She was issued as part of a set that was a safety award to CSAO employees in 2000 and I think she may be one of the first K-Line locos to be assembled in China. The only problem I have with her operation is the "Quadra-Grip" traction tire setup causes her to slow considerably in curves at lower throttle settings so I have to adjust the throttle accordingly as she traverses my oval to keep her at what would be reasonably considered scale speed.

That series/parallel switch is another example of K-Line giving the customer what it wanted.  Imagine, the same engine could keep a toy train enthusiast or child happy with it's jack rabbit speeds or run at speeds acceptable to those searching for more realism.  And even wit the added production costs prices remained reasonable.  It's too bad that switch came late to the K-Line party, none of my K-line engines are so equipped.  Man I sure do miss K-Line.

@Bill Swatos posted:

Here's my K-Line Conrail MP15AC. While I've posted about her before, this K-Line MP15 thread has gotten me to "show her off" again:

She's got a handy series/parallel operation switch so no need to rewire for series operation:

She was issued as part of a set that was a safety award to CSAO employees in 2000 and I think she may be one of the first K-Line locos to be assembled in China. The only problem I have with her operation is the "Quadra-Grip" traction tire setup causes her to slow considerably in curves at lower throttle settings so I have to adjust the throttle accordingly as she traverses my oval to keep her at what would be reasonably considered scale speed.

@coach joe posted:

That series/parallel switch is another example of K-Line giving the customer what it wanted.  Imagine, the same engine could keep a toy train enthusiast or child happy with it's jack rabbit speeds or run at speeds acceptable to those searching for more realism.  And even wit the added production costs prices remained reasonable.  It's too bad that switch came late to the K-Line party, none of my K-line engines are so equipped.  Man I sure do miss K-Line.

Of my 6 K-line MP-15's, only the EMD Demo model had the S/P switch. I had to repair the board on it and I bypassed the switch at the same time. All of my K-lines are permanently wired in series.
I miss K-line too.....and I didn't even know about them until long after they were gone.

Love that Demo paint scheme.  I don't know if it's prototypical but it looks good on that MP15.

@coach joe posted:

Love that Demo paint scheme.  I don't know if it's prototypical but it looks good on that MP15.

I'm not sure either Joe. I quick google search yielded few answers.

EMD used various schemes over the years so it's possible that this is accurate.

Bob