Switcher Saturday: 2016-Dec-30

picture #2

Yay! SWSat is on!

It the last round of the year and it was a good year for SWSat. There were lots of Switchers and critters both model and actual shared with the group along with some historic background and some great model work. 

This week I am sharing some pics of actual switch engines.

First up is a small Vulcan with interesting side rods and footboard mounted sand boxes.

Earlier this year someone had posted some pictures of switchers that worked in gravel operations. Sometimes these had add on sheilding to protect the engine from falling rock these made for interesting one offs. I think this one qualifies.

I might be back later. I tend to post a bit frequently I've noticed. My kids just got up and they want me to help run the train around the tree a few more times.

Have a Happy New Year SWSat-eers!

Happy New Year guys!

Good morning SWSAT friends!!  Here are some photos I took of switchers this past Wednesday at the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.  I wish all of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Photos of my MTH 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 New York Central steam switchers. First photo has them double-headed. I run them slowly around my 10 by 5 layout and listen to the sound of two locomotives chugging away...

MELGAR

Hey Melgar, I've got a crush on both those NYC Switchers - both of them are on my "wish list", so please feel free to post pictures of them every week, this way I won't have to spend all my lunch money on getting them! 

Patrick/TrumpTrain:    Great pictures, I think we need to arrange a OGR field trip to that place one of these days.

Steamer/Dave:  It seems like you have some serious "Google Kung-Fu" - you find the coolest pictures!

Andy/SilverLake:  Great pictures, my younger daughter loves the picture with the train and wooden soldier under the tree, she's a fan of these nutcrackers for some reason.  Regarding the vulcan pics, these little guys seem to have been modified often!

Signing off for a bit, catch you guys later - have a great day...Rich

Just passing through today.

Happy New Year to all!

Bob

Great photos so far on this last day of 2016,. I had a good day yesterday, I was in the family/train room, (closed in deck), and I heard the daily train run behind the house, only it was a little before 4 PM, way later then the usual 11:30 or so. At first I said to my wife, I'll never get there before it's gone, but we heard it stop. I knew the string of tank cars stored behind our house was going to get pulled out, so I grabbed the point and shoot and went to get some photos. I also got some nice video of the entire operation. The short line is Luzerne and Susquehanna owned and operated by Luzerne County. The tankers were being taken to Pittston to be transferred. The first 14 photos are from the point and shoot, and the second set are from the Samsung HD. I talked to the engineer as we were walking to the head end of the train, and he said it would be about 15 minutes before they pulled out. That gave me time to get the other camera and get some shots as the train crossed a small deck bridge a few hundred yards north. I have to upload the videos to Youtube, so I'll post those separately. Happy New Year, and I hope 2017 is a good year for Switcher Saturday!  

Don

Murnane posted:

Andy/SilverLake:  Great pictures, my younger daughter loves the picture with the train and wooden soldier under the tree, she's a fan of these nutcrackers for some reason.  Regarding the vulcan pics, these little guys seem to have been modified often!

Signing off for a bit, catch you guys later - have a great day...Rich

 

Great pics so far everyone.

Rich I know what you mean about those Nutcrackers. My son has always loved them. So much in fact  that he took up ballet to be in the show. He has been in it 76 times over the last 4 years. Many of those times I was watching it on a little TV in the basement at Lincoln Center. He hopes to become a professional dancer. 

Trumptrain that B&O museum is such a great spot. Last time I was there the Balt and Annapolis GE 70 tonner engine was still serving that line and not in a museum.

 Don/ Steam wow so nice to see an SW1 still working for a living this far into the 21st century. Nice catch.

Wow! Great pictures everyone. I needed more time than usual to create the extensive "Special Effects" needed for my contribution today. I think Andy/SILVER LAKE may be hiring me any day now for set design work. 

Anyhow, the yard workers were busy working up a big"semi-scale" banner to celebrate the arrival of New Year. Since they operate on semi-scale time, the New Year has already arrived!

Happy New Year to all!

Tom 

Tom I love it! You are hired.

(Assuming you work at semi-scale rates.)

44 Tonner

I look forward to this thread every week. Switchers are the workhorses of the rails!  The big haulers get the glory, but switchers do dirty work!

Here's one of two videos I have this week of GTW 4907 doing its thing in Manitowoc, WI

Here are the two videos of the switcher action in Ashley.

Don

https://youtu.be/4Mqqb5l6soI

Seen at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, is the prototype for Lionel's no. 41 gas turbine switcher, "proof that Lionel stays right on top of real railroad developments!" as it says in the 1955 catalog. According to the museum signage, the switcher was built by Davenport-Besler Corp. in 1952, and was powered by two Boeing 150 hp jet engine type gas turbines. (It doesn't say so, but I'm pretty sure that box on the side above the word "States" is covering the e-unit lever slot ) It looks like this little turbine was a one-off experiment, which Lionel made a zillion models from, as it did with Pennsy's big 6-8-6 turbine.

The long-awaited Fairbanks-Morse engines arrived and were put to work locally to make sure they were "tight".  I called an extra yard job on December 24 to clean all the tracks. Wallace White, who is No.1on the Engineers' seniority roster, had bid to the yard extra board, trying to avoid working on Christmas, and was pretty vocal about his displeasure over being called for the yard cleaner. He normally works the passenger train and had a hard time keeping the speed low. Since it was Christmas Eve, I just chewed him out and assessed no demerits. The last photo shows how they had to do the Buethe Spur. On the first attempt, the engine was shoving only the track cleaning car and the No.2 truck sideframe lifted up on a pile of gravel at the Buethe Beef Processing crossing, derailing the brand new H16-44. So, after re-railing, the crew realized they needed a handle to reach the end of the spur. They went back to the yard and, along with the regular afternoon switcher and crew, got cars out of four different tracks, switched out an express reefer, and got everything else together, with the engine and track cleaning car on opposite ends.  The track cleaning pad got another saturation with Ronsonall and the crew made five shoves through the automatic interlocking to the end of the spur, which had not been used in a while and was badly in need of cleaning. 

Recently I finally picked up a tender for my American Flyer #429 0-6-0 switcher...  I've had the engine for about 20 years and been looking for a cost effective tender for years.  Finally found this one a while back.  Granted it still needs some work like AF trucks but it will get there.

Especially galling to Wallace White was seeing No.57, his normal assignment, with a freight extra board Engineer on it while he worked the extra yard job, cleaning track.  Wallace had made what he had thought was a sharpshooter seniority move.  Since the passenger train worked both Christmas Eve and Christmas, he bid off the job to the Yard Engineers' Extra Board, because, an extra Engineer had not had to work in the yard at Christmas for years.   (All the regular yard Engineers always stay marked up at Christmas Eve and Christmas to get Holiday Pay.)  He was surprised and infuriated at getting called for the extra extra yard job to clean track.  We would have called the job earlier in the month, but the new Fairbanks-Morse road-switchers had been delayed in arrival, and we just didn't have enough locomotives on hand to clean track.  So, when he, on a "lowly" yard job, met the passenger train, with a road Extra Board Engineer running it in Wallace's absence, he was even more agitated, as he viewed his august position on the Engineers' seniority roster as something akin to being royalty, and this was beneath his dignity.  And -- the best part -- he did it to himself by trying to sharpshoot.  The old rascal hurried through his duties, and he is lucky I was in a good mood for Christmas.  He should have been proceeding at 10MPH on all yard tracks, and here on the main line the speed limit is 20 MPH.  I should have given him 15 demerits, but just chewed him out and said Merry Christmas.  In spite of his ego, he is a smooth and reliable Engineer.  After New Year's, he'll go back onto the passenger train, and will calm down and be easier to handle.  

nice Dennis!

Rich,

Glad you like my NYC steam switchers. So do I. I usually run them double-headed pulling a freight train around my larger 12 by 8 layout on the other side of the basement. They are older MTH PS-2 models. I really enjoy SWSAT. Thanks for starting the thread. And HAPPY NEW YEAR to all the switcher enthusiasts.

MELGAR

P&G Plant on Staten Island around 1970..................

Great posts, pictures, stories, and videos to all!  I really love the stories you posted with your videos Tom (@Number90).

I just now realized I messed up the "date" in the posting's subject/title, should have read 20161231.  

These type of things happen from time to time, feel free to give me some demerits and/or chew me out!

I hope everyone had a good new year's eve, we took it easy at home since I've got a bad cold and I was couch bound all day yesterday - more demerits for me?

Best...Rich

Hey Rich,

Thanks for another year of getting up early to give us our switcher fix every week. 

Hoping Rich and everyone that posts here once, twice, several or always has a healthy and happy new year for themselves and their families. 

Here is my first post for the new year. 

Tom 

Murnane posted:

I just now realized I messed up the "date" in the posting's subject/title, should have read 20161231.  

These type of things happen from time to time, feel free to give me some demerits and/or chew me out!

I hope everyone had a good new year's eve, we took it easy at home since I've got a bad cold and I was couch bound all day yesterday - more demerits for me?

Best...Rich

Haha, Rich, no need for formal discipline.  In real life as an official, I normally assessed little discipline, compared to most Officials.  When something like this would happen, I considered it to be a self-teaching lesson.  A close call is not always a bad thing.  With good employees who made a blunder, I could get their commitment to never let it - whatever "it" was - happen again and there was no need to clutter up their record with demerits.  The ones who committed serious rule violations, and the lazy ones or repeaters, got formal discipline.  I had enough experience as an Engineer myself, that the employees knew that I knew what most likely happened before they told me, and that helped too.  I just tried to be the coach and make our territory better, instead of being their parent and punishing them for every mistake.  You can change the behavior of good railroaders better with coaching than with discipline.

No problem, Rich.  I know that you know what you did and it'll never happen again.  Stay on the couch, moan a little when Mrs. Murnane asks you how you are feeling, and let those daughters fluff up your pillow and bring you refreshments.

better go stand in the corner Rich and think about your mistake.......and since I go back to work tomorrow...yuck...I'll be on daylight next Saturday...so you better set the alarm clock back to 5am so I can post before I leave....

Steamer posted:

better go stand in the corner Rich and think about your mistake.......and since I go back to work tomorrow...yuck...I'll be on daylight next Saturday...so you better set the alarm clock back to 5am so I can post before I leave....

Wait a minute... Since this was a serious infraction, I think a monetary penalty would be more appropriate for Rich to learn from his mistake. None of that semi-scale money Andy/SILVER LAKE wants to pay with. 

Tom 

A day late, but another video of GT 4907. This one at the Lakeshore yard.  I got a new camera so I'm just learning how to use it.  

naw...if he sends us money, we'll just buy trains.....better just send the trains...I'll take a Prewar six drivered PRR switcher and we can forget the whole mistake.

Rich - you are the conductor on this train.... so no demerits!  We all know it was a one time thing.  I agree with Tom ( I like how Tom Number 90 handled minor incidences on his RR. )  

Tom ( @Number 90  I just love your story and accompanying video!!!! BRAVO!!!!!

Oh yeah -  Rich I hope the Mrs. is serving you hot tea, and the girls are fluffing up your pillow!  Feel better soon!

You guys are funny.

Thinking back, I've made quite a few mistakes on SWSAT, off the top of my head:

• About a year ago I started SWSAT on a FRIDAY morning - I was on vacation around the holidays and I "played it off" like I wanted to do an "early edition" - but in reality I had no idea it wasn't Saturday.
• I posted SWSAT in the "For Sale" forum a time or two.
• I called a diesel engine a steam engine at least once.
• I forgot to post once, so you guys picked up the week before's thread and just started adding to it.
• I've called things the wrong name many times, mostly newbie stuff (I called a passenger car a cabin car, etc.).

I'll blame most the mistakes on not having enough coffee before posting!

p.s. feeling much better today!  

Well, I must admit you do a great job...we just didn't want you to get a big head! 

Happy New Year and stay healthy.

Tom 

Rich...

since you started one of my fave topics...I grant you total and permanent absolution for any and all errors, omissions and unintentional misdeeds...

Howard...

just lurking on the sidetrack here in Florida...