Switcher Saturday: 2016-Jan-23

another picture...Rich

Happy Switcher Saturday! 

A little history...here is a builder's photo of Pennsy #8976 which carries the number that Lionel used on its prewar scale and semi-scale steam switchers (with the longer boilers). The builders photo shows the locomotive which was a class B6 and constructed in 1913 by Baldwin. The other photo shows the cab and 8976 number of one of my Lionel switchers.

For those of us in the Northeast, hope you enjoy Switcher Saturday and the blizzard! 

Tom

PS-Rich, no new switchers for me! 

Lower end of the Montour Trail  several year back.  The trail crosses over this active line.

CNJ 3676, thanks for the history and photos.

Don

Yay! SW Sat is on!

This week in honor of the East coast's Storm of the Century, (of the week) I am posting images of snow switchers and snow bound train yards.

Murnane posted:

another picture...Rich

Hey Rich is this you as a Lego? He looks a bit like your Avatar.��

Little UP action by our grain elevator.  I have a modified time saver area to run these and move grain cars. Nick TI cough this trio on my way to my hometown growing up. This is in Holdrege Neb. 

Tooling around the layout this morning

Hey there, Nick....really liked the BN diesel re-lettered for BNSF as well as the Cargill engine!  

Swithers fighting the blizzard on the Mountain Division - The Free State Junction Railway has dispatched a snow plow extra to help fight the ongoing blizzard which is raging in the high valley of the Randolphian Mts. beginning on the other side of Mt. Randolph here in Maryland.   In this video we see the plow extra in route to the raging storm, after having climbed the 1.5 percent grade out of Patsburg and now exiting the west portal tunnel out of Mt. Randolph.  Still in the lower Patsburg valley, there is not a sign of snow.  In preparation, the rotary operator tests the rotary's blade as the train exits the portal and crosses Lake Christopher on the Bollman truss bridge.  Soon the train will begin a steep 3 per cent ascent to the high valley deep in the Randolphian Mts. where the crew will begin a hard fought battle with mother nature.  

Stay tuned for more updates this weekend of "Switchers fighting the Blizzard"!! 

Two B&O  road switcher Gp9s provide 3500 horsepower for this train.  The consist is as follows:

1. ) Leased Denver & Rio Grande Western Rotary Snow Plow, just re painted and outfitted with a traction motor to turn the blades of the rotary, provide cab heat and electricity for lighting.

2. ) ALCO FA B unit provides the horsepower to power the rotory's traction motor.

3 & 4 ) B&O Gp9s provide horsepower and steam heating for the train and combine car.

5 ) B&O MOW combine car.  Contains a galley and bunk accommodations for MOW crew.  Also contains tools for clearing/thawing switches and re-railing frogs if needed. 

6 ) B&O Flanger - Bringing up the rear of the train, a freshly painted flanger.  After the rotary has burrowed out a path, the train will reverse itself with flanger leading.  Flanger with wings spread open will push snow back away from tracks.

Re: "Switchers Fighting The Blizzard"...

LOL! Now that's advance preparation!  Not a snowflake in sight, but already out with the rotary!

Some of our highway departments could take a lesson from that!

how the heck did that tanker get on the roof of the hardware store?

stay safe and warm guys!

mike.caruso posted:

Hey there, Nick....really liked the BN diesel re-lettered for BNSF as well as the Cargill engine!  

Thanks Mike.  Here is another switcher from Edison Ne. All these little independent elevators have their own refurbished switchers. You gotta love these SD40-2s.  Nick 

And a few more from the upper panhandle of the state. Nick T. 

A couple from Lincoln.  This is up by the Havelock yards.  

Silver Lake posted:

Murnane posted:

another picture...Hey Rich is this you as a Lego? He looks a bit like your Avatar.��

Hey Andy, yes, that is me and my best friend from Long Island, he sent me this for my Bday this year, the resemblance is uncanny!  I'll take a close up and post later...Rich

Milwaukee RS-1 #1677 switching at Cape Shark rail yard.

BAR GP7 #63:

Your work is outstanding. Thanks for continuing to share it with us.

Bob

Very nice work BAR GP7. 

BAR GP7 The scrap pile looks great! Since I started making scrap loads, I can't get enough. I even find myself looking closer at the scrap yards that I pass by. 

Don

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Milwaukee RS-1 #1677 switching at Cape Shark rail yard.

Excellent layout work!

About that Milwaukee Road paint scheme:

* When did they start phasing out that scheme in favor of the black and orange?

* Would there still be examples of the above scheme running about in the early 1960s? (The time frame my layout will be set in.)

Reason for the question: The Milwaukee Road is one of the last three KC area roads that I still need motive power for. (The other two: Wabash and GM&O.) I like the above scheme better than the black/orange... so am hoping I can have such a scheme rumbling about my upcoming KC Lines West Bottoms layout "someday".

Andre

I just got a new RailKing VO1000 in Union Pacific, so I can post now too.  What a nicely detailed engine.  And my UP GP9 moving some log cars around.

Elmer:

Nice looking Baldwin VO1000!  Looks to be in the original black Union Pacific scheme AND it has what I call the "Phase 1" cab.  I think I recall that style of cab was used by Baldwin up until sometime in 1944?

Glad to see more Switcher Freaks joining the ranks!

The White Pass just bought this back a few years ago. I wonder if they'll put it back into service in Skagway. I was thinking about finding a 25 tonner in O-Gauge. Would the K-Line one be close?

This is a Lionel 1940-42 #201 Switcher that uncoupled when the whistle was activated,

CNJ 3676 posted:

BAR GP7 #63:

Your work is outstanding. Thanks for continuing to share it with us.

Bob

BOb,

Thank you very much.

Johan

t8afao posted:

Very nice work BAR GP7. 

t8afao,

Thanks,

Johan

rail posted:

BAR GP7 The scrap pile looks great! Since I started making scrap loads, I can't get enough. I even find myself looking closer at the scrap yards that I pass by. 

Don

Thanks Don, 

Johan

laming posted:

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Milwaukee RS-1 #1677 switching at Cape Shark rail yard.

Excellent layout work!

About that Milwaukee Road paint scheme:

* When did they start phasing out that scheme in favor of the black and orange?

* Would there still be examples of the above scheme running about in the early 1960s? (The time frame my layout will be set in.)

Reason for the question: The Milwaukee Road is one of the last three KC area roads that I still need motive power for. (The other two: Wabash and GM&O.) I like the above scheme better than the black/orange... so am hoping I can have such a scheme rumbling about my upcoming KC Lines West Bottoms layout "someday".

Andre

Thanks Andre,

I think they start this paint scheme 1930`s ( grey, orange, black but not sure if use 1960. I think at later they use only orange & black paint scheme?

Thanks,

Johan

All,

Great pictures and videos this week guys!

Here's the picture of the Lego guys I mentioned, I'm supposed to be the guy on the left, my buddy from NY is the guy on the right.

All the best...Rich

Ha ha!

Rich that is great! My kids have made a Playmobil doppelgänger of me. I'll see if I can find a picture.

As you can see the resembalance is uncanny. It is more realistic than my forum Avatar. 

To keep this pertaining to switchers here is a little tenderless German Karl Bub engine on an English Hornby work train that's living on my book shelf. It really runs great (and fast). I need to get a tender and a new bell for it. The snot bubble light in front is incredibly bright. One of the neatest parts of it is the mechanical reverser if you pull up the plunger directly behind the stack the engine reverses. Perfect for a little old fashioned switch work.

laming posted:

BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Milwaukee RS-1 #1677 switching at Cape Shark rail yard.

Excellent layout work!

About that Milwaukee Road paint scheme:

* When did they start phasing out that scheme in favor of the black and orange?

* Would there still be examples of the above scheme running about in the early 1960s? (The time frame my layout will be set in.)

Reason for the question: The Milwaukee Road is one of the last three KC area roads that I still need motive power for. (The other two: Wabash and GM&O.) I like the above scheme better than the black/orange... so am hoping I can have such a scheme rumbling about my upcoming KC Lines West Bottoms layout "someday".

Andre

I think the the orange/gray was phased out by the mid-1950s.  The Milwaukee Road in Color Vol. 1 shows several images from 1957 of the RS1's in orange/black.  The only orange/gray photo I found was in Vol. 2 of an H10-44 taken in 1950.

Rusty

Thanks all for the input about the MILW orange/gray paint scheme.

Rusty:  That wasn't really the information I was hoping for. Darn. Ah well, saved me some $$$.

Well, I've done some scrounging, and unfortunately, I can't find evidence to the contrary on the mid-late 1950s phasing out of the orange/gray.

I did find this at Fallen Flags from 1964:

However, its not the same scheme.  A pretty neat scheme in itself, but wonder what the story is on a Union Pacific look-alike scheme? Did the MILW purchase some second hand units off the Onion Pacific?

Oh, and I found this picture of repainted VO1000 that was repainted in 1965:

First thing I thought was "Ah hah! I'll bet it was repainted to cover up the orange/gray scheme!  And if THAT is so... how many other orange and gray schemes were running around in 1960???". 

Nice try... but... how would one ever truly know what scheme this engine was in just prior to the repaint... or IF any other orange/gray switchers were still puttering about on the MILW in 1960?

So, like it or not, I probably need to pass on having an orange/gray MILW unit chugging around my upcoming KC Lines West Bottoms layout.

Ah well, worse things have happened!

laming posted:

Well, I've done some scrounging, and unfortunately, I can't find evidence to the contrary on the mid-late 1950s phasing out of the orange/gray.

I did find this at Fallen Flags from 1964:

However, its not the same scheme.  A pretty neat scheme in itself, but wonder what the story is on a Union Pacific look-alike scheme? Did the MILW purchase some second hand units off the Onion Pacific?

 

Maybe this is the answer. See the second post...

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/13/p/166628/2207982.aspx

(Not sure the other posters agree!)

Tom

Well now, that was enlightening!  Thanks!

Oh, and I figured if the second post would be interesting, then reading all of the thread would be better!

To me it seems the bottom line is:

Even the MILW freaks don't know exactly when the orange/gray was gone, some saying late 50s others saying into the 60s.

THAT SO...

There WILL be an orange/gray MILW unit putt-putting about my upcoming KC Lines West Bottoms layout.  It's a nice scheme. Like it better than the orange/black, though that scheme also has somewhat to commend it.

Now, off to make an offer and see how it pans out!

All my switchers are black or chipped variations of black. Luckily, I don't need to worry about all those colorful diesels, changing schemes, etc. 

Good luck.

Tom

MNCW posted:

All my switchers are black or chipped variations of black. Luckily, I don't need to worry about all those colorful diesels, changing schemes, etc. 

Good luck.

Tom

 

LOL! 

It's kind of silly some of the hand-wringing us rivet counters will go through, isn't it? 

What's even stranger, is that WE SEEM TO ENJOY IT!

Talk about sadomasochism!!

Ah, but here's a puzzler: In one of my former model railroad lives, I pondered having a three rail layout with nothing but steam power thereon. (Postwar and some more recent releases. Think in terms of stuff like DaveC's layout, or the way Norm C. approaches the hobby, that sort of thing.)  Still think that could be a hoot. 

But, it just wasn't in the cards.