Switcher Saturday: 2016-Mar-12

Yay! SW Sat is on!

Nice comparison pictures Rich. That K-line mold is really nice but there is something so timeless about the Lionel mold.

This week I am posting images of yet another rebuild program the UP SW10.

These were started in 1979 and the rebuild program went on to the mid 1980's. UP rebuilt thier older Switchers using parts from retired GP9s and rebuilding the engines from 645 to 567 units. They were made from SW7s, SW9s and TR5s dating from 1939-53 and were rated at 1200 HP. They have a distinctive hump at the far end of the long hood and look a bit like the end of a GP9 was grafted on to a Switcher. Of the 75 total units rebuilt 40 units were sold off to other Railroads after UP retired the class in 1998.

One unit is still on the UP roster the #96 and it is considered part of the Historic collection and switches the Challenger and Centennial at the steam shop in Cheyenne. 

Wow, those first two posts have a lot of switchers.  Hard to follow that but here goes!

I love those SW10s!  Wish someone would make a few of those in O!  

Silver Lake posted:

This week I am posting images of yet another rebuild program the UP SW10.

These were started in 1979 and the rebuild program went on to the mid 1980's. UP rebuilt thier older Switchers using parts from retired GP9s . . . Of the 75 total units rebuilt 40 units were sold off to other Railroads after UP retired the class in 1998.

One unit is still on the UP roster the #96 and it is considered part of the Historic collection and switches the Challenger and Centennial at the steam shop in Cheyenne. 

This was a good project, in my opinion.  They eliminated the higher-maintenance front cooling system by using off-the-shelf parts that could be changed out quickly.

I like both of those Rich. have a great Saturday.

Great pictures so far guys!

Andy, I've never seen that SW10 before, very cool.  I agree with Mike, it'd be great to see one of those in O.

Mike, when are those guys going to finish that construction?

CNJ Bob,  those poor switchers look they they've been run "through the mill"!

Steamer Dave, great pictures as always!  I wonder where that #2079 is from?

On a separate note, I found the following picture this week on the NY Public Library picture archive, wondering what sort of critter we have here as the picture isn't so great.

http://digitalcollections.nypl...d9-e040-e00a18064a99

Murnane posted:

On a separate note, I found the following picture this week on the NY Public Library picture archive, wondering what sort of critter we have here as the picture isn't so great.

http://digitalcollections.nypl...d9-e040-e00a18064a99

 

 

This is a New York Elevated Steam Forney. These were the power for the Elevated trains until the coming of electrification. A lot of them were displaced around 1910 and went on to further lives in Logging, road building, industry and construction.  Chicago had very similar engines with a similar fate.

One Chicago engine is preserved at the Forney Museum in Colorado and Three ex NY EL engines are rusting away abandoned on the tundra of Alaska after abandonment following a railroad construction project.

These are engines I would absolutly LOVE to have done in O scale. There are a pair of them in a nice diorama that used to be in the railroad hall at the Smithsonian in DC that has been brought to the NYC Transit Miseum in Brooklyn. I have always loved this model and remember it fondly having grown up in DC. 

Thanks Andy, A+ for you today!

Here's another I came across on the NYPL archive, I think someone recently posted something about steamers like this one, they look like boxcabs but you can tell it has a boiler because the front looks like it protrudes a little bit.

http://digitalcollections.nypl...d9-e040-e00a18064a99

View from the back of that thing?

A few from my 2 Rail HiRail mockup:

Rich. 

For the Cornelius Vanderbilt Memorial Brown-nosing extra credit score. That is a NYCentral Shay. Built with a Dummy cab it worked 10th Ave until the Highline came and had a "Westside Cowboy" escort. 

A little clue is the offset boiler to make room for the big Pistons on that side. 

That's awesome Andy, do you think that second picture was the tender for that thing?

Jonathan, great pictures, I just followed those two groups on FB, thanks for sharing.

Rich

Yeah. I think it is running tender first. It was probably easier to see out that side anyway. 

man, that thing looks very "Frankenstein"!

Murnane posted:

Great pictures so far guys!

Andy, I've never seen that SW10 before, very cool.  I agree with Mike, it'd be great to see one of those in O.

Mike, when are those guys going to finish that construction?

CNJ Bob,  those poor switchers look they they've been run "through the mill"!

Steamer Dave, great pictures as always!  I wonder where that #2079 is from?

 

On a separate note, I found the following picture this week on the NY Public Library picture archive, wondering what sort of critter we have here as the picture isn't so great.

http://digitalcollections.nypl...d9-e040-e00a18064a99

 

 

That is a Forney locomotive. Those lovely little devils, someone made one out of a Marx plastic wedge tender and a William Crooks engine; think it was Steve Eastman who had it.

O-6-0 saddle tank switching some candy cars from Tallinn Estonia.

Hi all,

 Happy "Switcher Saturday" everyone. I am a little late for the party because I had to work this morning...

 Rich mentioned not having a real #1656. Here is mine from a few years ago on my last layout. The rods had a slight coating of rust, resulting in a nickname of  "Rusty." It was/is a good runner. Check out those hand-painted clouds! 

Tom

I got my new LC+ BN NW2 out of the box this week, and put it to work dragging my TMCC signal test train around. Plan is to give this baby a real workout this afternoon.

A few more Birmingham Southerns

Date: 10/17/2006	Location: Fairfield, AL   Map	Views: 592	Collection Of:   Neil Stutzman
Locomotives: BS 260(MP15DC) BS 304(Yard Slug) BS 353(SW1500) BS 371(MP15DC)			Author:  Neil Stutzman

ate: 6/9/2008	Location: Birmingham, AL   Map	Views: 177	Collection Of:   Michael E. Hoskins
Locomotives: BS 371(MP15DC)			Author:  Michael E. Hoskins

Murnane posted:

the K-Line is super detailed, but doesn't like my itsy-bitsy-tiny layout tight curves like the Lionel 0-4-0s do.

Rich (Murnane) I'm curious... does the K-Line loco bind on O-27 because of a longer wheelbase?  Extra drag from the traction tires?

Which "modern" locos have you found that run well on O-27?  Thanks!

Hello Switcher Saturday Friends!  Great photos and information as always!!

I was sitting on the bank next to the main line in Patsburg and happened to snap these photos of a B&O SW 9 switcher and crew working the daily switch job. ( the B&O caboose is a Williams brass which I scored at the Timonium show last month ).  I also snapped a photo of a Baltimore and Annapolis switch job with their caboose as well. ( this one has been up on SwSwat before )