Switcher Saturday 3-4-23

Yay SWSat is on!

Thanks @jhz563 for getting things rolling. Love a good Halloween town. Looking good!

Here is my 2 Rail O All Nation NW2 in Boston and Maine paint. It is bumping cars around on my Switching shelf layout.

Later today I’m going to be operating on the NYSME O scale layout. For this month the NYSME is having open house running sessions so please come by if you are in the area.

Have a great weekend I can’t wait to see what you guys post.

Hello, SwSat nation!  It’ s quiet today in New Haven’s Worcester, MA yard.  EMD GP9 no. 1205 is seen backing into the engine house.

John

Happy Switcher Saturday!  Here is one of my favorite engines - the MTH RS1

Good morning switcher enthusiasts and @jhz563. Some very nice switcher locomotives already on display. We really could start an impressive switcher model railroad club...

O gauge Boston & Maine GP7 #1562 was made by Sunset Models/3^rd Rail at an MSRP of $699.95 in 2021. It is highly detailed, has fixed pilots, and is powered by a horizontally-mounted Canon Motor that drives the wheels through a toothed belt. It has ERR Cruise, TMCC, EMD GP Prime Mover sounds and a smoke system that I don’t use. Slow-speed operation and acceleration are very smooth. I run it conventionally on Atlas O-54 curves and switches. When I order a Sunset/3^rd Rail diesel locomotive, I know that it will look and run as expected.

Boston & Maine #1562 was delivered in 1950. It had 1500 horsepower and was set up to run short hood forward. B&M had its GP7s configured specifically for freight or passenger service. Passenger versions, such as B&M #1562, had an extended compartment at the rear of the long hood that housed train lighting equipment for commuter service and a steam generator in the short hood for train heating. Freight versions did not have the extended electrical compartment and neither version had dynamic brakes. Sunset has modeled these features correctly and this is the only O gauge GP7 I have seen with the extended electrical compartment (see first photo).

Diesel locomotives in commuter service on the B&M were eventually replaced by Budd RDC Railcars and the GP7s were transferred to freight service. So, this GP7 is a good fit for passenger or freight trains on my 10’-by-5’ single-track New England branch line model railroad. The B&M had 23 GP7s.

General Motors Electro-Motive Division produced 2,729 GP7s between October 1949 and May 1954. They were powered by an EMD 567B V16 2-stroke diesel engine that ran between 275 and 800 RPM. Their weight was 246,000 pounds and maximum speed was 65 miles-per-hour. Continuous tractive effort was 40,000 pounds at 9.3 miles-per-hour and 65,000 pounds for starting.

The train is moving at 9 scale miles-per-hour in the first video.

MELGAR

Happy SWSat!

A couple from the archives today.
PRR 8543 is a Williams NW2 conventional power diesel. I've re-wired the motors in series to get better low end performance. These are jackrabbits otherwise. It's a nice loco with good detailing.

Have a great weekend!

Bob

And.....if anyone is in the market for some great N/E fallen flag power. Beth at The Public Delivery Track is taking pre-orders for a bunch of MTH RS1,3 RSD4's, and more. Some unique road names that probably haven't been done in a while.

I ordered a Reading RS1 and a Lehigh & New England RS3. It's going to be a while until they are done but that's OK by me. I have a L&NH S2 shell that's going on a dummy chassis soon. It will have a big brother to run around with eventually.

@RSJB18 posted:

<snip>...

...and a Lehigh & New England RS3...

I really like the Lehigh & New England. They proved a black and white scheme doesn't HAVE to be mundane.

About your L&NE "RS-3" you've ordered: Are you sure it's not an "RS-2"? (The L&NE didn't have any RS-3's.)

Andre

@RSJB18 posted:

Happy SWSat!

A couple from the archives today.
PRR 8543 is a Williams NW2 conventional power diesel. I've re-wired the motors in series to get better low end performance. These are jackrabbits otherwise. It's a nice loco with good detailing.

Have a great weekend!

Bob

Bob,

I have that same Williams engine.  I agree it was too fast.  This was my first PS2 transplant.  I purchased a cheap MTH Rugged Rails engine and put the guts in this NW2.  It's really a Frankenstein engine.  The MTH motors / gears would not fit in the Williams trucks, so I swapped those out too.  But the MTH side frames were for an F3 and the Williams NW2 side frames would not screw on, so I JB welded them on to the MTH trucks.  The front motor flywheel is just a little tight.  Even though I shaved some plastic away on the shell, there are some curves when you can hear the flywheel make contact with the shell.  Certainly not my best effort, but my first start at being brave to open up and engine to try something different.

As an update to last week's post regarding this Atlas O SW9.  Some might be happy to know that the Grand Truck Western paint scheme will have a short reprieve from the alcohol bath.  My son came home last weekend and likes the engine as a TMCC engine.  I offered it to him and he is thinking on it.  But that will not save the GTW livery.  He wants it PRR.  So, it will either remain a TMCC with new PRR paint job or be completely gutted to Blunami with a SMS paint job.

In the meantime, the engine did not have front and rear handrails when I purchased it, so I started making some.  I ran out of 1/32 brass rod and my local Hobby Lobby is out.  So, the rest of the job is stalled until I can get some more.

Good morning fellow switcher fans!!  Thanks JHZ563 for notching out the throttle and getting us rolling this morning!  As always, you all have some wonderful pics, videos, and info posted!  Just got to love this thread for sure!!  

My first photo today is of my Lionel post war NW2.  I just had it in the shop for repairs and it's now running fabulously on the Mountain Division.  Pay no attention to that feller in the outhouse.  That's O'l Jed.  He keeps the door open for needed ventilation.

Here is a Baltimore &Annapolis SW9 with calf.  Although the B&A never rostered a calf, they did roster at one time a SW9. This SW9 is with an updated Proto 3 sound system.  I have another B&A SW9 that has Loco sounds.  The SW9, calf, and caboose are all that MTH ever produced of the Baltimore and Annapolis RR and I have all three.  I love that MTH produced engines and rolling stock of obscure short lines.  

Here are my two Washington Terminal  ALCO RS1 locomotives.  The one on the left is by MTH with proto 3 the other is by Atlas O with TMCC.  Washington Terminal Co. rostered around 25 RS1s over the years.  I used to see the prototype number 46 and 63 often  at the  WTC Ivy City engine terminal in Washington DC.

Good morning SWSAT crew!

A couple of Penn Central SW8's team up to pull a transfer run out of the yard:

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Tom

@laming posted:

I really like the Lehigh & New England. They proved a black and white scheme doesn't HAVE to be mundane.

About your L&NE "RS-3" you've ordered: Are you sure it's not an "RS-2"? (The L&NE didn't have any RS-3's.)

Andre

According to her website, it's an RS3. I only jumped on it because I have the S2 shell. I bought a pair of projects from one of the last Cabin Fever MTH auctions, NYC S2 dummy, and SOO Lines chassis. The SOO is powered but the electronics are gone. I'm going to swap all the guts onto the NYC frame with either PS-3 (if the boards are available), or ERR/TMCC. I wanted a shell for the SOO chassis and considered building a slug but they didn't exist when these engines were around.  I though the L&NH red dot would would work with the red and white SOO chassis and save a complete repaint. My research showed that the L&NH did interchange with the NYC so seeing both run together seems plausible to me.

@Ron045 posted:

Bob,

I have that same Williams engine.  I agree it was too fast.  This was my first PS2 transplant.  I purchased a cheap MTH Rugged Rails engine and put the guts in this NW2.  It's really a Frankenstein engine.  The MTH motors / gears would not fit in the Williams trucks, so I swapped those out too.  But the MTH side frames were for an F3 and the Williams NW2 side frames would not screw on, so I JB welded them on to the MTH trucks.  The front motor flywheel is just a little tight.  Even though I shaved some plastic away on the shell, there are some curves when you can hear the flywheel make contact with the shell.  Certainly not my best effort, but my first start at being brave to open up and engine to try something different.

As an update to last week's post regarding this Atlas O SW9.  Some might be happy to know that the Grand Truck Western paint scheme will have a short reprieve from the alcohol bath.  My son came home last weekend and likes the engine as a TMCC engine.  I offered it to him and he is thinking on it.  But that will not save the GTW livery.  He wants it PRR.  So, it will either remain a TMCC with new PRR paint job or be completely gutted to Blunami with a SMS paint job.

In the meantime, the engine did not have front and rear handrails when I purchased it, so I started making some.  I ran out of 1/32 brass rod and my local Hobby Lobby is out.  So, the rest of the job is stalled until I can get some more.

No shame in experimenting Ron. I am intrigued by the dead-rail control.........maybe I'll dip my toes in the water one day.
Nice job on the handrails.

Bob

At a swim meet today, so I took a few CN pictures early this morning.  

RI SW8 getting ready to pull a ACF Centerflow hopper to be filled with sand for the sand tower.

Gene

RSJB:

Ah, I gotcha' now!

Fortunately, the RS-2 and later RS-3 look a LOT alike.

You should enjoy the "Fried Egg" herald RS puttering about on your layout for years to come.

Andre

Pennsy switcher doing a little work. HagSS.

Hey y’all! Some good looking engines and scenes this weekend. Here’s a picture from the layout during a little switching session I had just now during lunch. The lunchtime local making moves between bites of my salami sandwich.
Have a great weekend everyone!

My contribution this Saturday is  a switcher I rarely run, which is in the video below. It's an MTH Railking Pre-Protosound Conrail diesel hauling freight including gondolas with loads, flat cars with loads, a hopper, oil tankers and Conrail caboose:

This very early Conrail diesel is one of my quiet trains, it's an excellent puller, trouble free, has stood the test of time (approx. 25 years), and it was part of an MTH freight set.

Arnold

Utacolzona's "Never Mine" ready to dump into the waiting rail car.

Thanks for looking.       Dennis.

Utacolzona Railroad in On30 (built 2020 - 2022) Last Update 3/4/23

This is one of the best switcher Saturdays in a long time, so many beautiful switchers, awesome videos, amazing layouts, Happy Railroading Everyone

Larry, that CSX switcher really creeps.

Ladies abd Gentlemen (mostly gentlemen), it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my number 1 Yard Goat of a steam switcher, Sally, named after our beloved German Shepherd Beagle mix, now in Doggy Heaven.

Sally is a Lionel Legacy New York Central System 0-6-0 with a gorgeous appearance and fabulous sounds, smoke and swinging bell, and a problem consisting of a design flaw fully described on a separate thread in the Lionel Service Forum. Because of this problem, Sally the diminutive steamer is driving me crazy, like her namesake dog used to do. LOL.

Without further ado, here is Sally:

By the way, I love the expression Yard Goat, so henceforth let Sally's full name be: Sally the Yard Goat.

Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Ladies abd Gentlemen (mostly gentlemen), it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my number 1 Yard Goat of a steam switcher, Sally, named after our beloved German Shepherd Beagle mix, now in Doggy Heaven.

Sally is a Lionel Legacy New York Central System 0-6-0 with a gorgeous appearance and fabulous sounds, smoke and swinging bell, and a problem consisting of a design flaw fully described on a separate thread in the Lionel Service Forum. Because of this problem, Sally the diminutive steamer is driving me crazy, like her namesake dog used to do. LOL.

Without further ado, here is Sally:

By the way, I love the expression Yard Goat, so henceforth let Sally's full name be: Sally the Yard Goat.

Arnold

Arnold - Sally is a great name for a switcher!  ... especially since it's in memory of your dog!  Btw - in the beginning of the video; is  Switcher Sally sitting over an ash pit?

@Arnold D. Cribari, Sally sounds superb with all that swinging and smoke and steamy swagger.

Now you need to stencil the name under the cab windows!

@trumptrain posted:

Arnold - Sally is a great name for a switcher!  ... especially since it's in memory of your dog!  Btw - in the beginning of the video; is  Switcher Sally sitting over an ash pit?

Patrick, there is no ash pit under Sally, but that's a good idea.

The space under the rails where Sally is parked, is to accommodate the triggering mechanism (not on the layout now) to activate the Lionel giraffe cars. When I put the giraffe cars back on the shelf, I often remove that triggering mechanism. Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Ladies abd Gentlemen (mostly gentlemen), it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you my number 1 Yard Goat of a steam switcher, Sally, named after our beloved German Shepherd Beagle mix, now in Doggy Heaven.

Sally is a Lionel Legacy New York Central System 0-6-0 with a gorgeous appearance and fabulous sounds, smoke and swinging bell, and a problem consisting of a design flaw fully described on a separate thread in the Lionel Service Forum. Because of this problem, Sally the diminutive steamer is driving me crazy, like her namesake dog used to do. LOL.

Without further ado, here is Sally:

By the way, I love the expression Yard Goat, so henceforth let Sally's full name be: Sally the Yard Goat.

Arnold

Well, Arnold, you've done it again. First you got "Twilight Zone" going through my head, now it's "Lay Down Sally." She's a very nice locomotive, BTW. I like the smaller Legacy locos because you get the good sound and other features without the high price and track radius limitations.

@leapinlarry posted:

This is one of the best switcher Saturdays in a long time, so many beautiful switchers, awesome videos, amazing layouts, Happy Railroading Everyone

I think your Legacy CSX NW2 "outcreeps" my new RK East Penn RS1 which'll do about 2 mph at 6V. I also really like that ABBA (Uh,oh! Another song!) ATSF F3 lashup. How long's the train they're pulling?

@Bill Swatos posted:

Well, Arnold, you've done it again. First you got "Twilight Zone" going through my head, now it's "Lay Down Sally." She's a very nice locomotive, BTW. I like the smaller Legacy locos because you get the good sound and other features without the high price and track radius limitations.

Bill, the Lay Down Sally song never occurred to me when I named my new petite steam switcher Sally the Yard Goat. Thanks for mentioning that most entertaining song.

Model railroading and music is such a great combination.

For you dog lovers. Sally the Yard Goat's namesake, my beloved late German Shepherd Beagle mix, was truly, and in every way, a *****. Besides being a female dog, she was an extreme alpha female and pack animal. She was a wonderful, playful and beautiful family pet. Anyone in the pack (my wife, young children and me), could do anything to her, and she was perfectly fine with it. But, if you were outside of the pack. Sally was on the attack, and downright dangerous.

We even took her to a dog psychologist to get Sally to stop being viscious with outsiders, but it didn't work because neither my wife nor I could be with Sally 24-7 so there was total consistency in doing the things necessary for Sally to change her ways.

Alas, no person or creature is perfect, so we ultimately simply confined Sally to a room with a metal plate on the inside of the door to keep her from clawing her way out of the room and sinking her teeth into the leg of a guest at our home.

Shortly after Sally passed, I wrote a song about her:  Ode to Sally. I got good feedback from it whenever I performed it at Open Mics. Arnold