Walthers' War Baby Switcher

Very interesting.  When you don't have a choice you make do with what you can get.

It is a very interesting Colllector piece.   

This is not meant to nitpick, but the General Models switcher that survived into the All Nation era is a model of an NW2, not an SW.    it is not too bad even by todays modeling standards.    It is based on the early prototype without louvres in the doors.   I especially like the notched hood in front of the cab which disappeared on the SW series.     The hood is too wide I think, but not grossly so.

General Models also offered a model of an "SW" switcher.    The prototype was a cross between an SW1 and an NW2 sort of.    The hood was shortened because it was only 600 HP, but the cab sat back in the same location as the NW2 on the same frame.    It is a fairly rare prototype too.    The SW meant 600 HP, Welded Frame.    It was easy to create a reasonable version of this for the times using the NW2 casting and chopping the front of the hood back a little.    This is a rare piece.   I have seen 2 of these.   I saw a complete kit at a Hobby Shop in Kansas City back in the 80s.     I saw one on a table at a show built up that I think was also made from this kit.    The kit included parts to finish the front somewhat like an SW-1.

I was born in 1934 so I spent my  childhood mostly during the war years.  As kids, our parents never bought us a lot of toys and we made our own out of wood, cardboard and clay.  We had lots of fun, never really thought we were missing anything. Traffic was light so the streets were our playground and "scrap drives" yielded treasures from time to time.

That's a nice one Carey!  I also picked one up about a year ago for just a few dollars on ebay, I think I was following the one you have recently as well but chose not to bid.

Mine is not in as good a shape as yours, also, just a note, I think Hawk also sold a similar kit.

And the Walther's instruction sheet

Thanks.  I saw a kit once, but turned it down.  I do have the AN SW, and maybe three of the cast brass versions of the NW.

You can see how close the brass version was to the die cast by going to the cow/calf thread.

Hello Switchers fans   SW and NW2 .....  sorry I'm not up on the nomenclature of the real 12" to the foot models . 

Thank you for every ones comments .... it is interesting to flip through the war era Model Railroader magazines ...a few wood car kit ads ......no  engines  from manufactures ...  ads requesting not to send any more requests for merchandise  .....  it was a different time ...

Thank you for posting the directions...July 1942  !!!  a true war baby .   Walthers' jumped on the making lemonade out of lemons   very early in the game of war  ..is that an E unit hiding in your engine ? 

So General Models  made two different die cast  switcher cast bodies ???   Can you please post a photo of the two styles ?  ( thank you ) ... what years ? did All Nation also offer both styles ? 

You mention Hawk ....first ad I've found is November 1939  Model Railroader .... does any one have a Hawk to post photos of ? ( please) ..bronze  casting !!!! 

Long live old and funky O scale !

Cheers Carey 

Not really.  As PRR Jim said, AN merely chopped the nose a bit and put a box there.  The brass version may have been CLW - the only obvious difference is the lack of detail on the top of the hood.

I never knew the body was too wide - pretty sure the Lionel version was even wider, among other flaws.

Hi Carey,  Yes, it's got a Lionel E unit stuffed in there.  I've never put power to it though.  Maybe at some point.  It needs some PRR decoration!  I'll have to check my Walthers catalogs, but I think there was a blurb about this being in the works prior to 1942 and specifically that it was of wood and paper construction due to the war.  I'll have a look when I get back into town.

I have never seen an SW mentioned by All Nation.    For sure they did not make it in later years from the 70s on when I have catalogues.   

The SW was a rare prototype.    This is not an SW-1 or any of the SW numbered later switchers.    Not many prototypes were made and I think Pre-WWII.     So maybe there was not much interest in it as a model.     The All Nation/General Models NW2 represents the earliest versions without louvres on the hood.    Later near the end of production, they did get louvred doors on the hood.

By the way, I have never measured my All Nation shells to know if they are wide or by how much, it was just a rumor I have heard

I did kitbash an All-Nation NW2 into an SW-1.    That was bit of a project.    I had to cut the entire cab and hood off the frame and reposition it in addtion to shortening the hood.

these   s  are  common at most   o scale  train  show

The Binn's Road website (http://www.binnsroad.co.uk/rai...allnation/index.html) has these photos of an All-Nation O scale 2-rail kit-built switcher that appears to be an SW-1. Not sure if this is from an actual kit, or if someone customized and cut down an NW-2 shell. They label the photo as it being a '1000HP EMD Switcher', which would be incorrect if it is in-fact an SW-1.

$32.50 in 1942 is worth about $600 today. This was obviously a high end train, not for the masses.

Just got a  1941 Walthers catalog with a correction sheet in it for 1942 and it has a page talking about "Other" switchers.  I realized an old home made switcher shell I have was very likely  someone's 70 year old attempt at the EMC switcher version of this little beastie.  Strangely I seem to have a very junky power truck (probably un-useable) and a few of the seemingly correct tin steps.... Hmmmm....  I have a pile of motors around as well.... Mine has the windows incorrectly cut out but the nose is a dead ringer for the Walthers 3745 drawings .... Doors, grabs, stacks, louvers everything.

Dennis,  that car body is really interesting!

..quite a score!

Kudos.