Someone told me that the old Montour railroad in Western Pennsylvania used to pull huge coal trains with MU’d switchers! Is that possible? Isn’t that area of the country very rugged and mountainous, so how would they do that? Why didn’t they just buy SD38-2’s?
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Ya know I don’t know how they used MU switchers on the mainline hualling coal. But I do beleive that this railroad is a shortline and of course many shortlines around PA and NJ really don’t spend too much money on new motive power. In Montor’s case the SD38-2. They might of been able to lease it though.
I don’t think the Montour rr exists anymore. The person who told me this used the past tense in describing it. He said they would use 5,6 or 7 switchers mu’d together to move large coal trains from the mines. I still don’t understand why they would do that.
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M.W. Hemphill can you confirm this?
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The Montour is gone. Its reason for existing was Consol’s Montour mines and Champion Prep plant… When they closed, that was that… And yes, they pull long trains with their switcher fleet. At times, when I worked at Champion while I was in college, they would bring 100 car empty unit trains in to be loaded and then pulled the whole thing with 5 switchers. The terrain was tough, but they worked in the valleys and fdidin’t have heavy grades to work. IIRC, it was downhill from Champion to the PC interchange.
The Cambrua short line, in Cambria County, PA also pulled long trains from the Bethlahelm Ebensburg mine to interchange with PRR/PC/CR with switchers also. It was a relatively falt line also.
The rough trackage required a lighter and shorter locomotive in multiple operation. Most mine runs are over old jointed rail loosely spiked to aging ties. The nimble and shore footed EMD pups would make it where a larger locomotive might turn a rail or uncouple on a rough grade.
I saw the same type of operation at the Alcoa plant in Massena NY in the 1960’s – They would pull long trains of bauxite from their interchange point into the smelter with MU’d switchers.
dd
the union railroad in pittsburgh PA uses a fleet of sw class engins to move coke…coal…steel…and other commodities… its not unusal to see 5 or 6 locomotives MUed to move a larg cut ot coke… or coal… with 5 or 6 of the same class of locomotive hooked together…you can equal the same HP as a few 6 axle locomotives…
so yes its posable to move tonnage trains with switcher class locomotives
csx engineer
One railroad I didn’t see mentioned, and it always comes first to my mind when the discussion is switcher-powered coal railroads, is the now-defunct Pittsburgh & Shawmut. Aside from two Geep 7s, the rest of the roster consisted of 9 SW9s. As far as I can recall, all its SWs were equipped with AAR trucks.
Hauling coal out of the mountains is a tractive effort game. Three switchers are equal to two SD units. Just count the axles as they each carry about the same weight and thus generate the same tractive effort.
Mac
Here’s one of their switchers (SW-9).
I’ve seen photos of coal trains w/ at least 4 units on them.
This must have been a special paint job because most units were in a black or dark green paint as I recall
Weren’t the Blunt trucks, used under ALCo’s S1and S2 switchers known for being flexible?
From what I hear, yes, they were. The blunt trucks were aparently designed to be flexible for rough yard track. They were phased out in 1950.
The Blunt trucks worked well. Years ago, I had a regular industrial job that always got a yard switcher. We’d have an Alco S-2 for two or three days, and then I’d get an S-4 or an SW-7 or NW-2. I’d start flashing around like I’d been doing all week, when all the sudden, the engine would be rocking around. I’d have to slow down. IOW, I hadn’t felt the crumby track with the Blunts. Nice.
The Blunt truck was expensive to make, that’s why Alco joined everyone else with using the standard ARA switcher trucks.