Folks —
Trackside with Trains.com Vol. 175: End-cab switchers, is now live. Click here to view the selections and vote for your favorite.
I went with Drew Halvorsen’s shot. It shows a switcher in something close to its usual environment, industrial sidings and close to public streets.
Quite a few great shots for the contest there, but there is a problem. The link on the home page still points to the last voting submission for the calendar. It needs to be fixed to point to this new competition as it advertises.
But isn’t that shot almost identical to what was used for a previous Trackside? One with grade crossings, if I remember right.
I like the electric shot from Andy. But I’m partial to electrics… esp. electrics that I never heard of before.
I thought there were three or four worthy of a vote.
I have a question though. Is there a site someone can recommend to help me identify the different spotting features of EMD switchers. How do you tell the difference between a SW8 and a SW1200, for instance. I’ve seen articles and sites for ALCO’s and Baldwin’s, but I have been confused about EMD’s since I first saw them as a kid, rolling past the station. Thank you in advance.
Bruce
A switcher…with end cab…was designed to do what all the pictures showed them doing. The electric unit is probably the most different. But that doesn’t makeit qualifiy as the winner. Each picture except one is what was expected and what the locomotive was expected to do. So, reader Laurie’s 3/4 wedge shot with no train spotlights the the little critter, puts it on a pedistal by itself,; a great salute!
I think seeing a little critter pulling its guts out, with sand, smoke, and oil flying out of every opening is the best salute for these little things.
If it’s parked, it must be shopped!
End-cab switchers are something that I’ve grown up with. My first cab ride ever was in a GTW SW1200, I once spent a night in Durand listening to a couple of GTW S2s doing their thing, and my first fantrip ever included a ride behind an ex-Cincinnati Union Terminal Lima-Hamilton switcher!
But I’m still partial to the sound of a pair of these pulling long cuts of cars in transfer service. Someone once told me that two switchers together could pull just about anything, and I believe it. So, even though the covered hoppers weren’t what I’d expect to see behind them, I chose Tom Nanos’ shot of the paired switchers at Bethlehem.
Bruce, you’d really need a book on the subject, or an early Diesel Spotter’s Guide to point out some of the spotting characteristics among EMD switchers. But even then, most of the models were determined internally, with very few external differences. And you had to look for such things as front radiator size (the short radiator in the front of the Reader Submission photo suggests that that’s an NW2), shape of the hood right in front of the cab, louvers on the hood doors, cab-front window shape, etc. The entire shape of the cab, radiators, etc., changed in 1966 or so when the SW1000 and SW1500 came out.
However, your query was easy: an SW8 has one exhaust stack, an SW1200 has two. But in both cases, they share those characteristics with many other EMD switchers. (Oh, yeah…I spent one day on an assignment that used C&NW’s one-and-only SW8.)
Thanks Carl. I was pretty much expecting those kinds of subtle changes in models based on what I’ve seen and read about the differences in the car body and Geep units. Differences in the number of exhaust stacks was one I wasn’t expecting though.
Jim Wrinn’s photo showing NS 2425 brings to mind the question that got me to originally wondering about the differences in the EMD switchers. You can see a canvas tarp that appears to be used for covering the radiator grill, partly falling down. There used to be switchers that went past Irricana that had what you could call roll-down metal shutters to cover the front. I did finally find a picture of the type of unit that had that feature, but I don’t remember off hand what it was. What I have been curious about to this day though is, was that a feature of that particular model, did EMD put that feature on different models, or was that something that the CPR bolted on themselves, to deal with the yearly temperature extremes up here, particularly on the prairies.
I have heard of the Diesel Spotters Guides. I guess I will have to try find one. Thanks again.