End Cab Switchers.. In Decline?

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  • Опубліковано 25 сер 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 98

  • @kens.3729
    @kens.3729 Рік тому +19

    In 2022, History seems to be Moving Lighting FAST is so many different Areas. Our Seniors have seen a Transformation like NO one else and are Amazed. 👍🙏

  • @andrewpalm2103
    @andrewpalm2103 Рік тому +4

    Thanks for this video! End cab switchers are my favorite of the common loco models. I'm glad I can still enjoy them on my HO layout. Cheers from Wisconsin!

  • @ellisjackson3355
    @ellisjackson3355 11 місяців тому +3

    I always loved seeing these. They looked so industrial. Indiana harbor belt still has some that they use. There's another Conrail end cab switcher that i would see lying dormant off of 130th and I 94 on the south side of Chicago. Someone filmed it being used a summer or two ago. Metra might still have theirs too

  • @iusetano
    @iusetano Рік тому +3

    I used end cab switchers for many years. We had some tight track curves and in some places light rail. Excellent video AC. The memories I have.

    • @Trains21
      @Trains21  Рік тому

      Yeah, I remember you mentioning that you ran those on some tight and sometimes slippery wet rails.

  • @FreihEitner
    @FreihEitner Рік тому +3

    I love 4 axle EMDs. It's a shame that aside from a small number of passenger units, none have been built new since the early 1990s and it seems unlikely that any more will be built.

  • @Commysumngtus
    @Commysumngtus 3 місяці тому

    When I was a kid in Detroit in the 60s-70s. My neighbor worked at Grand Trunk GTW, got to ride on Alco switcher. And when I’d go to the team track with my dad at Penn Centrals Livernois yard got ride on SW 9. Loved sitting there watch cars roll down the hump.

  • @SlapthePissouttayew
    @SlapthePissouttayew Рік тому +4

    We had an old NW2 leased from LTEX at my last RR job that would derail if you looked at it wrong. I really don't miss it. The GP15-1 we also had from them was a whole different story. Great engine.

  • @daveyboy_
    @daveyboy_ Рік тому +6

    I love switchers

  • @frankmarkovcijr5459
    @frankmarkovcijr5459 Рік тому +4

    Rebuilding and maintaining a locomotive to keep it in operational condition is much cheaper than buying a new locomotive.

  • @CyberSoldat
    @CyberSoldat Рік тому +4

    These will still always be seen one very small railroads I feel. For class 1 I could see GP15Ds as being logical replacements. They seem to be quite popular with some smaller roads and some class 1

    • @Maine_Railfan
      @Maine_Railfan Рік тому +1

      GP15D/GP20D’s are junk. That’s why they are cutting them up currently.

  • @paulne1514
    @paulne1514 5 місяців тому +1

    I worked at a steel mill where we had Baldwins, Fairbanks Morse and a couple of EMD double stacks. While on an EMD, the engineer told me, we’re going to go the fastest ever in the mill. It was a newly rebuilt straight track, that went over a mile. We were moving about 30 mph?, when he shifted into high gear, and we were passing cars doing I think about 60? I enjoyed working with and operating the Fairbank Morse. Really good low end power with rarely any wheel slip. Then management changed, from people who cared to college kids who knew everything. No more maintenance on anything. Where it use to take 13 years to move up to engineer, now took 4-6 weeks. The new engineers were too lazy to help me sand the locomotive(took 2 people). They wouldn’t take signals, and when they realized they were going too fast to stop, they’d plug it!. And started blowing out traction motors. Our shops did excellent work rebuilding traction motors. Now it was contracted out. I was at the shop and watched as a locomotive was leaving, (in the shop for traction motors) blew both motors before it reached the shop switch! But the company is saving money! Museums tried to get some of the locomotives, but the mill cut them up, “to teach the union a lesson”!

    • @25mfd
      @25mfd 4 місяці тому

      *Then management changed, from people who cared to college kids who knew everything*
      oh man... as soon as i read that, i knew the rest of the story was in for a bad turn
      i'll take a person with good ol' fashion common sense over a college educated pinhead anyday

  • @matthewwolff3729
    @matthewwolff3729 Рік тому +2

    I think the last one was built in the 80s. 16 years on a class 1 and I've only been on 1 in trail. So yes the end cab "flatback" switchers are going the way of the 🦤. They will survive in museums and niche roles and they will always be neat and unique locomotives.

  • @stevenraushenberger716
    @stevenraushenberger716 Рік тому +1

    These locomotives are what first sparked my interest in watching trains as a kid in the late 1960’s! Had the Rock Island, and Milwaukee Road working the yards and industries in my hometown. Many fond memories!👍🏼

    • @alfabeech
      @alfabeech Рік тому

      My 1950's Xmas gift Lionel set came with one of these switchers. Guess my parents could only afford a short line.

  • @arkansasrailproductions5507
    @arkansasrailproductions5507 Рік тому +2

    Got a couple of classic end cabs on a local shortline, the North Louisiana & Arkansas Railroad. They’re a couple of SW1s from the 1940s and still running today. They also have a small fleet of GE 80-tonner centercabs and a Paducah Shops rebuilt GP8. The owner of the NL&A, Arkansas Shortlines LLC, has other end cab switchers on it’s other railroads including SW1s, an SW9, GMD-1s and a couple of Alco end cab switchers.

  • @doct0rnic
    @doct0rnic Рік тому +4

    I work for a major class one, only got to use 1 MP15, I thought it pulled like a tractor and I liked it, but other than that the only "switch engines" they give us is either a GP 39-2 or an SD 40-2 with a Canac RCO conversion, I think the railroad likes using old Geeps and SDs for switching simply because if they break down they can interchange it with another one, they have an abundance of them and they pull good, I even switched with several GP 30s rebuilt as GP 39-2s. But I really think another reason is locos are not assigned to yards anymore, sometimes I switched with extra road power that was in the yard waiting for the connecting train later, I switched many lists with AC4400s, SD 70s, they load slower but we still get the work done.

  • @moregltfirephotography4857
    @moregltfirephotography4857 Рік тому +2

    Great video AC! At Conway I think NS has an endcab for shop moves, other than that the only endcabs are located at: Mod-Dok in Leetsdale where they have an SW900M I believe is the designation, that they use to switch R&N and NS coal loads. Be sure to check them out my buddy has some nice videos of em on his UA-cam (NS 5350). The A&OR (Aliquippa and Ohio River) which is EX A&S has a couple customers now since J&L steel closed. They use a an SW1500 painted in the maroon and grey P&OC scheme. Also the P&OC Neville Island spur is sometimes visited by the EX Pittsburgh Industrial Railroad MP1500. Take care AC, thanks for all the info!

  • @zackbobby5550
    @zackbobby5550 Рік тому +3

    I've used Geeps, big mainline units, and an SW1500. Honestly the 1500 was a fantastic engine. We could move 70 cars of empty hoppers with that thing. Had to hit them a few times, but we got them moving. Started well, stopped even better, and pumped the air great. Easy and cheap to maintain. I don't know that I'd like to use less than 1500 horsepower, which a lot of those older switchers are, but there's definitely still a place for SW/MP15s.

  • @TalkingGIJoe
    @TalkingGIJoe 3 місяці тому +2

    End Cab switchers are my favorite design...

  • @sharkheadism
    @sharkheadism Рік тому +6

    In my experiences, those little switchers couldn't start and couldn't stop. I didn't like switching with them compared to GPs or an SD40.

  • @rippersix293
    @rippersix293 Рік тому +2

    I feel they will always have a place on short lines, industrial areas and urban areas because of their small size and ability to negotiate tight curves found in those areas

  • @Zach_Bloomquist
    @Zach_Bloomquist Рік тому +2

    I grew up seeing Conrail End Cab Switchers in Southern NJ during the 90s and 2000s. Usually a few SW1001s or SW1500s but sometimes a SW1200 or SW800 would be switching and hauling locals around the Bordentown Secondary a couple of blocks away from my house. We would frequently walk down as kids to wave and get a horn show. I saw them change in the late 99 to early 00 period to CSX and NS patches and eventually get replaced by GP38-2s and GP40-2s. I still have many fond memories of them and miss the End Cabs dearly. They were something else.

  • @whiteknightcat
    @whiteknightcat Рік тому +1

    Georgetown Railroad typically uses an SW1500 and MP15 variants MU'ed nose to nose to switch the Texas Crushed Stone quarry yard and local business outside the quarry.

  • @jonglass
    @jonglass Рік тому +2

    You ought to look into the Union Terminal RR. All they use is end-cabs--in lashups up to five units.

  • @jerrykinnin7941
    @jerrykinnin7941 Рік тому +2

    BASF/EMERY in Cincinnati has 4 or 5 of these. They are yellow with black tops.
    The work the P&G companies shunt Tank cars between St Bernard soap BASF/EMERY Crisco and Marathon bio refinery.

  • @ctf6420
    @ctf6420 Рік тому +1

    Very well written informative video! CP does still roster 1 endcab, the SW900 6711 is still used as the shop switcher at the Ogden shops. They recently gave it PTC and featured it somewhat heavily in their book on the military units so I don't think it's going anywhere.

  • @CSX_Doolittle
    @CSX_Doolittle Рік тому +4

    Yeah end cabs are rare now a days on class ones as geeps from the same era have token over switching duty’s your just need to know where to look to see one of theses

  • @jwrailve3615
    @jwrailve3615 Рік тому +1

    Drive through port of Houston. And the bnsf motive power storage yard an Galveston. There’s likely hundreds of these models throughout.

  • @illinoiscentralrailroadfan6015

    In the mid 80's the Illinois Central Gulf sold the Paducah Kentucky shops and they became VMV. The Illinois Central Gulf would become the Illinois Central again in 1988

  • @frankmarkovcijr5459
    @frankmarkovcijr5459 Рік тому +4

    Too much horsepower on a four-wheel truck results in slipping. When you have a low horsepower switching locomotive you don't run into those problems of having too much horsepower that you could actually get to the ground.

  • @gregblanton9386
    @gregblanton9386 Рік тому +2

    There are loads of them working in industry yards across America and in many other countries, they are just not viable options for the class 1 railroads and decreasingly for class 2 & 3 as well with all the rebuilt 60's to early 90's loco's available for a reasonable cost that increases the smaller railroads capabilities to move longer trains at a higher speeds when needed.

  • @frankmarkovcijr5459
    @frankmarkovcijr5459 Рік тому +2

    Another reason for the decline of Edna cab switchers is that EMD decided not to make parts for sw7 SW h&s W-9. This was a stupid choice on their part if you cannot get parts for a locomotive what good is it.

  • @gavinhayes373
    @gavinhayes373 Рік тому +1

    There is still quite a few in my area there are also a few higher horsepower locomotives used for yard operation in my area the BNSF yard near me now it runs two gp40s and has recently upgraded twice to higher horsepower they upgraded from one single locomotive to two and there aren't multiple different times I can recall of different units switching in the yard

  • @frankmarkovcijr5459
    @frankmarkovcijr5459 Рік тому +4

    The end cab switches from the 1950s are the locomotives that killed all the small steam engines that switched yards. Engineers would learn how to run a small steam engine and gradually run up to larger ones. The introduction of diesel switches destroyed that. I think railroading is the only industry that uses vintage locomotives.

    • @WesternOhioInterurbanHistory
      @WesternOhioInterurbanHistory Рік тому +4

      Railroading is the *ONLY* industry to use locomotives though, so you are correct

    • @gary-williams
      @gary-williams 17 днів тому

      The textile, agriculture, printing, mining, aviation and marine industries also use vintage equipment.

  • @dennisarmes3473
    @dennisarmes3473 Рік тому +1

    great update T21 !!! i just love these engines and have 6 on my layout ( the rosenberg division of the bprr from pittsburgh to south buffalo) and they do shitloads of work just like the prototypes !!! for our friends out there that want to see some really GREAT end-cab work please check out videos via matty gunn... tons of fantastic views of end-cabs along the south shore of lake erie, one of the best walleye areas on the planet, with ice cold beer and even some great chicken wings on the side !!!
    blessings to you my friend, trains 21 and please keep up the good work !!!

  • @matthewjones1119
    @matthewjones1119 Рік тому +1

    Love seen the WC box car at the end!!

  • @arkie74
    @arkie74 Рік тому +3

    MP 15s had bathrooms? I have rode in KCS MPs and there was no bath room. not that I could see.
    ... I mean where would you put it?

    • @ellisjackson3355
      @ellisjackson3355 11 місяців тому

      Technically anywhere could be a bathroom

  • @mikehawk2003
    @mikehawk2003 Рік тому +1

    I'm not sure about UP's MP15DCs still operating. A majority of the fleet was purged around 2009-2013 and I still vividly remember the lines of patched SP and UPY end-cab switchers stored dead in Roseville yard around those years. The last I've heard of the SW and MP series of switchers on the UP roster was in 2016 in storage.

  • @kelvintorrence5994
    @kelvintorrence5994 Рік тому +2

    I love switchers and slug units better then the big units

  • @DJinNJ08830
    @DJinNJ08830 Рік тому

    Thanks AC. One is used by Morristown & Erie. It moved what was left of of a debunked RR IN NJ

    • @darthgrundle2349
      @darthgrundle2349 Рік тому

      @DJinNJ08830, They may have come from the now gone Raritan River Railroad in central Jersey. They used type of locomotive exclusively after switching from steam. They were painted red and really looked good in that color.

  • @billestew7535
    @billestew7535 11 місяців тому +1

    CP 6711 T-bone and Mr.C Good memories, I do not, however, have a lot of fond memories about wrenching on her, very cramped and particularly filthy, cast iron brake shoes, and anything to do with the big fan on the front end could mean an ass-kicker of a day, she was a good ol' girl though RIP[POS]

  • @williamburroughs2273
    @williamburroughs2273 10 місяців тому +1

    Conventional cab units (GPs and SDs) have stolen the show at Class 1 lines for yard and road switching, and CSX even runs a ton of conventional units on their road trains like a short line (to the chagrin of road crews; the lack of a conductor's desk and the noisy cab at track speeds makes conventional units far from ideal for road service). The only place you see these old end cab switchers now are at industrial yards like steel mills and grain elevators.

  • @davidbarnett9312
    @davidbarnett9312 Рік тому

    Haven't seen it in a while, but on another railfan video site the CCET [Cincinatti Eastern] has one.

  • @justintherailfan
    @justintherailfan Рік тому +1

    OSR uses 1244,1245,1210,1249 SW1200RS’s and they have a few alcos

  • @tracksidemike
    @tracksidemike Рік тому

    Well Done Video great share of information Thanks I enjoyed it. favorite is the SW900 SW1200

  • @gronmic
    @gronmic Рік тому +1

    Super job, nice tesearch

  • @4everdc302
    @4everdc302 Рік тому

    Ontario Southland still has 5 or so TH&B switcher units in the original paint scheme. Curse over to my gig if ya want a peep. We were given permission to get images during the OVR UA-camrs meet&great in Tillsonburg Ontario this summer. About 60kms from where they were built at GMD London.

  • @RailfanNetwork
    @RailfanNetwork Рік тому +1

    Unfortunately, I've never caught one out in the wild.

  • @therailcinema
    @therailcinema Рік тому +1

    Great video, very informative!

  • @kellyveal1675
    @kellyveal1675 Рік тому +3

    What engines are doing the lash up of the cars in the staging areas

    • @kellyveal1675
      @kellyveal1675 Рік тому

      Who decides what train engines are in the lash up Before the train moves with all the cars

    • @grandson_0623
      @grandson_0623 Рік тому

      These days GP units that are rebuilt.

  • @user-ku5wk1yy9x
    @user-ku5wk1yy9x 3 місяці тому +1

    THEY BE IN DECLINE ON THE REAL RAILROADS, BUT ON MY HO SCALE LAYOUT, THEY ARE VERY ACTIVE. I LIKE THE SWITCHERS .

  • @kittty2005
    @kittty2005 Рік тому +3

    I don't understand how a class 1 RR can be profitable using 4400 HP GE engines as switchers.

    • @Stoker58
      @Stoker58 Рік тому +3

      Well they mostly use emd GP and SD series locomotives for locals and regular switching. The wide bodies generally don’t have to perform heavy switching usually just block swapping thanks to PSR

    • @kittty2005
      @kittty2005 Рік тому

      @@danielcarlin7784 Hot Spots Southeast frequents a yard that recently changed their operation from having a SD40-2 sitting idling, to using the power of the mainline trains to do the shifting ,mostly 2, 3 or four engines, the delay already figured into the timetable. It's kind of cool watching them.

    • @doct0rnic
      @doct0rnic Рік тому

      because they dont switch like they used to, most cars are shoved and kicked, never dropped, but the real answer is they just use whats available in the yard at the time, in the yard I work in, yardmaster would give me a list and tell me to use an engine, sometimes it was a geep, other times it was an extra GE waiting for a train to pick it up later, there are no assigned locos in the yard I work at, and we still get the lists down regardless of what power we use.

  • @charlesgault3777
    @charlesgault3777 Рік тому

    I noticed in the video the narrator said that the mp's had a toilet on board them. How's that possible? End cab switchers don't have a short hood, where the toilet is located on most mainline locos.

  • @Tuglife912
    @Tuglife912 Рік тому +1

    I’ve ran a few switchers and I love them! The EMD SW1500 is one of my all time favorites. The EMD MP15DC, MP15AC, and MP15T are all great too. The EMD SW1001 and SW1200 are as well. I don’t want to see these awesome engines disappear.

  • @luiselapostolfeliz2421
    @luiselapostolfeliz2421 Рік тому +4

    Nice locomotives but they're not the most efficient by modern standards but they serve a purpose no PTC, no emissions control, none of that modern tech unlike New locomotives built today.

    • @billestew7535
      @billestew7535 11 місяців тому +1

      It came with G.M. factory ashtrays you would pull it down to empty it, the height of sophistication.

  • @coreytarducci36
    @coreytarducci36 Рік тому +1

    Makes ya wonder how long are they gonna be around. Are we gonna see GEVO’s on local jobs or switching around down the road?

    • @jwrailve3615
      @jwrailve3615 Рік тому

      Ten years from now railfanning will be gevos tier 4, 70aces, and the new hydrogen powered units that prototypes are being tested. Every year it’ll get less and less in variability. Industrial and chemical plant areas will be the only places to see variations in motive power. It’s a bummer.

  • @walkerdalton11435
    @walkerdalton11435 Рік тому +1

    There’s one line in Georgia where they have sw and there still running

  • @Leatherface123.
    @Leatherface123. Рік тому

    My local railroad has a 2 SW1400s

  • @matthewarentzen7465
    @matthewarentzen7465 Рік тому

    A other great video from the master!

  • @TrainLoverHimu
    @TrainLoverHimu Рік тому +1

    Excellent video 👌👌

  • @geraldoreynoso2480
    @geraldoreynoso2480 Рік тому

    I really love you and especially your content, keep the perfect, perfesionl videos coming and I love you vocie, don't stop, or take a break keep them videos coming!

  • @yourcrazyteacher585
    @yourcrazyteacher585 Рік тому +1

    Is that shot from Taylor Yard from the church parking lot?

  • @jeffwalther
    @jeffwalther Рік тому

    I would never hop on a freight that wasn't pulled by one of these back when I was a kid.

  • @SantaFe19484
    @SantaFe19484 Рік тому +1

    So what kind of switchers are becoming more common on Class I railroads?

    • @jeffreyboyles4869
      @jeffreyboyles4869 Рік тому

      GPs (also with slugs on NS) is what I see mostly here in Georgia

  • @irasthewarrior
    @irasthewarrior Місяць тому

    Why don't they use GP38-2's ? They're so much better for modern switching, in my opinion.

    • @gary-williams
      @gary-williams 17 днів тому +1

      Branch lines, small yards, and large industries that need to shuffle their own cars around, often prefer the smaller switchers because they cost less and are often sufficient for their needs.

  • @pokemontrainermichael5551
    @pokemontrainermichael5551 Рік тому

    These kool locos

  • @LithiumSix66
    @LithiumSix66 Рік тому +1

    In decline since GP’s

  • @Locos-del-oeste
    @Locos-del-oeste Рік тому

    Excellent capture my friend like 66 and Greetings

  • @AmtrakCSXFan457
    @AmtrakCSXFan457 Рік тому +1

    A.C, What is your opinion on the Illinois Central SD70s?

  • @NYandAtlantic
    @NYandAtlantic Рік тому +1

    Why do the front lights always blink

    • @SlapthePissouttayew
      @SlapthePissouttayew Рік тому +1

      Supposedly to make them more visible at grade crossings. I say 'supposedly' from experience.

    • @NYandAtlantic
      @NYandAtlantic Рік тому

      @@SlapthePissouttayew it doesn’t I would think ppl would see something flashing on off even if you don’t know what it is

    • @NYandAtlantic
      @NYandAtlantic Рік тому

      @@SlapthePissouttayew I’m still looking for a NY and atlantic locomotive haven’t been able to find one will

  • @tincanboat
    @tincanboat Рік тому

    interesting video

  • @frankmarkovcijr5459
    @frankmarkovcijr5459 Рік тому

    AMD trying to make railroads by new switches discontinued part like pistons and cylinder assemblies for the smaller engines that were in the switchers. These engines are quality locomotives and are rebuildable forever. They are a lot more versatile for a short line too because you can't switch with a great big ac44. All locomotives should be used and maintained as they should be they are a lot of money and it is a waste for them not to be working and earning you money. And they are cheap and cheerful on the second hand Market. Like a vintage motorcycle they may need a few parts. But there are aftermarket suppliers to supply your needs.

  • @thomasabramson100
    @thomasabramson100 Рік тому +2

    you forgot the MP 15 AC s sold to the Long Island RR for commuter service which number about 20 units also you forgot about the NW 2 1000 hp and the SW 1 600 hp