Two rare end-cab switchers in Conrail paint make some noise taking six loaded cars up hill from the rail yard to a warehouse several miles down the mainline! While it was a thrill for a railbuff to see these switchers in action, the conductor had other opinions about them…
“They belong at the bottom of a river!” Switchers like these were built for light duty yard or industry switching, being advantageous where room and weight limits are tight. They are not often sent out on the mainline due to limited size and power, as we see NS 2107 in this video struggle with just 6 loaded cars on a ~1% grade.
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NS SW1001 2107 and SW1500 2221 were both built in 1973, still wearing blue paint 10 years after the split of Conrail. These SW1001’s were built for Reading Railroad, so it is neat to see them still in home territory over 40 years later.
Electro-Motive Diesel (previously General Motors Electro-motive corporation) built end-cab switchers as far back as World War II, the SW “Switcher” series ceased production by the mid-1970’s, with the exception of the SW1001 which was produced until 1986 alongside the more robust MP “Multi-Purpose” end-cab switchers. The number is simply the amount of horsepower; however, the “1” in SW1001 denotes this is an upgraded model to the SW1000, using an improved cab design with a 645 engine, instead of the earlier 567 series.
Today, SW series switchers are almost complete gone from Class I railroad rosters, only to be seen on tourist or shortline railroads. NS 2107 and NS 2221 were both retired in 2011 when Norfolk Southern purged most of their SW’s. 10 years later, 0 SW1500’s remain, and 5 SW1001’s are kept as shop engines at Juniata and Enola. GP “General Purpose” road switchers, like the GP38-2 and GP40-2, have replaced most end-cab switchers.
Recorded June 29, 2009 in 1080p with a Canon VIXIA HG20
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Central Penn Rail Productions 2019
6 авг 2024