Rare Conrail SW8 Switching on Chicago's South Side

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On October 10th, 2022, I swung by the Maryland Pig Iron facility along 130th Street in Hegewisch and was surprised to see their Conrail SW8 delivering cars to the South Shore interchange. This is the first time I had ever seen the locomotive move. It was originally built in 1951 for the Lehigh Valley, before eventually becoming Conrail #8687. Its Lehigh Valley heritage can be seen through the blue paint, in the form of stripes and some lettering. Seeing this old switcher operating in 2022 is quite the sight!
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22 окт 2022

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Комментарии : 437

@TM-bk3ok Год назад

I don’t know why, but sometimes rusted rails, overgrowth in the gravel, and a lone SW working away just has a certain vibe that mainline railfanning can’t even compare too.

@JT_8283 Год назад

Exactly

@ericewaldklaver Год назад

It’s typical for US infrastructure

@popparatmw7 Год назад

#coolasfass

@endsdio4834 Год назад

That’s called autism

@dominicdisano5937 Год назад

Could agree more, I wish there was more footage / compilations of this type of switching. I love seeing proof that some of the lines that look abandoned or exempt are in fact still functional.

@WashingtonDistrictRailfan Год назад

This is my favorite kind of railfan content to watch - the super obscure stuff we would never see otherwise. Instant like from me, thanks for posting!

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

I’m glad you enjoyed watching! I love visiting these smaller operations people often overlook.

@dennisb-trains23 Год назад

Absolutely 👍😃

@Nethanel773 Год назад

Know exactly what you mean. On one hand, this is all part of the life of commercial activity that makes city life what it is; and on other hand, it feels like it's in the middle of nowhere - the edge and netherworld of human civilization. Seemingly more machine than man, yet it's a life of its own - railway lifeblood feeding the organs of industry and commerce under endless strands of the power grid nervous system.

@Nethanel773 Год назад

Not trying to be idyllic, just another side of the everyday world that's curious.

@schlehb Год назад

´keep them running 🙂

@Xalerdane Год назад

There’s something kind of sad about this. It’s rusty and squeaky, and all that track is overgrown and sunken into the dirt. It’s 70+ years old and still capable of doing its job. That’s rare and precious in this age of planned obsolescence. Stuff that lasts and works should be cherished.

@rearspeaker6364 Год назад

and, it has roller bearing trucks!

@tincupnickleboythe1st700 Год назад

As yoi can plainly see, a couple of old heads running it, prolly cause they would pass on out on the main road lol

@rearspeaker6364 Год назад

@@tincupnickleboythe1st700 this is the 2nd paycheck after retirement.

@sandynoby Год назад

but there is something beautiful also .. I would love to have such thing at my backyard and be the railman

@BassPotter46 Год назад

Yeah, like she’s wandering through the rail yard looking for work.

@markmccummins8049 Год назад

This is railfanning in 2022. It is a treat to see this old LV SW 8 hard at work. The almost vacant former mill site, and the rusty, grass-grown rails are melancholy and beautiful. We have to take what we’ve got, and appreciate it. Great video, Sam. I enjoyed every minute.

@marksprunger8936 Год назад

Definitely a testament to the fine engineering that went into designing and building those SW-8's. Not to mention the talented maintenance crews over decades past.

@adamnovak7570 3 месяца назад

Yep, ex Lehigh Valley. Calumet River area by the sludge dumps and landfills. I used to live in Hegewisch

@Pensyfan19 Год назад

Great footage of this rare bird! Never knew this engine existed until now. Nice to see some original Conrail blue still around today.

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thank you! I hope it continues to stick around for a while longer!

@doubleutubefan5 Год назад

I believe its twin unit works the business district near the Philadelphia Airport in Pennsylvania

@robertbeacham4314 Год назад

B&O museum in Baltimore has one restored they use for switching and some excursions

@drippinglass Год назад

A similar in green and yellow Reading RR worked the Lansdale Pa. yard back in ‘79. I have a pic of it.

@christopherstory2136 Год назад

@@SamLovesTrains remember these old switchers doing their thing with old geeps at the Bronx yard in the 80s. This yard looks similar as well!

@thomasmackowiak Год назад

Nice catch, Sam! That is a 71-year-old engine still in working order. I have seen that engine sitting east of Stony Island Avenue and north of 130th Street several times when driving on 130th Street. I wondered who it belonged to. When I saw the engine sitting there, I never had the time to stop and take a closer look at it. Thank you for documenting the engine in action and for uploading it to your RU-vid channel!

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thanks! I’ve seen it sitting plenty of times as well and always wondered when it runs. I was at the right place at the right time on this occasion.

@thomasmackowiak Год назад

@@SamLovesTrainsyou were in the right place at the right time. I forgot to mention that the drone footage was great to see.

@RiverRatWA57 Год назад

@@thomasmackowiak I was going to complement him on that as well 👍👍👍

@ellisjackson3355 Год назад

@@thomasmackowiak I've seen this engine in that exact spot too and I always thought it was broken down or abandoned

@flyingfortressrc1794 Год назад

It's cool to see the old girl still working the rails.

@daveskinner5131 Год назад

I never imagined I'd see the day when a switcher is special.

@TheYardLimit Год назад

Note the unusual profile of the hood in front of the cab. The Lehigh Valley ordered 18 of these SW8s with dynamic brakes to work in sets of 3-5 hauling anthracite on the Hazleton Branch. They were colloquially known as pups on the LV. I have passed this unit many times too. Most of the DB equipped units don't seem to have survived past the conrail era. I am sure there are a few extant somewhere though.

@TheYardLimit Год назад

Did a bit of digging, and it turns out there are a few more of these cockroaches still around. I do think a good few were scrapped in the conrail era. But Reading and Northern has 3, one of which was a dynamic brake equipped unit. There are atleast 2 or 3 others in industrial service around NJ and PA.

@rearspeaker6364 Год назад

@@TheYardLimit if this is a cockroach, this is a battle-hardned one!!!!

@tmwinkler Год назад

Great catch! Not a "heritage repaint" but an original. I remember those working the industrial parks in my neighborhood "back in the day." Thanks for sharing!

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thanks! Nothing beats the original!

@Steven_Williams Год назад

Great catch! This switcher has been here for years and this is the first time I've ever seen it move. I just thought that it was a leftover from the past.

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thank you! I didn’t think it ran very often, if at all either. I was surprised to see it moving around in the facility as I passed by!

@kishascape Год назад

It's both.

@ellisjackson3355 Год назад

My thoughts exactly

@problu9586 Год назад

First glance, looked like a locomotive "off roading" through some wilderness area, interesting sight.

@JimmyFoxhound Год назад

Oh wow, when I saw the thumbnail I thought it was just sitting somewhere abandoned. To see this 70+ year old machine still working on the tracks is so cool! I sure miss seeing that Conrail livery on the tracks.

@minnesotarailfan12 Год назад

This is crazy! Never would have imagined some Big Blue still around, over 20 years after the split!

@careycummings9999 Год назад

She seems to be in good working order for a 71 year old engine. Very little smoke. Its great that these machine are still out there doing work.

@adamm2837 3 месяца назад

I was going to say the same thing, it sounded smooth, very little smoke, just doing its job puttering around the facility. Hell even the paint doesnt look too bad considering that its last paintjob had to be what.....at the bare minimum 25 years ago....most likely much longer ago than that!!

@jimthomefan50025 Год назад

Great footage, everytime I pass this engine, there's no crew around, so I never see it working. Very interesting operation at the port. This engine traces its heritage to Lehigh Valley. If you notice there's stripes showing through the conrail paint. A rare bird this is... Great job. 👍

@jasonlaw2641 Год назад

I have the Conrail switcher HO version. I remember seeing dozens of these running around Fairless Works when I was a young lad. :)

@andreamallory6981 Год назад

Mowing grass and plowing dirt. Love it!

@JulianWatsonThe400 Год назад

That thing has definitely had a run for it's money. Love how it looks with the patina (most likely just rust).

@michaelpfister1283 Год назад

Had to say, the rails at around the 1:45 mark are so overgrown that for a moment it looked like the switcher was just running through a grassy field. It was a bit disorienting for a moment. Great content and thank you for sharing! As others have said, this is a rare catch and most people would never get an opportunity to see this old workhorse in action.

@mitchwinder1204 Год назад

Best video I’ve seen in a long time. Thanks for letting the sights & sounds tell the story, and not music or incessant yapping. Too bad we can’t plug a cable into that old girl and let her download 70 years of stories. Thanks for posting that.

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thank you!

@rightmeow58 Год назад

Native (Polish) southwest-sider here, and as a young kid in the 70's, it was always fun to visit relatives in Hegewisch.

@mattberg916 Год назад

I worked for the Chicago Rail Link back in 2001(I think), this old girl has been at MarPig for a long time. This was the same interchange we used for the CSS. From that road crossing going west is a pretty good hill. I used to shove my empty coil gons up the hill, bleed the loaded gons while walking back down and then dropped about 15-20 loads gons off the hill. My engineer would cut off from the empty cut and come down under 130th and tie on to the loads. It saved me a run- around move in the yard over by 94. Little old railroads in the weeds are fun to work at!

@frankjonathan8043 Год назад

Great to see an old LV "pup" (as the LV called their switchers) working on the rails. This engine was built with dynamic brakes. That is why the hood directly in front of the cab is high and not sloped toward the cab. Conrail removed the dynamic brakes on all of the LV switchers. Great video!

@milomilo6404 Год назад

Mp13??

@jonwalter6317 Год назад

I wondered if it was one of the dynamic brake equipped SWs when I saw that non-standard hood. Thanks for saving me the trouble of tracing down the LV unit number

@frankjonathan8043 Год назад

@@milomilo6404 I'm not sure what you are saying, but this is an SW8.

@milomilo6404 Год назад

Mp13 is a style of switcher

@frankjonathan8043 Год назад

@@milomilo6404 Sorry-I never heard of an MP13. I do know that EMD produced the MP15.

@termitevomit Год назад

Wow that's one of the LV SW8's that was equipped with dynamic brakes!

@waynebhase4436 Год назад

I built this unit using a P2k ho scale SW1200, converted it to a single stack, scratch built the hood area in front of the cab to represent the ex Lehigh valley dynamic area without the fan and grills of course, and sold it to a customer, but I didn't paint it in conrail, it was painted in a private leasing company scheme. Unfortunately I didn't have any sound for it, just dcc. its pretty cramped inside for most sound decoders. Wow, thanks for sharing this video!

@cougrs48 Год назад

We have one of those at our local grain elevator! Once an SW8 of the New York Central, now a Conrail blue grain switcher, working next to a CSX grain mainline.

@paycar1 Год назад

Great video, I wonder what it looked like around there in the 1950's Thanks for sharing

@davidsharp3110 Год назад

Always nice to see Conrail blue in recent action. Thank you.

@6z0 Год назад

That is a one in a million catch these days. Great video

@andrewpalm2103 Год назад

Great stuff! Industrial switching is my favorite railfan activity. That run down, grotty track is just begging to be modelled. Even better, their interchange is with the South Shore. And the CSS&SB Big Orange Car conductor's station call I remember best was "Hegwish!"

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Run down industrial stuff is what I love filming the most! People often overlook stuff like that. It would be really cool to model something similar

@shiftintohigh5564 Год назад

Very cool! Great camera and drone footage. Really nice work. That ole switcher has a lot of character. 👍👍😎🇺🇸

@NS_5350 Год назад

Mol-Dok uses an old SW900M built in 1961 for the Reading and looks almost identical to the SW8 except for the red paint. There are a few bits of Conrail and even some Reading paint showing through, but hard to notice unless you look closely. I love seeing old obscure operations like this

@sheilatrachtenberg8997 Год назад

This is a truly great catch. That engine is 71 years old, and it looks like it's been in a war - but still doing what it was built to do. There's definitely a mood to it working in an area that looks like it's 3/4 abandoned with parts of the track lost in the grass - but as long as there's heavy stuff to move, then long live the little engine that can.

@mow4ncry Год назад

Beautiful old time unit though and lucky catch to see it running

@danfarris135 Год назад

Reminds me of all the old machinery in our machine shop including myself.

@armandoperez7967 Год назад

Fantastic video! I fondly remember the times in the 1970s and 1980s when these little switchers were common on the larger railroads. I miss them greatly. Here are still similar looking SW1001 switchers similar to the older SW8 on the New York and Atlantic RR here in New York. I also believe that the LIRR kept some for its own use when the NY&Atl. was formed to haul the freight along the LIRR tracks.

@adventureswithnubby Год назад

A very nice catch to see the old engine running

@gartwilliams3347 Год назад

Old school! That’s so cool! American built, raw horsepower!

@mitchmatthews6713 Год назад

Gotta love SW switchers!

@TOTALCAMARO Год назад

Nice above shots of her. She’s old and rusty but still going . Thank you for sharing this with us. A good work horse.😊

@Stanf954 Год назад

Outstanding catch of the old switcher in action.

@garrettsubproductions8705 Год назад

I do love to see the Big Blue still working hard and strong!!!

@thomasrailfan5774 Год назад

Old engines running on old track, that's what I like to see.

@timnewman1172 Год назад

Love the industrial hellscape, it's definitely a survivor!

@MikeG42 Год назад

Good video Sam , awesome ! , I just love these old switchers and this one in the Conrail blue. Beautiful shot near the end as this locomotive goes about its work in an industrial wasteland on a weed and dirt covered rail line. Amazing to see and an example of how well built these old SW units were. I love it , thanks Sam 😊👍

@timothyandelmo541 Год назад

Super cool!! love seein old con bobby still running!!

@srmoon29 Год назад

We were just in Chicago last weekend railfaning and saw that engine from our south shore train but didn't know it still was running. Great video!

@matthewjones9912 Год назад

I love these obscure little rail jobs. Excellent!

@hoosierhobbies Год назад

This is one tough cookie to catch and you nailed it! I've never seen any better coverage and thanks for sharing!

@marksprunger8936 Год назад

Great video! That's something we don't see everyday. It's amazing that the tracks are still operable given that they're completely covered with overgrowth and probably rickety and rust-covered. I would love to model a scene like this one on my train layout!

@MikeInPlano Год назад

Nice video. I enjoyed the ground-level shots in the gravel yard that made it appear as though the switcher was running through weeds sans tracks. This would be a great scene for a model railroad.

@RHJ3 Год назад

Ahhh yes the chant of the 567 prime mover is music to the ears. Lovely video, thank you.

@kennydemartini2169 Год назад

It's nice to see that old beast still in action. We had a set of Conrail tracks running through my town in Ohio back in the '70s. I spent many days walking the rails and watching trains go by. Amtrak raced through at 11:30 every night.

@scenariomckinney Год назад

This what I love!!! The DIRTY,GRIMY side of railroading!! Great vid.

@arthurklose2300 Год назад

This is an amazing catch. I love seeing industrial lines like this.

@struck2soon Год назад

Lovely weathering on that old workhorse.

@railfanningpoints2.045 Год назад

2,021,800 total YT competitive railfanning points awarded

@trainutjob Год назад

This is a great video, what a killer find. Love seeing those old Conrail end cabs at industries, well done!

@d.r.4453 Год назад

Nice catch! Great video, no talking, just the sounds of the action (I love the sound of that switcher). I find watching switching videos like this relaxing for some odd reason LOL!

@robertwitkowski1650 Год назад

Great footage! I always see tracks that seem abandoned. Cool to see them used.

@tommyhunter1817 Год назад

That old, tired, run down unit symbolizes the south side of Chicago perfectly.

@DiamondMaster20 Год назад

Glad to see the big blue rolling on over 20 years after the split. Great video!

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

It’s amazing that it’s stuck around this long!

@nunotupolev7071 Год назад

I saw a Conrail locomotive in Rio de Janeiro last year, got amazed

@RaisedLetter Год назад

The definition of throwback

@michaelwilliams9475 Год назад

Excellent. This Conrail switcher is a classic. Thank you for posting.

@michaelwatson3592 Год назад

This is top 5 best rail videos on YT in my book. Seeing that lonely but determined loco trotting down an overgrown industrial spur, you cannot beat this. Thank you for the content!

@tonnage4u Год назад

Switchers are a comical sight for me, in that they look like a outhouse/portapotty on wheels, just floatin' on by down the track. Good stuff.

@timslager5966 Год назад

Thanks for sharing this catch, love the drone work at the end, I'm a big fan of end cab switchers, watched them growing up and enjoy them working now👍👍

@LarrySalzman Год назад

Easily one of the top train vids I've seen on YT !!! I lived in Cal City for a few years, know exactly where this is.

@charlesdecker7379 Год назад

I always see this facility from 94 when I come through the area. Nice video! I love seeing this kind of content. The mainline stuff gets to be old news.

@Harveycartoonlvr11 Год назад

I see that Unit everyday! Look at the PAINT LINEAGE VERY CAREFULLY, this is an ex-Lehigh Valley Switcher Locomotive...there may be a few still around the country still in existence, but I'm glad this one is here! :) It looks like the MU Cables have been removed from the coupler ends, but there are some hanging from the railing on one side in case it was to be connected to another Locomotive. :)

@timeflysintheshop Год назад

This reminds me of my youth. Thanks for sharing this great video! 👍😁👍

@reverserestorations26 Год назад

What a beautiful little engine in an idyllic scene. Almost as if it were somebody's model train layout. ☺️

@libertyvilleguy2903 Год назад

Nice footage, very good quality. Would never have guessed those rails are still capable of being ridden.

@SpringfieldAndWestern 2 месяца назад

That's awesome! Rusty engine and tracks so much covered by greenery that you don't even see them anymore. Thanks for sharing!

@paulbergen9114 Год назад

Always a pleasure to see old equipment still laboring along that apparently is economically still okay to use. Back in the late seventies early '80s used to enjoy seeing all the action between Wisconsin Steel Republic Steel Acme Steel and the Interlake plants. You'd come home with mud on the car grit in your hair but usually some interesting industrial photos of industry long gone. Considering Class 1 lines have very few switchers left this battling beauty is a breath of fresh air. Thanks for this 🎥!

@kahunatiki6498 Год назад

Outstanding video Sam! I too have seen this SW8 at that scrap yard for years as I headed into Hegewisch but never saw it run. Thanks for capturing it😁👍

@SamLovesTrains Год назад

Thanks! Seeing it run has always been high on my bucket list. I hope to go back again soon!

@j887276 Год назад

Very nice! It's kinda ashame these old engines are not kept in better shape but the old paint is kinda cool 😁

@danhooper3819 Год назад

I can smell the area just by looking at this, it is pretty cool!

@TheBigdog868 Год назад

Beautiful cinematography! Especially loved the drone footage!

@Nethanel773 Год назад

Thanks for putting this up and good video work, too!

@gp3829 Год назад

Fantastic. My wife says I don't need a Model Railroad. Just keep watching RU-vid - you've got it all there.

@bobjeffrey8863 Год назад

SOO cool.. I saw them 60 YEARS ago as a kid, I guess almost brand new back then

@jaymuller Год назад

Agree with virtually every comment excellent work. Some years back, there was a YT’er Channel, Boxcar Frank, who posted a lot of video from their area of Chicago, fascinating, well done!

@SamiltonAdventures Год назад

As a fellow Sam that loves trains, I support this video!

@mikedurhan9941 Год назад

Thank you for this video. I really appreciate you recording this history.

@expfighter5112 Год назад

Love the Lone engine just knocking out the work! :)

@damonwalker1719 Год назад

That's so beautiful 🚂🚂🚂🚂👍

@MilePost106 Год назад

Thanks for posting this video! Love watching the switching action in Chicago.

@MrRich-jg4ty 5 месяцев назад

Oh yes! Working all by its self. Just Awesome. Thanks for the video.

@AllAboardRailfan.1 Год назад

New subscriber: Some of the best footage I've seen, watching this was amazing for a railfan like me to see. Keep up the fantastic work.

@Area61Command Год назад

Fantastic video! Editing is top notch. I really enjoyed this, thank you for sharing.

@realjohnboxall Год назад

Brilliant footage. As others have said, this is the rare stuff we all really love. Thank you for taking the effort.

@ramdude12 Год назад

Awesome catch! Conrail has always been a favorite of mine and it being an old SW8 at that, I used to have one of those Leslie SuperTyfon horns years ago.

@leftylou6070 Год назад

That's a right smart lookin' Switcher they have there. Thanks for makin' the Vid for us ..........and a big thumbs up to ya!

@TestTubeBabySpy Год назад

I worked at the former Western Electric Rod Mill on the West side, and kind wish I had got some footage of the MJ Rail SW1's. They were scrapped on site after Freeport-McMoRan closed us down. Sad period for Hawthorne Works history.

@FletcherFinance Год назад

71 year old locomotive doing what it does best. Just keeps plugging along.

@pacificostudios Год назад

I looked at this again. This is an ex-Conrail switcher. The company name is painted over and "The Can Opener" logo is left alone. The new number, "780" looks like someone stuck on reflective numbers from the hardware store. Still, it is remarkable to see an SW8 still working in revenue service.

@BoxcarJerry Год назад

That was a pretty awesome catch. At first I thought this switcher was just stuck in the field somewhere. You can't even see the tracks in the ground. Pretty cool man 👍