No, I don't mean the neighbor's cat, or those danged roaches- I mean the locomotives used to switch large industrial plants. They can be anywhere from little 25-tonners to early EMD or Alco switchers. Here's a coupla examples: EconoRail SW900 7225, an ex-Grand Trunk Western switcher, rests between switching chores at the Con-Agra flour mill, Sherman, TX, in 1990. GE 25-tonner (no number) rests outside Planters Peanuts, Ft. Smith, AR. It is dwarfed by the covered hoppers it moves around the plant. One has to wonder if its nickname is "Peanut"....... (or perhaps not.....)
Bob- At one time, I was hoping we'd have enough land available that I could buy a critter, and lay a few rails. That idea had to be shelved. There is a Group that discusses these often overlooked little machines. They are quite passionate about documenting and preserving them. BoxcabE50
While I wouldn't classify this as a "critter", it DOES bear remarking. Econo Rail CF7 2608, ex-Santa Fe, as the plant switcher at AGP, Sherman, TX. The plant, a division of Kraft Foods, is involved in the manufacture of edible oils.
This is what the volunteers at the Brooklyn roundhouse in Portland, OR call their "critter". It is a 1958 Ford powered Trackmobile, and no kidding, can move that 879,000lb. locomotive, with the help of some human pushers and rail sand.
Critters are great! Our workhorse locomotive at the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad is a GE 23-ton. 150 HP. Pretty much identical to that 25-ton pictured above, except this one is 2-foot gauge. It has a Nathan Airchime P3 that is louder than some standard gauge locos!
MEC407, Neat looking 23T Critter Where is the MNGR located? Is the loco in your signature burning soft coal or pine logs? It looks like a GE, but it sure smokes like an ALCO .... [ 21. November 2002, 14:01: Message edited by: Hank Coolidge ]
MNGR is located in Portland on the edge of Casco Bay. Our line uses the former GT/CN right of way. We have a web site at www.mngrr.org. Come visit us on the web, or better yet, in person! The loco in my signature is MEC 407, a GE U18B. The first time I saw that loco in person was about 5 years ago, hauling a heavy freight through Kennebunk, Maine, lashed up with a motley assortment of power -- SD45, SD26, and possibly a GP35 or GP40. It was shooting thick black smoke and bright orange flames about 10 feet into the air, just like in my signature photo. It was incredibly loud and it managed to drown out the sound of all the EMD locos combined. It was quite an experience! MEC 407 is now spending its twilight years hauling a tourist train in western NY.
A bad power assembly, with diesel fuel being sprayed out the exhaust stack, forming a pool near the stack, which is quite hot thanks to the exhaust. When the diesel gets hot enough, it bursts into flame, and most of it burns off. Now for the jokes about hotshots, ballast-scorchers, fireball expresses, etc.
I have to agree with you on that U18b. I saw either the 407 or 404 two years ago doing some switching down by Fresh Pond in Cambridge, Mass. The place was usually switched by EMDs. Then one day I heard this deep rumble and roar, I went out to the back of my building and what did I see? That U18b. But if you want to talk about loud. Try about 6 C30-7a's pulling Conrail train ML433 out of the CP yard in Framingham, Ma on a cool spring night. I could hear them almost 4 miles away. Welcome aboard.
Testing things..... Well, the signature went haywire.. hmmm. Trying once more. That was better. Hello to all by the way. This is what a critter is. [ 15. February 2003, 22:41: Message edited by: greffern ]
Hi Jon ... welcome to Trainboard. We are happy you decided to join our growing family Nice photos you have put in here. Where were they taken?
They are from Lommedalsbanen, just outside Oslo in Norway. I work on that museum railroad. It is 600mm gauge. The first one is the engine shed at Gundershogget station and the tracks behind it. The other pic is two of our locomotives, Bison and Rygge. Bison weighs 16 metric tons. [ 16. February 2003, 07:10: Message edited by: greffern ]
You are testing my mathematical abilities here Jon ... hmmmm ... 600 mm is just about 2 feet, is it not? We can sure learn alot about different things in Trainboard, can't we?
Hello Jon, pleased to see you have joined us over here I look forward to seeing some of your photographs in the Europe forum
Hmmm, here is what I did sunday the 15. december 2002, except this photo is taken in 1999. We had better wheather this time and about 500 travellers. Everything went very smoothly. We had two trains running. We even had a visit by Santa Claus. The problem with working on a musem railroad is that I never get a chance to take a camera with me. But luckily everybody else do.... Here I am giving the all clear signal.
