End Cab Switchers.. In Decline?

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End Cab Switchers
Hashtags: #Trains21 #SeriousRailroading

[@kens.3729]

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. 👍🙏

[@ellisjackson3355]

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

[@andrewpalm2103]

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!

[@iusetano]

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]

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

[@FreihEitner]

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]

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.

[@paulne1514]

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]

*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

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

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

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

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.

[@matthewwolff3729]

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]

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]

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

[@CyberSoldat]

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]

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

[@doct0rnic]

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.

[@sharkheadism]

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.

[@daveyboy_]

I love switchers

[@zackbobby5550]

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.

[@arkansasrailproductions5507]

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.

[@rippersix293]

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]

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.

[@moregltfirephotography4857]

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 KZbin (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!

[@jerrykinnin7941]

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.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

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]

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

[@whiteknightcat]

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.

[@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

[@jonglass]

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

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

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.

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

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.

[@CSX_Doolittle]

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]

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

[@ctf6420]

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.

[@gregblanton9386]

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.

[@arkie74]

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]

Technically anywhere could be a bathroom

[@billestew7535]

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]

[@mikehawk2003]

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.

[@gavinhayes373]

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

[@dennisarmes3473]

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]

Love seen the WC box car at the end!!

[@williamburroughs2273]

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.

[@TalkingGIJoe]

End Cab switchers are my favorite design...

[@kelvintorrence5994]

I love switchers and slug units better then the big units

[@DJinNJ08830]

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

[@darthgrundle2349]

@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.

[@tracksidemike]

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

[@davidbarnett9312]

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

[@DuMontTV]

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

[@therailcinema]

Great video, very informative!

[@gronmic]

Super job, nice tesearch

[@matthewarentzen7465]

A other great video from the master!

[@justintherailfan]

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

[@4everdc302]

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 KZbinrs meet&great in Tillsonburg Ontario this summer. About 60kms from where they were built at GMD London.

[@geraldoreynoso2480]

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!

[@luiselapostolfeliz2421]

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]

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

[@Leatherface123.]

My local railroad has a 2 SW1400s

[@yourcrazyteacher585]

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

[@TrainLoverHimu]

Excellent video 👌👌

[@kittty2005]

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

[@Stoker58]

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]

@@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]

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]

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.

[@coreytarducci36]

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]

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.

[@jeffwalther]

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

[@kellyveal1675]

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

[@kellyveal1675]

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

[@grandson_0623]

These days GP units that are rebuilt.

[@Tuglife912]

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.

[@walkerdalton11435]

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

[@32Mike]

Sandersville RR.

[@walkerdalton11435]

@@32Mike yeah your from Washington county

[@ernestpassaro9663]

They had better start building new switchers

[@SantaFe19484]

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

[@jeffreyboyles4869]

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

[@tincanboat]

interesting video

[@pokemontrainermichael5551]

These kool locos

[@LithiumSix66]

In decline since GP’s

[@Locos-del-oeste]

Excellent capture my friend like 66 and Greetings

[@thomasabramson100]

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

[@AmtrakCSXFan457]

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

[@littlegp18]

Garbage

[@gordonvincent731]

@@littlegp18 Why??

[@NYandAtlantic]

Why do the front lights always blink

[@SlapthePissouttayew]

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

[@NYandAtlantic]

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

[@NYandAtlantic]

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

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

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.

[@user-ku5wk1yy9x]

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