Switchers: Difference between Yard, Transfer & Road?

[gp792]

Hi all,

I just had a thought about the different types of switchers: like Yard, Transfer and Road; but what are the differences in their roles? Does a yard switcher ever leave the railyard, etc.?

 

[nicky9499]

A yard switcher mostly stays within yard limits. A switcher that goes onto the mainline (perhaps to another yard or some local industry) is called a road switcher.

 

[bdaneal]

Hi all,

I just had a thought about the different types of switchers: like Yard, Transfer and Road; but what are the differences in their roles? Does a yard switcher ever leave the railyard, etc.?

Yard switchers stay in the yard while transfer switchers move cuts of cars between yards. Those two are assignments, and the same engines can be used for either. A few roads ordered special power for transfer switchers (double-ended Baldwins diesels and Missouri Pacific's mallet come to mind) but most were sensible and just used normal switchers for that job.

A road switcher is a type of locomotive that can do just about anything (like being a road engine [i.e., pulls trains over the line] or a switcher [either yard or transfer.]) That term is generally associated with diesels, and I believe it was coined by ALCo with the RS-1 (which, according to the original service manual, stood for road switcher, 1000 hp.) However, most 2-8-0s and 2-8-2s were used in the same vein, so I think the term could be broadened to include steam as well.

The closest assignment which matches road switcher is a peddler or way freight, a train which goes over the road but performs switching at industries along the way.

Cheers,
Ben

 

[jordon412]

EMD's MP15 series of switcher was more of a 'hybrid' yard switcher-road switcher. It looks like a normal yard switcher, but has EMD's Blomberg trucks, which is which allows it to be a road switcher. The reason for the Blomberg trucks was because it's predecessor, the SW1500, had either AAR type A switcher or Flexicoil switcher trucks, both of which have friction bearings. The FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) has banned equipment with friction bearings to be used on mainlines. Replacing the friction bearing trucks with the Blomberg trucks, which are roller bearings, allows the MP15 series switchers to be road switchers.
Here's a link about the MP15 series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_MP15DC

 

[Scoot]

The yard job that I work is interesting. While we mostly switch out trains in the yard and set up cars for other trains to pick up, we do sometimes bring out trains to a station about 20 miles away. Sometimes we go dog catching. It may vary on depending on the railroad, but that's the yard job I work. And we don't have yard limits at my home terminal anymore since CTC was put in. Pretty soon our whole subdivision will be CTC, so no more track warrants.

Scott

 

[Falcus]

My experience is that the terms "Yard Switcher" and "Road Switcher" are that they seem to be essentially superfluous fluff put into Company Magazines to give the impression of purpose, and the rail-fan community picked up on and have propogated since.... IE, The Railroad doesn't care what its called, as long as it does what they want it to when they want it to, though they'll probably give it a number so they can track cost/vs profit from it.

I highly doubt theres ever been a yard boss that has ever said anything similar to "Hey Joe, go grab that yard switcher over there because you're gonna be in the yard today, make sure you leave that Road Switcher for the next crew!"........

Falcus

 

[simulatortrain]

EMD's MP15 series of switcher was more of a 'hybrid' yard switcher-road switcher. It looks like a normal yard switcher, but has EMD's Blomberg trucks, which is which allows it to be a road switcher. The reason for the Blomberg trucks was because it's predecessor, the SW1500, had either AAR type A switcher or Flexicoil switcher trucks, both of which have friction bearings. The FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) has banned equipment with friction bearings to be used on mainlines. Replacing the friction bearing trucks with the Blomberg trucks, which are roller bearings, allows the MP15 series switchers to be road switchers.
Here's a link about the MP15 series:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_MP15DC

SW1500s with solid bearings were very rare. They were available in the catalog, but roller bearings were standard equipment.

 

[jordon412]

I figured that the AAR type A switcher trucks have friction bearings because they look like the ones found on the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's GP7's, and I was told by one of the volunteers that the Geeps trucks have friction bearings.

 

[simulatortrain]

This one has solid bearings.

This one has roller. I'm not aware of any SW1500s that were built with bearing covers for roller bearing equipped units.

And friction on flexicoils

And roller

You can imagine what flexicoils without bearing covers would look like. AARs are still essentially the same castings no matter what the bearings are, so they're going to look similar regardless of what they have.

 

[jordon412]

Here's Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's GP7L #1824. #1824 and sister GP7L #1829 both have these trucks. So do you think that these trucks have friction bearings or some other bearings?

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[simulatortrain]

Those are friction bearings. I like to call them solid bearings, because friction bearings was just a name applied to them by roller bearing manufacturers trying to say they were inferior. Of course, the enemy of any bearing is friction.