How common is it for rail freight customers to have their own...

locomotives?



This Thompson Sawmill must be such a big deal and the Thompsons a big wheel of the lumber trade since this American Pacific Northwest timber tycoon, the Thompson family, has their own switch engine: note the SP markings on this classic SW-1500. Thompson may have bought it used or maybe leasing it from the RR. Perhaps one of these older engines can be had for a song.I did have a trackside object fuel pump at the sawmill for this engine but I removed this since I have company-owned diesel tanker trucks at the sawmill anyway for the other heavy equipment there. The airport-type fuel truck can just drive up and refuel the loco in the yard.

I love these cute little diesel yard switchers. These SP ones bring back boyhood memories since I lived two blocks away from an SP branch line in NorCal, now NWP. I could see these trains roll past from my very backyard. Both GP7/9's and SW1500's in SP gray/red nose-wing livery. The SW-1500 "yard" switchers often got used by SP as road switchers as well as the Geeps. I remember the SP truck trailers with the pig on them also. I've ridden on Geep-drawn SP passenger train between San Francisco and San Jose as well before it became CalTrain. The SP coaches of the 1970's/early-mid '80's were the old Pullman Heavyweights, I believe.

Here is an SP SW-1500 in Crockett, California in 2001 with the correct GM EMD engine sound, gear-driven blower/2-stroke. I transplanted the enginesound of the Trainz SP GP9 Black Widow into my Trainz SP SW-1500 switchers. An SP SW-1500 always had that classic Geep grunt and gear whir. I couldn't tell a genuine General Motors SW and a genuine GM Geep apart by ear. It's a shame all that ugly graffiti over such a classic engine (graffiti "artists" need professional help):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-dnPrUUYyo&list=PL0PyhRKTHXh83bh0T6fEKk6cGLAeHCFE4

What kind of freight cars is this SP SW pulling anyway? They're shaped like iron lungs on wheels. Crockett, CA has the C&H sugar plant there. My father worked as a DOD electrician at Mare Island Naval Shipyard at nearby Vallejo there from summer 1973 thru late summer 1981.

Ohh ... it is so very, very, common

Every rail customer I know of has their own fleet of locomotives to shift railcars around their facility

cascaderailroad said:

Ohh ... it is so very, very, common

Every rail customer I know of has their own fleet of locomotives to shift railcars around their facility

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Here is an SW-1500 listed on the Web for sale except they don't list how much. Should I email them and ask them the price?

https://railequipmentsolutions.com/emd-sw1500-sale/

I know the military has their own switch engines on post. I've seen them at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in the army. I think they even had army markings on them.

Lionel Trains used to offer a US Marines switcher even with camo livery! The American military is rich and can afford to purchase RR rolling stock because, you, the taxpayer, bought it, along with the all aircraft carriers, helicopters, tanks, missiles, trucks, guns, bombers, expensive toilet seats and fighter jets! The Service even has an MOS to repair d/e locomotives.

JonMyrlennBailey said:

Here is an SW-1500 listed on the Web for sale except they don't list how much. Should I email them and ask them the price?

https://railequipmentsolutions.com/emd-sw1500-sale/

The Service even has an MOS to repair d/e locomotives.

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Oh you definitely should ask them for a price quote, if you intend moving lots of stuff around the house or apartment ... Do they deliver ?

When I joined the service they just laughed at me inquiring about a military railroad training/MOS ... infantry is where your going

You may have been drafted in Nam, and sent 11B, infantry toting a rifle in the bush, digging foxholes and humping a ruck. I was a 63B, LWVM, fixing diesel trucks, motor hole type. I volunteered. But in some army manual I was browsing through one day at one of my units, I did one time find locomotive mechanic, or something to that effect, as an MOS listing. The army, historically, has had MOS listings as weird as camera repair. I knew a Marine vet who had an MOS along the lines of a computer geek. He must have taken a lot of ribbing from the smokey-bear hats in boot camp.

Some bigger companies do have their own locomotives and even their own short lines. You see this around big plywood plants, steel mills, and other big grain and ethanol plants. In the Midwest there is also a plethora of antique switchers still operating at various grain elevators and these are put into use during the grain and corn season to shuffle the hoppers in and out from the elevator and on to the awaiting sidings.

As I traveled across the Midwest while out storm-chasing a few years ago, I was in awe when I saw so many of these as we traveled across Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and the Dakotas. We would come across a town, and as crossed the rail line, there they would be sitting there waiting for the next season with a string of empty hoppers coupled up and ready to go. It was great seeing the old Alco S-2s and S-3s along with some old Baldwin VOs, and early EMD switchers all decked out in the company colors. Some of course were in better shape than others given their age and condition they are kept in, and some of the idle units had tarps placed over them to protect them from the elements. I suppose some of the companies cared more for their locomotives than others.

JCitron said:

Some bigger companies do have their own locomotives and even their own short lines. You see this around big plywood plants, steel mills, and other big grain and ethanol plants. In the Midwest there is also a plethora of antique switchers still operating at various grain elevators and these are put into use during the grain and corn season to shuffle the hoppers in and out from the elevator and on to the awaiting sidings.

As I traveled across the Midwest while out storm-chasing a few years ago, I was in awe when I saw so many of these as we traveled across Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, and the Dakotas. We would come across a town, and as crossed the rail line, there they would be sitting there waiting for the next season with a string of empty hoppers coupled up and ready to go. It was great seeing the old Alco S-2s and S-3s along with some old Baldwin VOs, and early EMD switchers all decked out in the company colors. Some of course were in better shape than others given their age and condition they are kept in, and some of the idle units had tarps placed over them to protect them from the elements. I suppose some of the companies cared more for their locomotives than others.

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Speaking of protecting engines from the elements, I made some additions to Thompson Sawmill on my G-scale model layout. Engine Number 2575 now has a new brick shed for shelter so she doesn't rust. This building looks out of place for the Pacific Northwest, but this is the only single-bay shed content I could find this tall American EMD/GM SW-1500 switcher would fit in. She now has a man in an orange jumpsuit and a fuel truck to keep her in diesel. I had to enlarge the benchwork some, relocate the yard custodian's office, the yellow Chevy Cheyenne, wheelbarrow and tool shed to make an improved gravel roadway for the fuel truck to drive through, park by the loco's side, gas her up and drive out without having to back up. The custodian's section does minor maintenance, janitorial, groundskeeping, supplies management, fuel management and switcher operation at Thomson's lumber mill.



Yet another shed revision: I added a door on the side of the shed. Now, the fuel truck can pull up alongside the shed, run the fuel hose through the door, and fuel the switcher right inside the shed. Will this truck be able to cut hard left and pull out of there without running into the hemlock tree or off the edge of the bench?

While in operation, Amoco Production Company had a switch engine (an EMD but I can't remember the model which was second hand, I believe, from the US Army) at our Whitney Canyon Sulfur Terminal south of Kemmerer, WY. The spur line branched south just west of Kemmerer at Moyer Jct and then left at Glencoe Jct to the Amoco and also the Chevron (which also had/has a loading terminal) spurs. I actually worked at the Surfur Terminal on several projects but one of the most interesting was helping with engineering and construction of changing the static car scales to an in-motion type. I got to watch the switcher run cars over the scale multiple times during the testing of the new system.

The Whitney Canyon Plant has been demolished and the Sulfur Terminal was, at least at one time, going to be repurposed as a crude oil loading facility but I don't know it's present status.

Take care,

Here is my final redo of the custodian's section: I re-positioned the "Thomson Sawmill" warehouse signs on top of the building to look neater as well. I removed more digholes to enlarge the bench surface near the switcher shed to give the fuel truck plenty of room to get in and out. The whole point of the thread here is that when model railroading, one must try to leave as much space on the layout for realistic maneuverability of motor vehicles and such. I try to be prototypical in my infrastructure design. Model railroading is a test in good infrastructure planning. Are trees too close to the roads? Can big trucks turn around? Is house setback correct for public streets? At least in the Trainz simulator, making layout changes are fairly easy. Correcting major boo-boos in a physical model layout could be quite costly. It's about civil engineering and managing real estate efficiently.

Out in the "Real" world ... Not too many Companies have 10 acres of sprawling park land to squander, nor money to build engine houses, and incoming trucks have to negotiate impossible backup maneuvers, and most places of business only have a small Company sign (ie: "Thompsons") at their chain link fence entrance ... Some business's are much more diverse than to employ 380 employees just to saw logs into lumber ... some have actual customer parking lots for sales of other related building products ... Some even manufacture building framing, windows and doors ... some have a shoving tractor, with a coupler, for moving railcars about

OSHA would probably identify a number of violations in fueling the locomotive inside the building:

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=10420&p_table=STANDARDS

JonMyrlennBailey said:

Model railroading is a test in good infrastructure planning. Are trees too close to the roads? Can big trucks turn around? Is house setback correct for public streets? At least in the Trainz simulator, making layout changes are fairly easy. Correcting major boo-boos in a physical model layout could be quite costly. It's about civil engineering and managing real estate efficiently.

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To use space efficiently often requires compromises like roads with narrowed lanes, cars parked close to fire hydrants, or whatever it may be. The trick is to avoid overdoing it and calling attention to it. I know I don't want a layout that's all fire lanes and sand mounds.

The industry in this scene could operate far more efficiently if it wasn't spread out far and wide. Think about it: that green crane has to drive the whole way from the log siding to the other side of the mill building each time a log goes into the mill.

Well, if you don't have the money to buy an actual locomotive, you can do what this guy did for a lot less. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

cascaderailroad said:

Out in the "Real" world ... Not too many Companies have 10 acres of sprawling park land to squander, nor money to build engine houses, and incoming trucks have to negotiate impossible backup maneuvers, and most places of business only have a small Company sign (ie: "Thompsons") at their chain link fence entrance ... Some business's are much more diverse than to employ 380 employees just to saw logs into lumber ... some have actual customer parking lots for sales of other related building products ... Some even manufacture building framing, windows and doors ... some have a shoving tractor, with a coupler, for moving railcars about

Click to expand...

At my Thompson's, logging trucks and lumber trucks never have back up as there is boo-coo space for loading and unloading. Yes, looking at how my Thompson's lumber industry is so extravagant with all the real estate and fancy equipment; it's easy to see how a measly piece of wood, even a sheet of plywood, at Lowe's is 15 to 30 dollars. The landed gentry of lumber has to pay for their nice trucks, loaders and yard engine shed!! Lumber seems to be big money these days. Note the tank truck is for diesel fueling. All trucks and heavy vehicular equipment (crane, loaders, tractors) are diesel. The sawmill plant runs off steam by the tree byproducts burned in its boilers. The yard switcher, is off course, diesel. The gasoline shed is for small power equipment like chainsaws. Note the green military jerry cans. The propane shed holds the tanks for the forklifts. Thompson's is served by two modes of freight transportation: rail and truck. Logs can come in by both train or truck. Lumber and wood chips can leave by both train and truck. The green crane unloads the flatcars while a forklift places one log at a time onto the sawmill's conveyor belt from the log piles.

jordon412 said:

Well, if you don't have the money to buy an actual locomotive, you can do what this guy did for a lot less. As they say, necessity is the mother of invention.

Click to expand...

The proper tool for the job: OSHA would have a field day with this mickey-mouse setup.

Diesel fuel is non-volatile. I see no issue fueling a railroad engine inside a large shed especially with the bay doors wide open. This way the locomotive can be topped off without starting it up and moving it. The engine driver may be busy doing something else and the fuel man may be tasked to top off company equipment by making his regular rounds. I worked as an automobile mechanic by trade. Gasoline was regularly used inside the garage bays to prime carburetors. The doors to the garage were open and proper fire extinguishers were handy.

They probably have no jurisdiction, until someone got hurt

JonMyrlennBailey said:

locomotives?

This Thompson Sawmill must be such a big deal and the Thompsons a big wheel of the lumber trade since this American Pacific Northwest timber tycoon, the Thompson family, has their own switch engine: note the SP markings on this classic SW-1500. Thompson may have bought it used or maybe leasing it from the RR. Perhaps one of these older engines can be had for a song.I did have a trackside object fuel pump at the sawmill for this engine but I removed this since I have company-owned diesel tanker trucks at the sawmill anyway for the other heavy equipment there. The airport-type fuel truck can just drive up and refuel the loco in the yard.

I love these cute little diesel yard switchers. These SP ones bring back boyhood memories since I lived two blocks away from an SP branch line in NorCal, now NWP. I could see these trains roll past from my very backyard. Both GP7/9's and SW1500's in SP gray/red nose-wing livery. The SW-1500 "yard" switchers often got used by SP as road switchers as well as the Geeps. I remember the SP truck trailers with the pig on them also. I've ridden on Geep-drawn SP passenger train between San Francisco and San Jose as well before it became CalTrain. The SP coaches of the 1970's/early-mid '80's were the old Pullman Heavyweights, I believe.

Here is an SP SW-1500 in Crockett, California in 2001 with the correct GM EMD engine sound, gear-driven blower/2-stroke. I transplanted the enginesound of the Trainz SP GP9 Black Widow into my Trainz SP SW-1500 switchers. An SP SW-1500 always had that classic Geep grunt and gear whir. I couldn't tell a genuine General Motors SW and a genuine GM Geep apart by ear. It's a shame all that ugly graffiti over such a classic engine (graffiti "artists" need professional help):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-dnPrUUYyo&list=PL0PyhRKTHXh83bh0T6fEKk6cGLAeHCFE4

What kind of freight cars is this SP SW pulling anyway? They're shaped like iron lungs on wheels. Crockett, CA has the C&H sugar plant there. My father worked as a DOD electrician at Mare Island Naval Shipyard at nearby Vallejo there from summer 1973 thru late summer 1981.

Click to expand...

APRIL 2, 2019 UPDATE

Here is my final revision for Thompson Sawmill: there are now holding tracks to stow railcars out of the way. The tractor shed is now by the engine house along with the truck shed. Mack flatbeds and fuel trucks go in the truck shed as well as vehicle fluids as oil in drums. The custodians of the sawmill have a bigger office. The wheel loaders go in the tractor shed which is actually a large canopy.