Ittsy bittsy teeny weeny switcher

[C&O Fan]

Saw this little switcher not far from my house parked in the pipe yard

next to the steel processing plant

It's soooooooooo cute i wanted to throw a rope on it and tow it home !

Not sure what kind it is but it's cute !

 

 

[cacole]

It looks like a very old Plymouth switcher.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

[csmith9474]

I like the bell on the hood. That is a nice touch.

[Cederstrand]

Dang, that is one cute little loco...and I WANT ONE! How long until Atlas, Kato or other quality manufacture comes out with one in N scale using modern tech.

I was recently looking at little switchers and perhaps these pages may be useful:  

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/diesel96.html or http://www.northeast.railfan.net/diesel81.html 

I'll bet if you post the photo on the Locomotive Forum, someone will ID the exact loco for you or at least send you to where it can be looked up. Worked for me recently IDing a switcher from WA state I saw about 20 years ago.

If you have a duelly truck or tractor, just bring a couple heavy chains, hook it up, and drag it home. Just be sure to close the garage door so nobody reports you. 

Rob

[wedudler]

Such a critter in H0, with sound ... dream, dream ....

 I like my 44-ton very much, with sound. Good running, slowly!

Wolfgang 

[jimsrpo]

Looks very much like the old Penn Line midget diesel switcher.  It was my very first HO engine in the late 1950's and was a great little runner for its vintage.  You still see them at train meets on occasion. 

Jim Policastro

[joseph2]

Cute for sure.It looks about four feet shorter then the 25 ton Plymouth MDT we used at work. Maybe it was built in the 1940's.  Joe

[steinjr]

Such a critter in H0, with sound ... dream, dream ....

 I like my 44-ton very much, with sound. Good running, slowly!

Wolfgang 

 I just ordered a Bachman GE 70-tonner. Also a smallish switcher engine (at 12.7 cm/5" long), which is small compared with e.g an S-1 (at about 14.8 cm/5.9"), but not quite as small as the 44-tonner (which in H0 is a little under 11 cm/4.25" long).

 I see that Grandt line offers the GE 25-ton engine i standard H0. How big are these 25-ton switchers in H0 scale ?

 Btw - the 70-tonner I ordered comes with a DCC decoder installed, but not a speaker.  How did you manage to fit in a speaker in the 44-tonner ?

 Smile,
 Stein

 

[BRJN]

 A little "creative vandalism" might be in order - yellow polka-dots.

If you decide to build a model of this, you will have to figure out how to avoid stalling at every turnout due to electrical contact issues.

[snagletooth]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

[pcarrell]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

No rubber bands.....just hampsters on a treadmill!

[bb4884]

Congrats C&O Fan, you fell in love with a Hustler    

[snagletooth]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

No rubber bands.....just hampsters on a treadmill!

Hampsters!? Weren't they made illegal in the last round of Union negotianions( I know, spelling!)? I thought they could only use Gerbils, with 401k's?

[jeffrey-wimberly]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

No rubber bands.....just hampsters on a treadmill!

Hampsters!? Weren't they made illegal in the last round of Union negotianions( I know, spelling!)? I thought they could only use Gerbils, with 401k's?

I think they use squirrels now. More bounce to the ounce.

[C&O Fan]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

No rubber bands.....just hampsters on a treadmill!

Hampsters!? Weren't they made illegal in the last round of Union negotianions( I know, spelling!)? I thought they could only use Gerbils, with 401k's?

I think they use squirrels now. More bounce to the ounce.

 

 

Hey you guys stop making fun of my little switcher

Seriously was it Diesel powered or did it have a gasoline engine ?

[Dave-the-Train]

A Plymouth Hustler. There are believed to be about 1,700 still in active use and some are over 50 years old. The Hustler is under 25 tons, if I'm not mistaken.

How often do they have to replace the rubber bands on that thing?

No rubber bands.....just hampsters on a treadmill!

Hampsters!? Weren't they made illegal in the last round of Union negotianions( I know, spelling!)? I thought they could only use Gerbils, with 401k's?

I think they use squirrels now. More bounce to the ounce.

If it uses squirrels it'll have to be labeled "CAUTION!  May contain nuts". 

[Jetrock]

Here's one of those 25-ton GE switchers in real life:

Here is my Grandt Line model of it, with a GE 70 tonner in the background for size comparison. And yes, the body is a little cockeyed in that shot:

And here's a low-res video of the model when running:

It's not a smooth runner but the gearing means it doesn't go slow even at full tilt. I crammed as much weight as I could fit inside (including the detailed interior) and it kind of goes, it actually works better when pulling a couple of cars.

[nfmisso]

See:

http://www.grandtline.com/model_railroad/rolling_stock_and_locos.htm

http://www.grandtline.com/model_railroad/ho_scale_car_and_loco_gallery/ge1.jpg

 

 

[pcarrell]

I only poke fun because I can.  We have the rusting hulk of one of these guys just a few miles from my house.

http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/Prototype%20Train%20Photos/Picture018.jpg

[Cederstrand]

***Terry, I think it was a pull-start out of an old 10hp lawnmower.

***Jetrock, neat little model you have there. I like the weathering on it.

Truth be told, I think they are pretty cool little locos, even if not so practical in model form. If I had one, might consider running extra electrical pickups from a small boxcar to supply it with more constant current. Not so aesthetically pleasing, I know.

  Rob

[locoworks]

if you want a tiny swither get a european KOF diesel. the prototype is quite diminutive, they are even available in N scale too.

[dinwitty]

I drove past a Big Boy today, I stuck a rope on it but it towed me home....