Western Railroad Discussion > The Ol' Bait and Switch...

Here's what they advertise at the Pilgrim's Pride elevator in Pittsburg, TX....

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And here's the real switching story! All picts with a Pentax ZX-50, 80-200mm zoom and Kodak Gold 200.

Photos developed as digital CD - not a bad way to transfer film to digital without the "hassle" of scanning!

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I'll show my ignorance - what are these beasts?

john1082 wrote:

> I'll show my ignorance - what are these beasts?

The black things are ex-military switchers
called RS4TC's. The majority of them were
built by Whitcomb, or rather, by Whitcomb's
parent Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton, as the Whitcomb
plant at Rochelle, IL had closed by the time
these units were built in 1954.

The orange thing doing the real work is a
Trackmobile. See: http://www.trackmobile.com/

Ive been to that feed mill, and it
is one nasty place. I sold a pump
with motor and control panel there,
and after two weeks they experienced
a control failure due to the panel
filling up with feed which was flying
in the air all about the elevator. I
cannot imagine working in that place
day after day after day.....

Many of these units were built for the US Army, to be used as part of an "invasion force" if we had a major conflict and needed railroad motive power. They had adjustable gauge trucks, and could run on anything from meter gauge to 5'6" gauge. The cabs and engine compartments were heavily insulated so that they could operate in harsh environments from 50-degrees below zero to 140-degrees above zero. As the military abandoned scenarios of using rail as part of a fighting force, the units were distributed to military bases all over the country replacing older worn out switchers. Not many are left running today.

There used to be two at the Lathrope California base. Last time I saw any action there, there was only one. Does anyone know if it is still there and if it runs?

Greg Elems

We had 2 of them at Ft. Eustis in 67. The showed up from storage, (Ted Red Ogden) and were covered with Cosmaliene(spelling?) They didn't have much poop to them and like all BLHs, rattled and banged all over. They were not allowed at the C&O interchange at Lee Hall, only the SW-8s.

Nudge

spnudge wrote:

> They didn't have much poop to them and
> like all BLHs, rattled and banged all over.

Only one reference I've found mentions anything
about horsepower: 500 horses. I've seen pictures
of these beasts with two different stack
arrangements: one version is like the units shown
in the picture, with a single exhaust near the
cab, and the other has a pair of tall, slender
exhausts at the edges of the hood, closer to the
front:

http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_usaf4044.jpg

Were there a couple of different prime movers
the Whitcomb RS4TC's could be fitted with?

I worked at Sharpe Depot in Lathrop and saw the two units often. The as-built prime movers were maintainance heavy and were replaced with another type of diesel engine that I believe was common in large trucks and heavy equipment. Sharpe Depot's rail operations shut down about four years ago. I believe that the two units are now up in Alturas.