Steam & Excursion > Now THAT'S a Switcher

Now THAT'S a switcher!  As yard engines go, this is as big as they come.

Illinois Central 0-10-0 #3600 was caught working in Paducah, Kentucky, in July of 1953 by an unidentified photographer.  The Paducah shops can be seen in the background.

With a hugh boiler, huge cylinders and those ten drivers, this locomotive was designed for heavy yard work.  She and sister #3601 were built for the Alabama & Vicksburg by Baldwin in 1922.  Originally numbered A&V #430, she became Illinois Central #3400 when the pair joined the I.C. roster in 1926.  She was renumbered a final time in May of 1942, when the I.C. renumbered heavy yard power that also included 0-8-2's and 2-10-0's into the 3600 series.

Paducah would be this locomotive's final assignment, and she would be scrapped in April of 1956.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

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Thanks for sharing. What was the driver diameter?

Victor Baird

wabash2800 Wrote:
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> Thanks for sharing. What was the driver diameter?
>
> Victor Baird

57 1/2" according to a 1955 I.C. locomotive diagram book.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Now that is one beefy switcher!!  Thanks for sharing!

Please forgive my ignorance in many things steam, but I have a fundamental question:

From the looks of it, it doesn't have any 'blind' drivers.  If this is the case, how did it negotiate tight curves/switches with such a long and presumably rigid wheelbase?  I would think there was some horizontal 'play' with the driver axles on the bearings?  But if there were, how does that jive with the side rods?  I'm so confused...

 

The Illinois Central had a large number of 2-10-2's and also used 2-10-0's in yard switching duty.  With this locomotive having smaller drivers and a correspondingly shorter wheelbase, it could go anywhere the other ten-coupled engines could.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

As big as that is, didn't NYC or P&LE have some 0-8-8-0 switchers that worked coal docks on Lake Eire?

I may be wrong, but these may have been like most of the early Mallet compounds without lead and trailing trucks that were initially planned as road power, and were repurposed as switching power when they didn't work out so well on the road.  I don't count those, as they were not designed exclusively as switchers.  If we count repurposed road locomotives, the Norfolk & Western used earlier Y class 2-8-8-2's in yard service.

Mary McPherson
Dongola, IL
Diverging Clear Productions

Notice the 3600 has Young Valve Gear.

And, tandem New York air pumps.

-LD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/03/23 14:34 by LarryDoyle.

Union RR had nine 0-10-2's with 90,900 lbs tractive effort.  Sold them to DM&IR for use as switchers/transfer engines in Proctor, MN and the Duluth ore docks.

-LD

PHall Wrote:
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> As big as that is, didn't NYC or P&LE have some
> 0-8-8-0 switchers that worked coal docks on Lake
> Eire?

Don't know 'bout those, but PRR had some 0-8-8-0 engines for "Heavy Yard and Pushing Service" that put out 100,000 lbs TE working compound!

-LD

rbenko Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Now that is one beefy switcher!!  Thanks for
> sharing!
>
> Please forgive my ignorance in many things steam,
> but I have a fundamental question:
>
> From the looks of it, it doesn't have any 'blind'
> drivers.  If this is the case, how did it
> negotiate tight curves/switches with such a long
> and presumably rigid wheelbase?  I would think
> there was some horizontal 'play' with the driver
> axles on the bearings?  But if there were, how
> does that jive with the side rods?  I'm so
> confused...
>
>  
Lateral motion devices on several axles. Built in play in the rods.

Posted from Android

Unlike model railroads, most yards have very few tight curves as they are not conducive to switching long cuts. Really tight curves are more often found in industrial switching, especially where tracks curve off into or between buildings. More so in years past than in modern times. Thus an 0-6-0 or perhaps 2-6-0 would be found where there were smaller radius curves. 

This ten-coupled engine could probably make it through pretty tight curves as designed, but probably with a bit of flange squeal. 

Wow, that is a large switcher!

That really is a fat boiler engine.

Mary you have posted some really good steam photos lately.

Beast mode!

PHall Wrote:
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> As big as that is, didn't NYC or P&LE have some
> 0-8-8-0 switchers that worked coal docks on Lake
> Eire?

Youngstown, OH was the northernmost point for the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad.  It never had a line to Lake Erie.  

The P & LE did have two 0-8-8-0s (9090 and 9091) Built by Alco in 1916, they were used in hump and yard service and scrapped in 1947 & 1951.
Source: Harod H. McLean, Pittsburgh & Lake Erie R.R., Golden West Books, 1980, P. 175.

Here's a link to a photo of 9090:
https://www.railarchive.net/nyccollection/ple9090_wk.htm
 

Great photo, beefy son of a gun.  Found stats that said it had 78,000 lbs of starting tractive effort.  That should move some cars!

IC said 3600-3601 had cylinders 30 by 32,
220 psi and 57-1/2 inch drivers. So calculated
TE was more than 93000 lb.