Nostalgia & History > B&O in Baltimore... 1967 Fairbanks Morse switchers in color.

Once in a while I would shoot color just to preserve the paint schemes. The H10 and H12 44 Fairbanks Morse switchers were common as flies in Baltimore in the 60s. There were 24 of them, and I actually got tired of looking at them. Now I wish I had shot even more. The three images were taken on the Baltimore Belt Line between Mount Royal station and Bayview yard. Happy I found these!!

top...double headed dive bomber/ transfer run leaving Bayview westbound for the Belt Line

middle...eastbound doubleheader working their butts off dragging a heavy transfer up the grade to Bayview.

bottom...nice fading Sun portrait in Remington section of Baltimore. Switching a local industry at Sisson Street.

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Thanks for sharing these memories.
Bob

Good shots. Those FM switchers look like big bricks with wheels. Powerful.

John

Being opposed piston prime movers means they are tall and relatively skinny. That is why they they were frequently used in submarines. Having pulled a top crankshaft out of one of our ship's engines at sea, I would have hated to do that in a sub! We ended up suspending the crankshaft over the starboard Main Diesel Engine using chain falls!

A trademark of FMs seemed to be white exhaust smoke vs. blue or black. Explanation on how opposed piston combustion works to cause this?

THAT-L-DO

Hi Roadjob and thank you so much for the great B&O memories. I am familiar with all three locations and your photos are great. The one in the middle showing the engines struggling to get over to the Bay View Yard, the bridge that the train is crossing is going over first, where the Northern Central Railroad was, today where Baltimore's Light Rail operates, then over Jones Falls waterway, then over where the Maryland and Pennsylvania Railroad used to run, where today the Baltimore Streetcar Museum now operates. Thanks again for sharing these photos.
John in White Marsh, Maryland.

You are correct sir. That is North Ave. in the background. Do you remember just after they came off of the bridge to the left in the picture was Oak Street yard with tracks going up a steep grade to get to street level.It was actually on Howard Street but Oak Street was the original name. There were 6 team tracks, a track that went across Howard to serve a Firestone distributor, and a big brick office/warehouse. You'll see more of the Oak Street job in the future. I got my early rides with these guys when they worked Huntington Ave. yard and this yard.

Roadjob Wrote:
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> You are correct sir. That is North Ave. in the
> background. Do you remember just after they came
> off of the bridge to the left in the picture was
> Oak Street yard with tracks going up a steep grade
> to get to street level.It was actually on Howard
> Street but Oak Street was the original name. There
> were 6 team tracks, a track that went across
> Howard to serve a Firestone distributor, and a big
> brick office/warehouse. You'll see more of the Oak
> Street job in the future. I got my early rides
> with these guys when they worked Huntington Ave.
> yard and this yard.
I do remember all of these things you just described. I have ridden in other locomotives through the Howard Street Tunnel and up over that bridge with a crew who were on the rear of a freight train working as the pushers known back then as "tunnel helpers" from Camden Station area up a few blocks past where your photo was taken. They used to uncouple from the caboose on the fly, then they would reverse and coast back down through the Howard Street Tunnel to the Camden Station area to await their next assignment.
John

I can remember about 30 years ago, +/-, the tunnel on PRR main experienced a wreck and it took days to clear and repair. Some PRR passenger trains lead by GG1 were towed by B&O diesel toward WUS.

The Penn Station North Avenue Howard St mixing bowl was a very busy place, still is. I think at one time back in the early 50's Western Maryland passenger passed through there on the way to Calvert Station. I also remember PRR sleepers placed on a stub track just S of Penn Station to be picked up late in the evening for the trip to NY Penn. I think they opened around 8P.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/18 09:06 by PennPlat.

THAT-L-DO Wrote:

> A trademark of FMs seemed to be white exhaust
> smoke vs. blue or black. Explanation on how
> opposed piston combustion works to cause this?

The anecdotal explanation I've heard is that the white (or sometimes "blue") smoke is lube oil. The tops of the upper pistons tended to collect lube oil at idle, and if the rings were worn, the oil could slip past when the engine revved up and go out the stack as white smoke.

The OP's were two-stroke-cycle, too.