Switcher locomotive

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Switcher" redirects here. For other uses, see Switcher (disambiguation).

CZ Loko Effishunter
Stadler Rail Ee 922

A switcher locomotive (

railyard or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short branch lines or switching and terminal railroads.[1][2][3]

Switchers are optimized for their role, being relatively low-powered but with a high starting tractive effort for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. Switchers are geared to produce high torque but are restricted to low top speeds and have small diameter driving wheels. Switchers tend to be durable and to remain in service for a long time,[4] such as the Swedish class U.

American, Russian, Indian and Chinese switchers tend to be larger, with

coupling rods
for longer than other locomotive types, although bogie types have long been used where very heavy loads are involved, such as at steelworks.

Etymology

A switcher may also be called a yard pilot, switch engine, or yard goat.

The term can also be used to describe the workers operating these engines or engaged in directing shunting operations. Switching locomotives may be purpose-built engines, but may also be downgraded main-line engines, or simply main-line engines assigned to switching. Switchers can also be used on short excursion train rides.

Power types

Diesel

A diesel switcher in Sakaki, Japan

hoods (bonnets) containing the diesel engines, for all round visibility. Slugs are often used because they allow even greater tractive effort to be applied. Nearly all slugs used for switching are of the low hood, cabless variety. Good visibility in both directions is critical, because a switcher may be running in either direction; turning the locomotive is time-consuming. Some earlier diesel switchers used cow-calf
configurations of two powered units in order to provide greater power.

Modern diesel switchers are usually

diesel-electric locomotives
.

Electric

An electric switcher in Salzburg, Austria

The majority of modern switchers are diesels, but countries with near-total

Greenwood and Batley in Armley, Leeds is preserved at the Middleton Railway
, not far from where it was built.

Small industrial shunters are sometimes battery powered type. An early battery-powered shunting locomotive is shown here.[5] The Tyne and Wear Metro has three battery electric shunters built by Hunslet, which are used to haul engineering trains when the overhead supply is switched off. New Zealand Railways imported and manufactured locally battery-electric shunters in the 1920s: the EB class and the E class (1922)

Electro-diesel

A small electro-diesel switcher in Pfäffikon, Switzerland

Some switchers are electro-diesel, and hence can be powered from onboard diesel engines, or from an external electricity supply.

Steam

A typical British steam shunter, a GNR Class J13

Steam shunter/switchers are now mostly out of service.

9F as banking engines to assist locomotives on the notoriously arduous ascent of the Lickey Incline, replacing the LMS "Jinties" which had formerly carried out the task alongside "Big Bertha"
.

As diesel shunters began to appear in ever-increasing numbers, attempts were made by companies such as Sentinel to adapt the vertical boilers from their steam powered road vehicles for use in shunting locomotives, in order to compete with the newcomers. Although these were found to be equal in power and efficiency to most of the early diesel designs, their development came too late to have any real impact. Outwardly, they bear more resemblance to diesels than steam locomotives. A number have been preserved on heritage railways, although few of these are in working order, being designed very specifically for shunting work and lacking the necessary speed to travel any kind of distance.

Small industrial shunters have sometimes been fireless locomotives and a few of these are still at work in Germany. Again, several have been preserved, but are mostly static displays, as heritage railways and museums lack the large source of high-pressure steam (such as a power station's boilers) needed to charge the locomotive's accumulator.

By region

United States

A typical American switcher on the San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad

American switchers tend to be larger, and are almost always powered by diesel.

Most American switchers are actually road switchers, which are larger and have greater power output, to be used on mainlines.

Great Britain

The British Rail Class 08 is a widely used shunter in Great Britain

British shunters are much smaller than those used in the United States. Current British shunters are

Big Four British railway companies in the 1930s and 1940s, e.g. those pioneered by the LMS. Similar locomotives were exported to the Netherlands (e.g. NS Class 600) and Australia (e.g. Victorian Railways F class (diesel)
). The use of shunting locomotives saw a sharp decline in Britain in the latter half of the 20th century, largely due to the contraction of the network, increased competition from road traffic and widespread adoption of train-load freight, with fixed rakes of wagons moving mainly bulk products between rapid-loading facilities, as opposed to thousands of sidings and goods depots feeding trains of assorted wagons into the marshalling yards.

Continental Europe

A TCDD DH33100 shunter in Istanbul, Turkey

In continental Europe 0-6-0 (or "C") diesel-hydraulics, similar to the short-lived British Rail Class 14, are widely used. A very common type is the DB Class V 60 and its variants. For lightweight shunting of single wagons or short trains, two-axle shunters are common; in Germany these are known as Kleinlokomotive (small locomotive).

See also

References

  1. ^ Burns, Adam (29 December 2022). "Switcher Locomotives: An Overview". US. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
  2. ^ "New California Locomotives Designed to Reduce Emissions". UP. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  3. ^ "Cummins Develops Option to Help Switcher Locomotives Reduce Emissions". Finance.yahoo.com. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  4. ISBN 9781627883979
    .
  5. ^ "Electric locomotive, 1917". Ingenious. UK. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2016.
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