A transfer switcher was a type of

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

specifically designed to perform "transfer" work in which freight cars are transported between two freight yards in a large terminal area.

Design

As transfer work required high pulling power but not much speed, the general design of a transfer locomotive consisted of two engines with high-horsepower on an elongated locomotive frame, gearing designed for low speeds, and several driving axles, but were generally built without dynamic braking or multiple unit capability. In addition to the "center cab" design, transfer locomotives were also built in the form of

road switcher A road switcher locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive designed to both haul railroad car, railcars in mainline service and Shunting (rail), shunt them in railroad yards. Both type and term are North American in origin, although similar t ...

s and drawbar-coupled

cow and calf Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

switcher A switcher locomotive (American English), shunter locomotive (British English), station pilot (British English), or shifter locomotive (Pennsylvania Railroad terminology) is a locomotive used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distanc ...

sets.

Center cab

The "center cab" configuration is probably the best remembered transfer locomotive design, as the majority of these locomotives were built for transfer work. The first of the "center cab" locomotives was simply designated the T, and was a one-of-a-kind locomotive, built as a collaboration by the Electro Motive Corporation, St. Louis Car Company and

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

for the

Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...

in 1936.

Production

Baldwin Locomotive Works The Baldwin Locomotive Works (BLW) was an American manufacturer of railway locomotives from 1825 to 1951. Originally located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, it moved to nearby Eddystone, Pennsylvania, Eddystone in the early 20th century. The com ...

and

Lima-Hamilton Lima Locomotive Works (LLW) was an American firm that manufactured railroad locomotives from the 1870s through the 1950s. The company's name is derived from the location of its main manufacturing plant in Lima, Ohio ( ). The shops were located be ...

(which would later merge to become Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton) produced the majority of these units, with the former producing 70

Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 The Baldwin DT-6-6-2000 (Also referred to as the Baldwin DT6-6-2000) was a twin-engined diesel-electric transfer switcher, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works between 1946 and 1950. A single prototype using a pair of 8 cylinder naturally aspirat ...

/ BLH RT-624 locomotives, and the latter producing 22 Lima A-3177 locomotives between 1946 and 1954.

Preservation

Only one surviving example of these locomotives is known to exist. Minneapolis, Northfield and Southern Railroad DT-6-6-2000 #21 is preserved at the

Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview ...

Union, Illinois Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 551 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of the United States. ...

References

* * Locomotives {{diesel-loco-stub