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629:). 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.
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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
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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
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electrification would have been impractical. These specialised locomotives were tall steeple-cab types not seen anywhere else, and operated on a short length of track between the ovens and the quenching tower. Despite their ubiquity, very few have survived into preservation as there is very little
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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
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switchers. Prior to the introduction of diesel-electric locomotives, electric shunting locomotives were used to an extent in Great
Britain where heavy trains needed to be started on steep gradients. The steeply-graded Quayside Branch in
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and/or sloped tender decks to increase rearward visibility. Headlights, where carried, were mounted on both ends. Most were either side-tank or saddle-tank types, however in the usual departure from its neighbours' practice, the
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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
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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
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scope of operating them due to their unique means of obtaining power, slow speed and the fact they greatly exceed the loading gauge of most railway lines. One example built by
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tanks for shunting and branch line work, a practice which the
Western Region of BR perpetuated until steam traction was phased out, with several examples joining a
523:, 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.
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for the movement of coal and colliery waste to shipping facilities on the river was one of the more extensive industrial networks. A number of the early
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to allow them to be used on tight radiuses. Western
European shunters tend to be smaller and more often have fixed axles. They also often maintained
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for longer than other locomotive types, although bogie types have long been used where very heavy loads are involved, such as at steelworks.
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and its variants. For lightweight shunting of single wagons or short trains, two-axle shunters are common; in
Germany these are known as
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over long distances. Instead, they typically assemble trains in order for another locomotive to take over. Switchers often operate in a
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Small industrial shunters are sometimes battery powered type. An early battery-powered shunting locomotive is shown here. The
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as banking engines to assist locomotives on the notoriously arduous ascent of the Lickey
Incline, replacing the
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British shunters are much smaller than those used in the United States. Current
British shunters are
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in 1905, and two steeplecab locomotives were built to handle all traffic on the line. One of these,
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366:. On the opposite side of the Tyne, the electrified lines owned by the Harton Coal Company in
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Switchers are optimized for their role, being relatively low-powered but with a high starting
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used for maneuvering railway vehicles over short distances. Switchers do not usually move
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or make short transfer runs. They may serve as the primary motive power on short
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Electric locomotives were also extensively employed for moving the coke cars at
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imported and manufactured locally battery-electric shunters in the 1920s: the
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for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. Switchers are geared to produce high
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The majority of modern switchers are diesels, but countries with near-total
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A switcher may also be called a yard pilot, switch engine, or yard goat.
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American, Russian, Indian and
Chinese switchers tend to be larger, with
757:"Cummins Develops Option to Help Switcher Locomotives Reduce Emissions"
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configurations of two powered units in order to provide greater power.
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switchers tend to be larger, and are almost always powered by diesel.
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switchers tend to have a high cab and often lower and/or narrower
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locomotives built for use on these lines have been preserved.
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841:. No. 7. Hersham: Ian Allan Publishing. pp. 88–92.
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but are restricted to low top speeds and have small diameter
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535:'s boilers) needed to charge the locomotive's accumulator.
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735:"New California Locomotives Designed to Reduce Emissions"
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Green-Hughes, Evan (January 2008). "Shunter's delight".
358:, is now part of the National Collection and resides at
660:(or "C") diesel-hydraulics, similar to the short-lived
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Steam shunter/switchers are now mostly out of service.
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in the 1930s and 1940s, e.g. those pioneered by the
69:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
511:which had formerly carried out the task alongside
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30:"Switcher" redirects here. For other uses, see
664:, are widely used. A very common type is the
526:Small industrial shunters have sometimes been
27:Locomotive used in yards for assembling trains
413:has three battery electric shunters built by
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617:. Similar locomotives were exported to the
589:is a widely used shunter in Great Britain
129:Learn how and when to remove this message
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381:, obtaining power from a side wire, as
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558:San Diego and Imperial Valley Railroad
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569:Most American switchers are actually
759:. Finance.yahoo.com. 2 December 2021
310:Modern diesel switchers are usually
67:adding citations to reliable sources
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713:"Switcher Locomotives: An Overview"
627:Victorian Railways F class (diesel)
471:A typical British steam shunter, a
406:, not far from where it was built.
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611:Big Four British railway companies
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711:Burns, Adam (29 December 2022).
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54:needs additional citations for
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782:. Voyageur Press. p. 56.
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312:diesel-electric locomotives
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556:switcher on the American
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32:Switcher (disambiguation)
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341:, like Switzerland, use
326:An electric switcher in
778:Solomon, Brian (2014).
350:was electrified by the
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352:North Eastern Railway
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280:A diesel switcher in
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199:Pennsylvania Railroad
78:"Switcher locomotive"
882:Shunting locomotives
810:. UK. Archived from
672:(small locomotive).
528:fireless locomotives
419:New Zealand Railways
402:is preserved at the
392:Greenwood and Batley
63:improve this article
455:Some switchers are
411:Tyne and Wear Metro
348:Newcastle upon Tyne
179:switcher locomotive
169:Stadler Rail Ee 922
153:CZ Loko Effishunter
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633:Continental Europe
597:diesel-electrics,
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201:terminology) is a
195:shifter locomotive
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687:Road-rail vehicle
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404:Middleton Railway
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16:(Redirected from
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816:. Retrieved
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513:"Big Bertha"
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61:Please help
56:verification
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872:Locomotives
763:13 February
741:13 February
645:shunter in
619:Netherlands
450:Switzerland
267:Power types
866:Categories
719:2 February
698:References
554:NRE Genset
383:third rail
360:Locomotion
203:locomotive
89:newspapers
855:226087101
847:1753-2469
808:Ingenious
552:A modern
539:By region
446:Pfäffikon
379:cokeworks
255:Etymology
676:See also
647:Istanbul
603:Class 09
599:Class 08
564:American
440:A small
425:and the
423:EB class
343:electric
328:Salzburg
318:Electric
305:cow-calf
211:railyard
18:Switcher
501:pannier
488:tenders
415:Hunslet
364:Shildon
332:Austria
103:scholar
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818:14 May
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651:Turkey
621:(e.g.
396:Armley
372:German
292:Diesel
282:Sakaki
272:Diesel
245:bogies
230:torque
207:trains
193:), or
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658:0-6-0
595:0-6-0
499:used
480:Steam
463:Steam
400:Leeds
356:No. 1
300:Slugs
296:hoods
286:Japan
110:JSTOR
96:books
851:OCLC
843:ISSN
820:2016
784:ISBN
765:2023
743:2023
737:. UP
721:2023
715:. US
601:and
585:The
82:news
615:LMS
394:in
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