None survived, but available in three scales in model form. Indiana Harbor Belt 101, at Gibson Yard in Indiana, Sept. 1, 1933:http://abpr.railfan.net/abprphoto.cgi?april04/04-08-04/ihb101.jpg

Wow,Now that's what you call huge. Think about it, all that weight resting on a set of drivers with no leading or trailing trucks. That's one weird engine. Joe...

That had to have been a hard ride.

Eric:It would be interesting to hear from engineers and firemen who operated 0-8-0's in yard service as to just how rough riding they WERE! Surely there must still be some crewmen around who had 0-8-0's from some of the last users of the type in regular service; GTW, N&W, IC, NKP, C&O, GN, perhaps other roads. Were they REALLY that hard riding? Or did the fact that they stayed in yard service where the speeds were moderate, keep the ride liveable?I seem to recall reading somewhere of the fact that 0-8-0's could run a yard quicker than the diesel switchers that replaced them. Can't recall if I read that of IC or CV 0-8-0's, or some other road.Perhaps this rough riding was just a myth....and then again, maybe not.Les Beckman (Hoosier Valley Railroad Museum/North Judson, Indiana)

That big engine, and all that weight on the drivers made it perfect for musculing around big cuts. And look, is that a tender booster?I wouldn't doubt that any steam engine could be a desiel switcher hands down when it comes to speed. Having my first real engineer exprinces on a 1910 climax and then going to a GP 40, I can defintely tell you that steam engines respond faster. The climax was allways in motion if the conductor could keep up with you, and the desiel just makes you impatient......

I once asked an N&W hostler in Portsmouth, Ohio about the N&W S-1 0-8-0's. He claimed they didn't ride badly at all.

A friend of mine had the privilage of running several of the C&O 0-8-0's to Balcony Falls for interchange with the N&W when they were sold. He claimed that that particular class ran and rode just like an automobile. I would guess that it might have something to do with being built so late, that maybe the technology was to the point that they could ride fairly well.

Diesel-Electric performance in yard service is purely a matter of how your excitation is set up for "switch". I once had a governor on a geep 9 blow it's excitation portion. First notch gave full excitation, 1400 amps, and a minor case of whiplash.One of my biggest pet peeves was how certain "engineers" would use the "when in doubt, notch 'er out" philosophy, when all that was needed was 3 more seconds of patience to allow the load regulator rheostat to turn.R.C.Whitehead

At least in theory the IHB beast should have ridden a bit better. Three cylinder lokies were in general better ballanced than their twocylinder counterparts, yes? (Else no one would have bothered with the maintanance hastle, I should think, even in Europe where they seemed to like fitting things in tight spaces.) And if my memory serves the A&S 0-8-0 in S. Louis is quite similar. (A&S #12) The IHB version is a bit heavier, and has a slightly greater TE, but not by much, if I recall the stats out of the 1930 locomotive cyclopedia, where both of them were listed. The A&S lokie has a different front end throttle and no elesco feedwater heater, but is otherwise quite similar. Same buuilder and very similar plans.Sincerely,David

I rode around in the Saginaw yards with my grandfather a couple of times when I was a little rugrat. Both 0-8-0 switchers. One was PM1311 (Alco), and the other one, if I can believe old photographs, was PM1336 (Baldwin). I remember that they accelerated quickly (up to yard speed) and rode pretty good. They tended to "hobbyhorse" as the fireman said. In otherwords, pitch fore and aft as they started and stopped.Fred Stevens

I like switching with steam more than diesel. The steam does respond faster, even though steam with no power reverse makes for a sore arm. The strangest thing about switching with steam is that the steam engine is soooo quiet at the start. I remember when I first saw the steam thomas run, I thought it was drifting.

My grandfather was the Master Mechanic and Roundhouse Foreman out of Gibson for a number of years before the NYC/IHB ended steam. His sentiment about the burly 0-8-0 is the same as those mentioned above, and he added in one writing that it rode like a "Studemaker at five miles an hour." My dad, who often took to riding on his father's lap in the engine, remembers that the particular locomotive shook like a building in an earthquake when pulling, but rode smooth as glass once it got its footing.Everytime I pass Gibson on the train, I find myself slightly green with envy...

Chris:Where did you do your switching with steam?Les

It's at Greenfield Village. There's usually a few cars to switch out or a hopper of coal to move. There is a GE 45 tonner to do the swtiching, but an 0-6-4T is nicer.

Being the former switchman that I am, I often wondered what it would be like switching with steam. I took pride in timeliness and efficiency. so if steam is faster/more response than diesel, I'd kill to give it a shot.Gerald W. Kopiasz