It’s called a “Side Arm Pusher” … the Northeast Railfan (.net) site has several. As I understand it, the gadget under the cab window is lowered to where the end contacts and pushes cars on an adjacent track … typically for coal dumping, etc. The cab is that tall narrow nightmare because it’s designed for one person operation, and that person can see out either side, and over the top of what’s being pushed.
WHY you would want to move cars in this manner is still lost on me.
Matthew (OV)
Nick;
Decades ago there was an article in National Geographic about the elephant switchers at a small refinery in India. The company decided that the elephants were better than a small diesel because the elephants could also throw the switches using their trunks.
Also read in the British magazine, Model Railways, that shunt horses were quite common at small branchline terminals until the early 1950s. A good stout draft horse could easily handle 2 or 3 British goods wagons, which was more than adequate for most small branchline terminals.
Best,
David Meashey
And then there is Emma, Gorre and Daphetid #13, used as a switcher in the Gorre yard. Sometimes she could be a bit fractious.
(http://www.gdlines.com/GD_Galleries/Locomotives/slides/dinosaur1.jpg)
Those are pushers for running hoppers up and through a coal dumper. Used at Newport News, for example. Instead of grabbing a cut of cars, pushing it up, backing down and around the next cut, you can just grab a bunch of cars from an adjacent track, push them up, then run back down and grab another bunch. No switching involved.
Aw heck! I like my Trish the work triceratops better. She can also moonlight as a fork lift.
(http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/davemeashey/trish.jpg)
It’s the dwarf signal who caused more trouble for the railroad. We didn’t realize until he was already in the union that we had hired Grumpy! Ah,well, David Meashey
Some people are having way too much fun!
Dave Meashey said:Yup, and they didn't require runaround loops and such -- or regular visits to the Works. They lasted pretty much until the great destruction of the branch lines. Also used on slate and mine trams to avoid the expense of fettling up the track for loco use.
Also read in the British magazine, Model Railways, that shunt horses were quite common at small branchline terminals until the early 1950s. A good stout draft horse could easily handle 2 or 3 British goods wagons, which was more than adequate for most small branchline terminals. Best, David Meashey
You’ve completely lost me, Chris. I had to look up “fettling,” and came up with used to fettle a puddling
furnace…
That is where I gave up.
Steve;
I think from the usage, that it may mean the same as “cluttering.”
Just my guess,
David Meashey
P.S. Okay, I found it in Wikipedia under Geordie dialect words (Northeast England)
FETTLE - A word with several meanings
FETTLE - Condition -as “What fettle, marra? = How are you, sir”
FETTLE - Mood -as “He’s iv a bad fettle = He’s in a bad mood”
FETTLE - To repair or put in order - as “The lock wants fettlln = The lock requires putting right” - and as an old saying “A woman has enough work to do with her children, makin’, mendin’, and fettlin’ for their bellies” (*06)
Probably means a track reserved for locomotive maintenance.
Steve Featherkile said:
You've completely lost me, Chris. I had to look up "fettling," and came up with [i]used to fettle a [b]puddling[/b] furnace...[/i]That is where I gave up.
But I did find this: In Australia, a fettler is a railway maintenance worker, responsible for keeping the line in good shape.
So there’s our train content 
Matthew (OV) said:
LOL Kevin … ! On a more serious tack … I think this is the modern version:
Matt, do you have any more info on that Chessy unit? Quite interesting.
for more pictures of the Chessie engine and it’s CSX brothers - http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/modelthumbs.aspx?mid=417 I think this one is right up there with the unusual chessie one -
(http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/36865/bellvue%20coal%20pusher.JPG)
or this one -
(http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/prr7a.jpg)
or this one -
(http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc-push-ags.jpg)
or this one -
(http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/atlas2.jpg)
and the final one -
(http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/carnegie_steel.jpg)
all from the website - http://www.northeast.railfan.net/diesel110.html
Some of those look like Foundry locomotives, the kind used to push and pull molten metal cars into and out of the furnaces. They certainly look like them. Some dont have knuckle couplers. They’d be interesting models.
