Switchmaster Railcar Mover Donated to the Arizona Railway Museum
(reprinted article with permission of the author Lynda Muller and the Arizona Republic)
By Angelo Lautazi

I recently learned about a piece of railroad equipment called a mobile railcar mover. My discovery came while reading my employee newsletter. As I don’t work for a railroad, but rather the Arizona Republic newspaper, it was a little strange reading about railroad equipment in the newsletter. The article was written because the "Republic" was retiring a piece of equipment called a Switchmaster. Switchmaster , I discovered, is the trade name for a type of mobile railcar mover.

Switchmaster on its rubber tires	Switchmaster on its metal trucks

The machine would ride on rubber truck tires until the driver maneuvered it so it straddled the railroad tracks. He would then lower the machine onto the rails so it would ride on its railroad trucks. The Switchmaster would operate on railroad sidings and connect to boxcars that were delivered by the railroad and move them into position where they could be unloaded into a warehouse.

The Arizona Republic used to have its newsprint delivered by rail to its Mesa printing facility. Currently all newsprint is delivered by trucks and the Switchmaster was subsequently retired. As I work at a different facility that always received our newsprint by truck, I regret that I never saw the Switchmaster in action.

I obtained permission to reprint the newsletter article on the E-Train website. The article’s author, Lynda Muller, was kind enough to send some additional photos that were not included in the original articles. Thank you Lynda!

INSIDE PRODUCTION - June 2006   (The Production Newsletter of the Arizona Republic)

Switchmaster Railcar Mover Donated to the Arizona Railway Museum

When purchased in 1986, the Switchmaster Model 9000 Railcar Mover was a magnificent machine. Along with its diesel engine, it featured a four-speed transmission (forward and reverse), power steering, right and left hand side mirrors, an air blast horn, front and rear windshield wipers, a 48 inch wide cab with heater, poly foam filled mine service tires, a fire extinguisher, and more. Its purpose was to move rail box cars full of newsprint rolls. A rail car usually held 82 full rolls and even more ½ rolls and ¾ rolls.

Ernie Brennan became the chief operator of the Switchmaster after its delivery. He has many stories to tell about the equipment in its prime. He shared several for this article.

“The Switchmaster could move six box cars at one time. The railroad would drop off the rail cars about ¼ mile away from the Mesa Production plant. Two Newsprint Handlers would work with each other to get the newsprint off the cars. I would drive the Switchmaster, and another guy would stand by the door and tell me when to stop so the door of the railcar would line up with the door of the warehouse. The other employee would set the brakes on the boxcar, uncouple the last box car, and then give the signal to go to the next warehouse door.”

Ernie said there was no training to drive or maintain the equipment. He explained, “I went out there and figured it out. It was on the job training!” He remembered that there was not much room in the cab, just enough for one person. He said, “In the summer it was really hot; we would sweat and sweat. It was miserable.”

“We would have to unload the newsprint in a certain timeframe too,” Ernie added. “We had to get the newsprint unloaded from the cars in a hurry or the company would have to pay a demurrage charge to the railroad. My personal best was 10 railcars – by myself – in one eight hour shift. This also involved coupling and uncoupling the cars, prying open the doors with a 3-ton come-along because they were so old and rusted, in addition to moving empty cars out of the way.”

Ernie and the other Newsprint employees were glad when the company started getting paper rolls by truck. Since the Switchmaster had no air conditioning, Newsprint employees worked in the heat for many months of the year. Mesa received newsprint by rail and truck from several suppliers during the first several years of operation, then went to 100% rail delivery until late 1999. Mesa has been 100% truck delivery ever since.

On Sunday, May 7, 2006, the Switchmaster was moved to a new home. The Arizona Republic donated it to the Arizona Railway Museum at 399 N. Deleware St, in Chandler.
The museum was founded and incorporated in 1983 as a non-profit, educational and historical organization, dedicated to the railways of Arizona and the Southwest.
- Lynda Muller, Mesa Production Secretary

The Arizona Railway Museum's website:

www.azrymuseum.org