We’ve seen nine 1939 Plymouth cars here at Barn Finds, as in Chrysler Corp 1939 Plymouths. This 1939 Plymouth Model DLH 10-Ton Switcher is from another mother: Plymouth Locomotive Works. You can find it listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Manistee, Michigan, and the seller is asking $10,000 or best reasonable offer, or it’s going to the scrapyard, and that would be a crying shame. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Lothar… of the Hill People for the tip!
Our own Michelle showed us a railroad switcher recently here on Barn Finds, and it was an 80-ton monster compared to this little 10-ton model. Also, from the Barn Finds family, Jamie Palmer showed us what I believe is a 25 or 30-ton Plymouth switcher here. Make mine a 10-ton switcher, I mean, if a person wanted one to tool around the yard. If that person had tracks set up, which I don’t. Yet. Speaking of that, the seller says this switcher runs on “standard gauge”, which equates to railroad tracks 4′-8 1/2″ wide. You can see that it needs windows and lots of other work, hopefully, mostly cosmetic, but we don’t know.
Plymouth Locomotive Works started as the J.D. Fate Company in 1910 and became the Fate-Root-Heath Company in 1919. They were all powered by gas engines until around 1927, when diesel engines were introduced. This example has a four-cylinder Hercules gas engine, according to the seller and they show a video of it running, a very nice touch. The company changed its name again to Plymouth Locomotive Works, since they were located in Plymouth, Ohio, and again in the late 1970s to Plymouth Industries. They were eventually bought out by Ohio Locomotive Crane in 1997, and in 1999, they moved production to Bucyrus, Ohio. They no longer make trains, so, sadly, you can’t buy either a Plymouth car or a Plymouth switcher anymore.
What is this, a 1966 one-ton 4×4 Dodge pickup with four shift levers?! In trying to identify this 10-tonner (I’m on the road and don’t have my railroad books with me), this switcher is an early mechanical drive model. The torque converter drive models came out in the 1940s. It’s a model DLH 10-Ton, as seen here. The letter D = a weight rating of between 8 and 15 tons. The letter L = locomotive. H = Hercules, a gas engine in this case. We have some railroad experts in the Barn Finds family, so please let me know if I’m correct on that.
And here is the Hercules four-cylinder engine, which the seller says is backed by a four-speed manual transmission. I wish they had included more photos inside the cab, more engine photos, and just more photos in general. They say it was bought new by the Chris-Craft Boat Company in Michigan, so that’s a cool history. It would be a crying shame to have this sweet little switcher heading to the scrapyard, it would be YouTube gold to restore this little switcher. Does anyone have any more info on this model?
This is just so cool. I hope it gets restored. When I saw this on Fast Finds and saw “Plymouth ” I honestly thought Walter P. Chrysler was dabbling in the rail road industry. I had no idea. I love the fact that every day I learn something new here on Barnfinds. This would go nice with the old railroad hand cart that was on here recently. Very Nice find Lothar, and great write up Scotty, I’m glad to see the this write up on here. This is just cool. I really hope it gets restored. Thanks for posting this Scotty.
Add said sold so hopefully its to someone who will restore it and have fun with it
Glad it sold and not going to the scrap yard. Check out the size of that fan belt. Posted 15 weeks ago.
.. 🎶 🎸 “I hear the train a comin’
It’s rolling round the bend
And I ain’t seen the sunshine since I don’t know when”… 🚉 🎵
Well Stan, if you kill a man in Reno just to watch him die, that’s what happens.
Thanks Stan, now because of you I have the “Man in Black” Johnny Cash in my head.
Now heres mine…… ” I’ve been everywhere man………”
Thanks Stan, I always enjoy your posts.
Driveinstile, you are welcome 🎶 😃🤝
Tip of the hat, SG, can’t go wrong with a rail post. Never heard of them, and I too figured Chrysler got into the rail biz. Was there a name infringement? Coming from a rail town, switchers were huge. They did all piddly jobs in the yard while the “road engine” was being serviced. We had 2 roundhouses of maybe 15 engines each( that one burned to the ground one fateful night) and 2 maintenance shops, the biggest in central Colorado. Apparently, Plymouth made some much bigger switch engines, and I read small ones like this were for intra-plant duties, and assembling the trains. They had a very important job. Trains were the lifeblood of the country, and I bet this unit never got shut off. I’m very confident, one of these antique rail places will grab this, they are a very dedicated group, but for now, this old gals working days are over. I shutter to think what might become of that hobby in the future once these train buffs pass on. Great find.
Finally, an ICE vehicle with less range than an EV, as soon as the tracks run out. I’d be interested except it wouldn’t fit my Lionel HO set-up very well.
The same company also made Plymouth tractors. The Suits running the Chrysler Corporation at the time sent the lawyers down to scare the folks at F-R-H but quickly found out the smaller company had already trademarked the Plymouth name. The Plymouth company agreed to change the tractors name to Silver King. They were geared to run pretty quick on the road.
I live in NW Ohio and on a beautiful Friday, went for a little ride. We drove through Plymouth but I was unaware of their engine manufacturing.
I’m 78 but recall my long gone brother in law talking about a Silver King’s road speed. I believe they had only one front wheel instead of the usual two
I’d need free S&H if I was to acquire it.
Does it have a hemi?
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Does it have a hemi?
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Silver Kings came in both tricycle style and wide front type tractors as I recall, and it seems to me that quite a few were equipped with side-mount sickle bar mowers for highway right of way maintenance. The fast “road gear” probably was an advantage for that application. I understand that they were good machines, although we saw very few of them in New England.