![]() ![]() There are a few stories in Columbia about who started serving the Shifter sandwich first. Courtesy of Columbia Historic Preservation Society ![]() One of those meals was the monster of a ham and cheese sandwich that we now call the Shifter. ![]() Working in the rail yard was hard work, and the men worked up a mean appetite. Columbia’s restaurants, bars, and hotels all created hearty meals that workers could dig into as soon as they clocked out. The low vibrations of trains riding the rails, the loud train whistles, and the smell of heat filled the air. The hustle and bustle of downtown Columbia centered around the river and railroad industry. Some had a tank for water and others had a car called a “tender” that carried their fuel. Switcher locomotives needed water and coal or wood to operate. Switching was hard work. Shifter engines wore out quickly from constant collisions with cars and frequent starts and stops. PRR 0-6-0 wood-burning shifter engine at the foot of Front & Locust Street in Columbia during the 1870’s. Shifters are to trains are what tugboats are to boats. Switchers produce high torque but move slowly and have small diameter driving wheels. They are for assembling train cars for another locomotive to take over. The typical shifter is low-powered but has a high starting tractive force for getting heavy cars rolling quickly. Shifters are not intended for moving trains over long distances. Courtesy of Columbia Historic Preservation SocietyĪ “shifter” (also known as a “switcher”) is a small railroad locomotive used for maneuvering railroad cars inside a rail yard. Mechanics maintained locomotives, workers rushed to clean up after derailments, and conductors used “shifters” to move railroad cars from drop-off to pick-up points. A roundhouse is large circular or semicircular building around turntabled used for servicing locomotives. An army of skilled and unskilled workers labored in the switching yard near the roundhouse. In that era, the railroad yard by the river was bustling with activity. Local accounts trace the origins of this sandwich back to the 1910s in Columbia. What is a shifter, exactly? In the Susquehanna National Heritage Area, it’s a railroad locomotive and a sandwich! But, it’s not just any sandwich. It’s a sandwich with local roots, almost exclusively served along the Susquehanna River in Columbia and Marietta. River Roots is Susquehanna NHA’s blog series featuring history from York and Lancaster Counties that showcases the Susquehanna River’s historic, cultural, and natural resource contributions to our nation’s heritage. ![]()
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