WAsn't there somebody asking about plows?

[FredR]

I know I is dumb sometimes, but it's that a snow plow for a diesel? I thought that all snow plows were in an arrow shape on steamers..... Like I said, I don't know, just wonderin'

Fred

[Bill_Gardei]

Fred:

First off, you are right, it was intended for a diesel. Second, I
only care about whether or not it can push snow. And Third,
the builders of this plow researched photos of plows used on
steam engines and found that both nosed and flat plows were
used, and no two were alike.

You guys down there in Texas would only care about whether
it was exact to prototype or not. But come on up here to New
Hampshire, and I'll show you what the plow is for. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif"%20alt="[/img]

Bill

[themnax]

fur what it's wurth - pointey ones were used on diesils as well so both kinds have been used on all kinds of power - just depends on where you were and when. you shoulda seen the ones that were standerd on f units on the sp up here on 'the hill' (donner summit) - every lokey of whatever power source that was assignied to run between roseville ca and sparks nevada during the time i was growing up and my dad was a telegrapher/towermn/clerk on that bit o track that was called the sacramento devision of the sothern pacific at that time - (the first bit of track out here that actualy connected to track back east) had serious snowplow type pilots perminantly welded on. i basicly grew up thinking that was what the front end of any engine of any kind was always supposed to look like and thought the poor thing was nakked the first time i ever saw one without one. but them plows on the engines was just insurance for the light stuff. serious snow ment rotarys, flangers and wide wing spreaders ...
even our daylight painted alco pa's that were the standard passinger power from the end of wwii right up till amtrak had big pointy plows on em (goin over the hill they always had black widow freight f-units as helpers on the point in front of em) - (when i was in kindergarden and first grade some of the cab forward 'mallettes' (actualy simples but everybody called em mallettes i guess cause they were articulateds and that's what everybody arround these parts called articulateds even though they weren't actualy compounds) were still active in helper service ... and pushing the rotaries - till they were phased out in the mid 50s and the rotaries converted to electic diesel ... ~;)

[FredR]

Are you kidding. Down here we don't have snow, so we doesn't ever have to figure out how to get the rails clean unless it critters in the way, then they have a tendency to run like all get out Sorry, I didn't intend to insult you with the question
Fred

[Allen_from_CHT]

I've mostly found that iffen its yers , and as long as YOU are happy, it don't matter much what anyone else thinks.

I've also found that on the net its sometimes hard to tell an innocent question from a not so innocent one. Sometimes you give or take offense that weren't meant.

Likewise sarcasm in general doesn't fly. some fool will always take you literally.

OTOH if someone REALLY thinks what you are doing is hideous, then it would be a SHAME not to offer him the chance to buy you out (at YOUR price) and change things to suit hisself [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/wink.gif"%20alt="[/img]

[Bill_Gardei]

Allen:

I tend to agree. And Fred meant absolutely no
harm nor was any harm done. The fact is, he was
right.

The problem with this hobby is, there are those
that are fanatical about detail (which is OK)
and those that go for functionality, like me
(which is also OK). And you can't make everyone
happy.

I asked the builders if anyone would be upset if
I put a dash-9 plow on a circa 1915 Mikado. The
answer I got was there was nothing wrong with it.

The most humorous part of the whole thing
is nobody noticed what was wrong in the first
picture I posted. (I have since fixed it). But
that's the whole idea behind the message board.
Have fun, learn a lot, and meet a whole lot of
really good people.

Bill

[Mikado14]

Hey Bill? Where did you get the stack and smokebox cover?

I know Fred and knowing Fred, he didn't mean anything bad. And in knowing him, I really believe he just wanted to know. Oh heck, the boy probably never made a snowman or a snowball so what does he know about it? Just a little humor on Fred's expense.

Ron

[willjordan]

I'll bet that a bit of research would determine that the different types of plows were for different types of snow. The Cascade tunnel line on the Great Northern (now BN-SF) got lots of heavy wet snow. I'll wager that this is a great deal different to clear than the SP had to fight in the high plateau of Utah. In certain conditions, a wedge might be necessary, in others a flat plow probably worked better.

And has been noted above, often engines followed a plow or another engine through the worst of the snow. Lead helper units might need especially skookum plows. You need a lot less plow if you are following a rotary on the mainline than if you are by yourself on a branch line.

As long as we are talking about plows, I have a story. Some years ago, during a winter that dumped an unusually high amount of snow in Auburn (near Seattle) Washington, a crew that had more time than good sense decided to use the rotary to clear the yard tracks rather than wait for the snow to melt (which probably only would have taken a day or two.) Well as they cleared one track on the MoW yard, they suddenly got a lot of noise and brown snow. Shutting down and backing up, they discovered they had been trying to clear track where there had been a flatcar of rail parked.

I think that both the car and its load of rail were severly damaged; the remains of the car were several feet shorter than original and the rail was shortened, bent, or otherwise damaged. Apparently the rotary was undamaged other than needing routine tooth resharpening.

[willy]

Hey Bill;

Arent them plows supposed to mount upside down?

Isnt that the way you gain access to the coupler?

-willy-

[willjordan]

The bench behind the sheet of plywood looks a lot like mine.

[FredR]

Whatsa snowman? And why would I want to mess with his snowballs [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/tongue.gif"%20alt="[/img]

[FredR]

BTW, wasn't there someone that was developing or had built a snowblower? Anyone got some pics if so?
Fred