How was the rotary snowplow powered?
How about it’s a temporary station on a shoofly during track elevation?
I think the shoofly answer is correct. Possibly during the grade-crossing elimination between Jamaica and Valley Stream. In 1948 the snow=plow could have still been steam, but was probably diesel-electric.
Here’s the special at Rockaway Park:
If the LIRR snowplow is # 193 (not certain from the photo, but it certainly could be) it still exists at Steamtown USA in Scranton PA. #193 served the LIRR from 1898 to 1967, steam powered its whole life. Every other photo I have seen of an LIRR rotary is of 193 so I’m thinking it might be the only one LIRR had. According to Steamtown’s web site it was built by Cooke (Paterson NJ) in 1898, got an ex-PRR tender in 1940, and was sold to private owners in 1968 after it was retired.
Nobody has commented that the MP70 is either brand new or nearly so.
Here is the trainsarefun page on these cars:
http://www.trainsarefun.com/lirr/doubledecker.htm
When we moved to Englewood in the mid-Sixties, the library had a book that depicted “a typical day around New York in 1949” which included these. Little did I realize they were still running, and I could have seen them with only a little detouring…
A typical LIRR regular MU train. Between age three and age thirty-five, must have experienced these MP54s about a thousand times. Henry Raudenbush explains:
TheEMU’s are at DUNTON interlocking (tower at left). The train is eastbound on the Atlantic Branch. Coaling tower of Morris Park engine facility is out of picture to left. The folks wandering around between tracks suggest this is from the 1948 Knieling trip. (It is, One trip that included the visit to Sunnyside, not two trips)
Note that there is the typical LIRR mix of monitor and arch roof MP-54’s. The arch roof is an economy design, first introduced about 1915 for summer-only trailer cars. In the 1920’s this became the standard for the growing LIRR MU fleet
Also at Sunnyside:
One at the Morris Park Shop’s coach yard and a crane and hopper car at Sunnyside:
Dave,
I just loved this great series. I’m an exLong Islander and it both fascinating and nostalgi.
A GG-1 photo for drama, rasther than detail:
Two photos after departing the East River tunnels.
The one under vthe Flushing Line Elevated structure east of Queemsboro Plaza has a BMT D-Type from the Brifgton Line headingv for the steel-car vBMT pocket track, whilev just above, as BMT standard steel is heading vfor the QBP Station, having left the pocket track.
