A while back, I started this thread regarding Southern Pacific equipment that was used on their early 1960’s passenger consists. After I received answers and guidance on my original quandry, I asked a specific question about the hoop like devices I’ve noticed located on the roofs of several FP7 cabs: .
I originally thought these were some sort of radio antennas but was told by another poster that these were “icicle snappers” put in place to protect the windows of dome cars. This makes perfect sense to me now and I’m sure any railroad running passenger service in cold climates with dome cars especially in the Sierra Nevada, Cascades or Rocky Mountains probably used similar devices or they didn’t run their dome cars during the winter and early spring months. I’ve tried to research whether these were original equipment or something designed and built out of necessity after the fact by folks in the repair shop but I haven’t found any info on the subject so far. I was also wondering if anyone has run across “icicle snappers” when they were shopping for accessories? I’m modeling in HO and my passenger engines are SP, Santa Fe and UP FP7s and PAs. I might be adding Western Pacific passenger service to my layout at a future date also. Any info on the subject you might be able to provide would be appreciated.
SP fans will have to give you more, but when I lived in Nevada, the few I saw did not look all identical so I think they were built by the Roseviille shops. The PRR had a coal hopper with a large rack built into it for the same job.
Try looking for “icicle breaker”, a more common term. I have some cast brass ones made by Custom Finishing, as shown in the CPR engine in this thread. Check Walthers for the name and the firm and you should find something.
I’ve seen CPR hoppers with panels mounted above them to do the same job. They need them because of all the tunnels in the Canadian Rockies.
The Pennsy had one mounted in a HT hopper, made of large I-beams. It could probably break tree trunk-sized icicles, and catch the fragments in the hopper.
Southern Railway had them on their GP30’s, and probably later models, too. Can’t find my book at the moment… Looked like 1" steel rods, a homegrown fabricated affair. Book said something about protecting horns on the units, along with tall loads, vista domes, open top auto racks, etc.
Try Vol 1 of [i]Mainline Modeller/i magazine. In fact, the cover of the very first issue had a nose-on close-up photograph of an SP PA something-or-other complete with these “icicle breakers” atop the roof. I don’t have access to my copy of this issue at this particular moment - it is in a box while I try to figure out what to do with my “thirty year gatherins” - but in either that
As you have heard from others, those roof-top appliances were icicle breaker bars. They were home-built. On the Southern Pacific, they first appeared on the Northern Passenger Pool (out of Oakland, serving the Overland-Donner and Shasta Routes) ALCo PA’s with the introduction of SP’s homebuilt domes in the mid 1950’s. It appears the PA’s held the motive power assignments on the dome-equipped trains (Shasta Daylight and City of San Francisco) into the early 1960’s. As the FP-7’s began being assigned to those trains, they, too, had to be equipped with breaker bars, per the Bob Dengler image of this thread. Joe Strapac notes in his Locomotives of the Southern Pacific, Volume 3, E-units and Passenger F’s, that the breaker bars were applied to the FP-7’s in the 1964-65 time-frame.
As to model parts in HO, the Overland parts have been noted. Availability of those brass castings has been spotty. More assured are the plastic parts from Hi-Tech Details, HTD-6016.
Thanks to all for the info. The link to the Walthers part was especially helpful. I’d love to see a picture of an ALCO PA outfitted with an icicle breaker if you can link me to one. I’m still curious if Santa Fe, U.P. or Western Pacific ever outfitted any engines with these. I think that a video of the Pennsy hopper w/ the I bars mounted on it would make for an extremely interesting video.
Take a look at 6015 (also the image on the prime PA page) or 6008. Both PA’s are in gray and scarlet and distinctly on Overland Route trains. Note, as well, the wagon wheel radio antenna in the center, over the horns. The wagon wheel was a ground plane to improve radio reception.
Thanks. Just what I was looking for. It never occurred to me to check the espee site for ALCO PAs. I’ve ventured to that website often in the past when I wanted info on other S.P. related inquiries.
Santa Fe did not use icicle breakers. They had very few tunnels and I guess never had a need for them. The only tunnel I can think off that would have posed an icicle threat was Raton. Maybe Johnson Canyon too, but this was abandoned by 1960. I wonder if the Hi-Levels helped break ice.
When ATSF ran the Hi-Levels on the El Capitan there was standard Baggage, and RPO cars at the front of the train. There was also a modifed Domitory car that had the normal roof on one end, but then it had a riser type thing on the other end so that the roof profiles matched the Hi-Levels, My guess is that if there was icicles this would catch them and break them before the Hi-Levels got there.
I didn’t mention this car because every time I do most people have never heard of it. Nice job of knowing your Santa Fe! Especially with an NS logo in your sig [(-D]
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