Several parts of the Colorado Consolidated Railways are reporting by telegraph snow is now to the top of the railheads.
Plows are not yet requested, but the plow is on the ready track, coupled to Shay #5.
TOC
Thats a nasty looking peice of metal their Dave!
Bet the snow jumps out of the way rather than mess with that Bad Boy!
Still coming down.
Plow crews have been officially called out
Bloody hell.
Is there an elephant sitting on the other end to counter balance this monster!!
Troy I was kinda wondering the same thing there…
You mean the plow?
Lead ingots both ends, filled to just where you can’t see with rock.
Truck sideframes tied together (old trick we used to do with heavy loads), plastic wheels so they don’t freexe to the rail, body-mount Bachmann coupler on the “push” end, spring-loaded adjustable rod for height and to allow clearing under plow when you back up…
TOC
He he he.
I want to see this work.
Snow,baby,snow!
Mind you.If you leave it too low and hit a bad joint (ouch)
Very effective brake!
Is somebody mowing the cotton field? What’s all that white stuff?
TOC, you’re too late for the whimsy build off! Sorry pal, that entry is disqualified for not having a flame [}:)]producing device [X-)]
OH, what? You’re serious about that “snow plow” thingy??? What would one do with such a thing? Oh, I see! The Christmas shopping season is here so you need a way to clear out a parking spot at the mall. Nice chunk of blade there buddy, you got a permit for that!
Don’t need a permit.
Anybody questions me, I just let the jacket fall open a bit and the .45ACP is all I need…
Did an initial plow, got pix, gotta go downlaod them and post.
Later, dudes and dudettes…
TOC
Jeez Louiez
That things gotta weight around what? 30lbs?
I sure hope that trestle reinforced![:D]
Bring it over!
It’s heavy. NO derailments, plowed the entire line.
Finally stopped snowing, 5+ hours, getting colder, now they’re talking more tonight and tomorrow.
Here is Plow Extra 1 climbing to the top of the Gorge Grade, crossing Table Rock bridge, approaching Whiterock. Rough going in the gorge, as the stuff REALLY piles up there.
Here we are approaching Malfunction Junction, coming out of the shadow at Laurel Yard. From here we plow the “wye”, and down Lilac Branch towards Glory until we get to the snow line.
Back to Laurel Yard after plowing the Lilac Branch, now we get to start on the Bald Mountain Branch to Pete’s Pit Mine.
This is steep, so the Shay is well suited to the task.
Crossing Morris Johnson Viaduct.
TOC
Toc, Is that black PVC pipe split in half and mitered together? Cool plow! Glad to see pics of your layout, Always try to get a mental picture when you talk about the big operating sessions.
Yes, cut and mitered together.
I think we used the PVC glue on it.
I really should do a photo series.
The gon can be converted back to a gon in a couple of minutes, three holes visible is all.
I used to do it every spring, but now I have a plethora of gondolas, so I don’t.
TOC
Gee, TOC, you’re expecting a lot from us, using words like plethora!
Remember the axiom: Eschew obfuscation.
Good looking plow and a little simpler than what that Nebraska guy uses.
Art
Dave,
You really got me thinking with this one.We are supposed to have a very cold winter here in England this year and as I live in an exposed area when snow arrives,everything stops.I looked at your design and the working capabilities.
However,running and building the trams got me wondering about snowploughs.I telephoned my Dad to ask and he said that they usually couple a few trams together and ram it !.
I thought he was joking.
Since it will take about a year to build 3 trams to push my snowplough,I’ll stick with your idea.It looks likes it works[:D]
“Bucking Drifts” is the term I’ve heard for half a century or more…
We do that when it gets thick.
I have a couple of LGB first gen Moguls I double-head, now I have 2 Shays and 2 Bachmann 2-8-0’s I can do it with.
We really send it flying.
This wet stuff we get is not conducive to rotaries, so we bnack up, get a flying run at it, and generally buck 2 feet to 8 feet at a hit.
We spell out plow crews from time to time so everyone gets a shot at it.
I then assign a crew with single engine to just patrol the line if snow is continuing to fall during an ops session.
I have been out at 0300 keeping the line open by myself.
One year we lost the battle on the Goge Line Grade, it ended up inpacted with 30" of snow, we revereted to the old River Rock Grade to get up and down.
Had to dig the Gorge out with a shovel.
All thought of abandoning the old River Rock line and just using the new Gorge Grade dissappeared.
TOC
Don’t forget.When all is lost,you can call on that great big ‘Hand From The Sky’
This is the Superhero that takes the big bits of wood away from my track and puts my trains back on the track.
He comes in many forms,
and speaks many dialects.
But he is always there!
([:)] Just for fun,remember! )
When it gets real bad, might be time to call in Marty’s Mean Machine.
Anyone ever ask if he’s got plans available?
Haven’t heard of him offering plans, but I bet he would be willing to produce one for the correct amount of profit.