I have heard of snow flanges but have never seen a picture of one. Do they adjust in height?
Here’s a link to a site with lots of examples of Wedge Plows & Flangers.
I’m presuming you mean flangers. Yes they do adjust and they’re one reason you see warning signs at switches and crossings - anywhere there might be something between the rails.
Regular purpose built snowplows (not those mounted on the locomotive) only remove the snow down to the tops of the rails (maybe a little further, depending on plow design). Flangers dig down a little deeper. If you look carefully, you’ll see notches in the blade for that purpose.
A flanger operator has to be very alert and aware of his territory - having the blade down when encountering a fixed obstruction can result in a bad outcome for the flanger, obstruction, or both.
I thought I knew my snowplows, but those pictures are great. I will have to spend more time studying them. Thanks.
Bruce
I thought a snow flange was a piece of metal ahead of the drive wheels on a locomotive. If no such thing exists, are current locomotive drive wheels cutting right through the snow then? Its not as if snow would have a chance against heavy locomotive wheels.
Doesn’t sound like anything I’ve seen before.
In light snow (I’ve worked when we’ve dealt with 6-8" over the rails) the wheels do pretty much just cut through the snow. If the locomotive is moving snow aside (ie, has a plow), even a foot or two of the light stuff may not cause problems.
The only issue that will normally be encountered is flangeways at crossings, which often get packed with snow and ice and can lift the wheels off the rails. It bears paying attention.
On the other hand, drifts, which tend to be more dense, can be a problem. Just like your car, they have the ability to lift the loco right up, given the right conditions.
Of course, there can be other issues related to the snow (getting into motors, etc), but that’s another topic.
The thing is, snow does have a chance–especially if it’s packed at the edge of a roadway and has solidified into ice. Of course, a locomotive has a much better chance against such an obstruction than would an ordinary wedge plow, and far better than a freight car being shoved to a spot across the street.
Larry, I wouldn’t really want to see a plow that extended between the rails, unless it were governed by the same restrictions as a flanger–not only at grade crossings, but also at switches, dragging equipment detectors, and the like.
Cool pix! The picture of the D&RGW flanger “OC” clearly shows that the flangers did dig out snow and ice below top-of-rail level. If they didn’t go that low, there would have been no need for “raise flanger” warning signs, for the most part. New York Central used black (no logo) signs trackside with a 45-degree blade on it (or multiple blades, depending on the trackwork. Flangers have been replaced by Jordan ‘Spreaders’ today, as have the wedge plows.
Hays
Agree wholeheartedly…