Just For Grins
After V-8 powered Canadian snowblowers ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-03.htm#14 ) and jetwash-powered Swedish snowblowers ( http://langa.com/newsletters/2006/2006-04-06.htm#15 ), we now have this:
Fred: In your just for grins section of the latest LangaList, you sent a challenge (informally) concerning snow clearing equipment. Here is an excerpt about a snowblower developed by the Canadian Pacific Railroad to clear the tracks in the Canadian Rockies.
- The Canadian Pacific Railroad introduced eight rotary plow units to Canadian routes in 1888. The largest of these -- Number 101 -- had a plow wheel diameter of 10 feet driven by a main shaft 8.5 inches across. But even Number 101 was inadequate for the snow conditions the Rockies threw at it. The rotary plow worked well in dry Prairie snow, but in the wet, packed snows of the West Coast, the snow-throwing flange performed poorly. To overcome this, the Leslie Brothers increased the plow wheel diameter to 11 feet, designed a scoop wheel to replace the square-fan collector and added cut wideners to the housing. This design proved so successful that it changed little over the next century. With its introduction in the Rockies, the Western Canadian rail routes could now operate year round.
They still use similar units today. It is interesting to note that it is not used if there is the threat of avalanches, as the vibrations during operation could trigger one. ---Ron Nieuwenhuis
Hi, Fred! Many kudos for your newsletter! Turns out that using jet engines for snow blowing duty is done here in the states every once in a while. See most (but not all) at http://membrane.com/~elmer/rail/snow/misc/ or also a closeup at http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=99606. As you can imagine, they are pushed by a locomotive! Cheers, George Fleming
Fred: Not to be outdone, over here in England, the L.N.E.R. railway tried out a jet engine for snow clearance in the winter of 1947. Apparently it was not a success as it not only blew away the snow but also the ballast under the track! This also caused damage to lineside buildings as the flying ballast broke windows. The technology was also rather primitive as they simply bolted the jet engine to a railway wagon. There is a picture of it in action at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/h9qhn Also, the Cumbrian Railway tried out a similar idea as can be seen:
http://www.btinternet.com/~l.gilpin/crahome/jourvol6-11-2.htm I guess the modern technology has improved since... I came across this link which shows a wonderful experiment carried out in 1966 in your country by the NYC railroad for a jet powered train. I think the first two photographs on this page are great. Wonder what the noise was like? http://www.trainweb.org/railpix/acelatest1.html As ever, thanks for all the hard work that you put into producing the Langalist. It is a very helpful publication and worth every penny (or cent I should say?) Thanks, Edwin Chappell
I remain awed by the cumulative knowledge of LangaList subscribers. There's no subject too far afield--- some readers, somewhere, are experts in it! <g>
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