How do they keep train tracks clear of snow during the winter?

Question

How do they keep train tracks clear of snow during the winter?

Answer 1

either a plow on the front of the engine

or a small "car" goes along and inspects the tracks periodically

Answer 2

in the Thomas the Tank Engine movies Thomas has to wear a snow plow and doesn't like it.

Answer 3

Clearing snow in the high Sierras is a costly proposition, especially where the rotaries are concerned, and therefore they are a piece of “last resort” snow removal equipment.  For that reason, they are not always used every winter, relegated to reopening the railroad after it has already been lost to the elements.  These are some really heavy duty machines that have some amazing attributes.  To see them working under a heavy snow load, the snow thrown out in a “rooster tail” as much as 200 feet to one side or the other, while moving forward at perhaps four to six miles an hour is an awesome sight and a kick to do.

     Snow removal is usually done in a three pronged attack utilizing different types of snow removal equipment.  As each becomes ineffective, the next level of equipment is ordered into service.  This equipment not only required train and engine crews, but many maintenance of way employees were required as well aboard the various types of equipment.  There are three pieces of the primary snow removal equipment, which are the “flanger,” “spreader” and rotary snow plow.

     First into service was the “flanger.”  This is a single piece of equipment with a narrow body and a high center of gravity, for underneath there are two blades that look identical to the plows seen on the front of highway snow removal equipment, only larger, with a hardened steel blade on the bottom.  There are two of them, one designed to throw out the snow to the left, the other to the right. These were controlled by the engineer when under way, with the train crew inside the flanger locking and unlocking the blades as instructed by the engineer.

     The way these work is simple.  When lowered, the blade at the bottom is actually below the top of the rail, blasting the ice and snow out from between the tracks.  The buildup of ice can derail a train.  So, these things are running all over the place.  But there is only so much they can do.  Eventually, they develop a “core” as the snow bank created by them begins to fill with snow.  At some point in time, the bank of the core builds high enough that it can catch “cutting levers” on freight cars and cause them to be uncoupled.

     When this happens, the call goes out for a “spreader.”  This equipment is equipped with “wings,” hydraulicly operated, that can be spread out as wide as 15 to 20 feet on either side, to push the snow over an embankment, or close-in to the hill side.  This eliminates the core and the banks the flangers create.  Once the spreaders have completed their task, the flangers then again hit the road.  But you only get a couple of bites of this apple as eventually, you run out of room to push this snow around or the snow is falling at such a rate that the flangers and spreaders can’t keep up.  Enter the rotary.

     Today many rotary plows are selfly contained and self propelled.  This was not so for the wide wings of SP’s Sacramento Division.  Originally they weren’t wide wings, but of a more conventional design.  Of course they were powered by steam running the blade, the cylinders for the wings and positioning of the deflector, as well as keeping the blades of the cutting head clear of any ice build up or packed snow.  By the time the steam engine had vanished, they had been converted in the way power was supplied to the blades.  Gone was the boiler and pistons that ran the old models.  In its place were four traction motors of the variety of those used on the old EMD “F” unit “covered wagons.”  And these were powered by the old F7B units they came off of, exactly the same as if they were axle hung, only running in line with a common drive connected directly to the rotating blades of the business end.  Everything else was still run by steam, which was provided by four steam generators of the type used on passenger trains of the past.  Catching a call for one off of the extra board, you could expect no relief for seven days, by collective bargaining agreement.  You could also expect pneumonia from all the changes between hot and humid and wet and freezing.

If you want, you can click on Hoghead and access the 360 blog posts.  There are two that deal in depth with the issue of snow removal, on the posts for February 12 and January 18, 2007.

Answer 4

With an engine equipped with a snow plow. That's if it gets deep enough. Regular engines can push the snow to the side fairly easily. Whatever is left succumbs to the 100 tons the engine and all the cars after it weigh.

Answer 5

snow plows on the trains.

Answer 6

if you look at the front of a locomotive they have a snow plow built in.

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