U.P. Rotary snow plow, Great video.?

Question

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9128904089239804429&q=900082&total=7&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=0

Answer 1

This is a great video, and it brings back some memories.

I worked between Roseville and Sparks on the SP's Donner Pass route over the Sierras for eleven years.  During this time I spent a few days in snow service on flangers, spreaders and the SP "wide wing" rotaries.  They're a kick in the butt to run, and the wide wings were capable of a 200 foot rooster tail.

But, you could always count on getting sick when you were called for the rotary.  You see, the way these critters work is, they use old EMD F7 'B' units for power to traction motors located in the body of the rotary.  These run the blade.

But, everything else is still powered by steam, including the deflector pistons, wings and the supply of steam to keep the blades hot so they don't clog with the heavy snow.  There are four 'Vapor-Clarkson' steam generators behind the cab, these of the variety that were used on older dieasel passenger equipment, before 'head end' power came into being.  So, It was hot and humid.

But, when actually plowing, the Roadmaster or Division Engineer would be along and we would operate with the sliding cab door open so that they could see where they were at and what the plow was doing.  So, hot then cold then hot then cold, for up to seven days at a whack.  The engineering department runs the wings and deflectors.

They put one on each end of the consist, with the units in the middle of the two supplying motive power.  These are MUed with the rotary and the engineer operates the consist from the business end, changing ends as necessary.

But, the fireman ran the blade.  It was pretty cool.

The first step in the process was a toggle switch with two settings; "Idle" and "Normal.  When idling, the blades were kept turning at a very low RPM to keep them clear.

There was a four position throttle in front of the fireman's seat (which in these rotaries sat crosswise), and to the side a rheostat for 'fine tuning' the amperage and RPM while moving and plowing snow.  The fireman monitored the amperage and the tachometer and made adjustments as necessary to maintain the RPM that the boss wanted.  As the conditions changed, with moving in and out of drifts, there were quite a number of changes that had to be made to keep the blade at the proper RPM.

They were fun for a day, but I wouldn't want a steady diet of it, and there were occasional 'mishaps'.  One of these is recounted in my 360 blog post of 2-12-07.  You may find it find it interesting and a bit funny, though there were many automobile owners that day who did not see the humor..........

Answer 2

good one...i f**t in your general direction!

Answer 3

omg that was awesome ... a great big snow blower for trains .... and that snow looked really deep! it was really throwin' it out there toooo!  thanks for sharing that .. I thought it was really cool to watch!  ; )