My programming track doubles as the storage track for MOW equipment, which is just a scenic feature. Since I model the summertime, I'm wondering if it is correct to leave the snow plow outside exposed to the elements year round or whether it would be moved to a shed during the warm weather months.
Very few pieces of railroad equipment melt in the rain.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
One thing you see when driving across the prairies is MOW equipment parked where ever there is a spot.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
dehusman Very few pieces of railroad equipment melt in the rain.
What about rust?
I have a snow blower. I don't leave it outside all summer.
BATMAN One thing you see when driving across the prairies is MOW equipment parked where ever there is a spot.
That's interesting. The wedge shaped plow doesn't have the moving parts of a rotary plow which is what my model is. I'm wondering if such a plow would be store in open like the wedge plow is in your photo.
Other than the type of plow, that looks very similar to my MOW/programming track.
John-NYBW I'm wondering if such a plow would be store in open like the wedge plow is in your photo.
I think the only time it would be inside would be when it is getting serviced.
John-NYBW What about rust? I have a snow blower. I don't leave it outside all summer.
If you leave your rotary snowplow ouside on your driveway all summer I don’t think anyone would be inclind to steal it.
maxman John-NYBW What about rust? I have a snow blower. I don't leave it outside all summer. If you leave your rotary snowplow ouside on your driveway all summer I don’t think anyone would be inclind to steal it.
Not in the rural area where I live. I wouldn't leave it in the driveway because I use that. I have other expensive equipment that I leave outside but it all has covers, like my pellet smoker and Weber grill. If I still lived in the city, I'd take a little more care.
I do Espee and am kind of an MOW nut. That means I've scrounged the 'net for lots of info and photos. From the pics I've seen, SP routinely stored their rotaries outside. Lots of summer pics from Sparks, NV which would have been mostly hot and dry in the summer. But also photos of outside storage in Eugene, OR (remember, "Folks don't tan in Oregon, they rust.").
Consider also that usage for some snow removal equipment (particularly the big rotaries) could vary widely between years. Not all available units would necessarily be tapped for service every year. I would think that a little rust on some of the business surfaces (blades, shrouds, discharge vents, etc.) would be cosmetic only, being worn away early in its next use. Critical, though, would be sufficient lubrication for storage of bearings, joints, hinges, and other moving parts.
Other than that, it doesn't have to be pretty. Wait for the cosmetics when the next major overhaul or upgrade occurs. That's when they come out looking like they're fit for the prom.
Just some notions here.
John
While not a railroad. My last company had a lot of snow fighting equipment. Before storage for the summer. Everything would be serviced, bolts checked, cutting edges flipped or replaced, painted, electrical connectors cleaned and greased and bare hydraulic rods coated in grease. Ready for the next year. Everything was stored outside. Sanders were steam cleaned and the chains were lubed. If it had a motor, the oil was changed and the gas tank emptied. Then it was run till the carb was dry. The carberator bowl was removed and dried with a spray of WD for protection.
Point being. Nothing was put away unless it was ready to go when needed. My HO scale snow fighting equipment is the same way.
My snowblower stays out all year but covered. My shed is full of all the grandkids toys so the mower and blower get tarps. A little care when putting it away keeps the rust away.
Pete.
John-NYBWI'm wondering if it is correct to leave the snow plow outside exposed to the elements year round or whether it would be moved to a shed during the warm weather months.
It's a snow plow - best storage place would be in the freezer, as you don't want it to melt in the summer sun.
Wayne
doctorwayne John-NYBW I'm wondering if it is correct to leave the snow plow outside exposed to the elements year round or whether it would be moved to a shed during the warm weather months. It's a snow plow - best storage place would be in the freezer, as you don't want it to melt in the summer sun. Wayne
John-NYBW I'm wondering if it is correct to leave the snow plow outside exposed to the elements year round or whether it would be moved to a shed during the warm weather months.
Attuvian1,
How is that rotary powered? If it is the one by Athearn, it has the boiler front of a Shay locomotive on its rear end. When SP's rotaries were steam powered, they used a Shay boiler to power the blades and were trailed by a tender, I believe from a cab-forward, to carry the oil fuel and, water for this boiler.
They were later dieselized, using repurposed diesel locomotive traction motors, and retired B units (called "snails") with no traction motors to supply the electricity for those used to power the blades. As in the steam days, regular locomotives were called upon to provide motive power for the whole shebang. I'm also an SP enthusiast, but not in snow country.
Cheers
NHTX Attuvian1, How is that rotary powered? . . . Cheers
How is that rotary powered? . . .
John,
The diesel locomotive traction motors in the "dieselized" SP rotaries were mounted in the carbody to power the blades only. There were none axle mounted. SP figured, since under steam, the Shay boiler with its three cylinders and longitudinal shafts spinning the blades and having to be pushed by locomotives anyway, dieselizing them would be straight forward, and easy.
Driving the shaft of the blades with traction motors from retired units (quite possibly from the same snails that would provide the electricity to spend the blades) would be the logical way to eliminate the boiler and associated machinery, in favor of something much easier to maintain, and readily available if replacement were required. The B units became mobile electricity generators only, dedicated to powering those traction motors used to power the blades.
You are right about SP's approach to snow fighting. Once it got to where locomotive plow pilots were not enough and the buildup between the rails was high enough to begin knocking air hoses apart, the flangers were dispatched. As the buildup of plowed snow trackside increased, it was time for the spreaders to go to work. If it got to the point that the spreaders could no longer keep up, the rotaries, snails, and a pair of brawny diesels got the call. Most places, the locomotive pilot plows did the job, with occasional help from a flanger. The Sierra Nevadas are a whole different world come snow time! Clearing Donner Pass is the playground of the rotaries.
I used an Athearn rotary plow, along with a cut-down tender from a Monogram Big Boy to model a rotary plow which was to be an award for a modelling challenge on my "home" forum.I didn't do much in the way of changes, other than to add better details than the original moulded-on ones (or details that weren't there originally)...
I modified the shortened coal tender into an oil tender, which seemed to me to be more practical, given that the firebox was near the front of the plough...
...and a couple of photos taken before it was shipped to the new owner...
The plough later changed hands, and new owner photographed it during the beginning of a snow storm...
...there was a later photo, in black and white, of it working in deeper snow, but I don't have that picture.
NHTX John, The diesel locomotive traction motors in the "dieselized" SP rotaries were mounted in the carbody to power the blades only. . . .
The diesel locomotive traction motors in the "dieselized" SP rotaries were mounted in the carbody to power the blades only. . . .
Thanks, NHTX. I'd like to claim brain freeze late last night in thinking traction motors were limited to driving axles. But it wasn't really brain freeze.
UPDATE: Trainweb.org has a great data summary of the individual histories of SP snow fighting equipment at:
http://www.trainweb.org/rrsnowfighting/