Saw this somewhat strange car at a museum this summer and assume it is some sort of maintenance of way car. Does anyone know what exactly this thing is and what its purpose was? I apologize for the fence blocking the view but obviously this small museum did not want people climbing on the displays.
The name and location of the museum might help.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Looks like a streetcar street sweeper.
Looks like it's got a rotating brush under the end closest to the camera, so I'd guess that it's a MoW car for a street railway (trolley system) or interurban. One prototype's version of a track cleaning car.
Wayne
Here's a picture of a very similar piece of SNOWFIGHTING equipment:
And here's the source page of the photo:
http://www.nymtmuseum.org/headends/08winter/Winter08.html
The picture's about 3 pages in. Farther (further?) down are pictures of it and also the trolley rotary plow (!!!!) in operation (!!!).
I guess it snows sometimes in Rochester.
And it leads me to doubt that the enormous Pacific Electric had one of these.
Though LA has experienced the descending white stuff on occasion:
Cerro Gordo Street, Los Angeles, 1949
Ed
The car is at the Flin Flon, MB railroad depot museum, an old repurposed and relocated Canadian National station. The car may be for snow removal do to it's final location.
Jim
Its a snow sweeper, they were very common on Northern trolley lines.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
There was an extensive rail network serving the local mines and processing facilities, operated by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting. Some of this used electric locomotives with overhead wire. I'm guessing that most came second hand from various interurban or street railways that were being abandoned, and this snow sweeper would have been included. The Canadian Trackside Guide indicates it was built in 1920 by McGuire-Cummings, but does not provide any further information as to its heritage.
In your picture there is no sign of either a trolley pole or pantograph. That likely disappeared during the lengthy period when its active life ended until it reached the museum.
There is still some track left. In 2013 the operation rostered three SW1200RS units of CN and CP heritage.
The museum does have one engine with a single trolley pole type electrical pick up. I have visited this area since 1949 but don't remember the electric portion of the HBMS rail system. The last steam engine I saw in revenue service was on the CN tracks headed to Flin Flon. Probably about 1956. It was a malet type articulated engine pulling freight cars. I remember it as my step-brother took a good picture of it.
Thanks for the origin information Cx500 .
The Rochester sweeper and the car at Flin Flon could have been built from the same plan - possibly a stock model from some car builder's catalog.
I dimly recall the sweepers being run about weekly in Da Bronx, to clean out the flangeways (which tended to accumulate crud in all seasons.) If you saw one coming it was a good idea to duck into a building or behind something solid. They could toss a road apple quite a distance.
Yes, there were still horse-drawn conveyances in Da Bronx 70-odd years ago.
Chuck (Former Bronxite modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
I recall there being an MR article, perhaps in the 50's or so, about making one of the broom cars, with a second motor to make the broom actually turn.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
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