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Photo top: Lackawanna steam engine Richfield Springs branch Southbound at Dugan Road
Photo bottom: Lackawanna steam engine Richfield Springs branch Southbound heading into the cut The new owners of this old railroad found these pictures and are trying to determine the type of locomotive. They are also looking for any information available on this branch. Please contact us if you have any information on the locomotives or the Richfield Springs Branch. The Richfield Springs branch of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railway extended through Bridgewater, where it connected with the Unadilla Valley Railroad, a shortline that served Edmeston and New Berlin, to Richfield Springs on Canadarago Lake, once a rather fashionable resort. Here, from 1905 until 1940, the DL&W had a passenger and freight connection with the Southern New York Railway, an interurban to Oneonta. Milk and light freight were the chief sources of revenue on this branch. Delaware Otsego subsidiary Central New York Railroad acquired this branch from Richfield Jct. to Richfield Springs, 22 miles, in 1973. Enginehouse was at Richfield Springs. Became part of NYS&W northern division after NYS&W bought the DL&W Syracuse & Utica branches from Conrail in 1982. Traffic on line gradually dropped off. Line east from Bridgewater embargoed in 1990. Abandoned and track removed in 1995, westerly 2-3 miles left in place for stone trains. In 2009: This old railroad is now owned by the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley LLC in Richfield Springs. They also own the 1930 Newark Milk and Cream Company creamery in South Columbia. |
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Welcome to the Snow and Railroads WebSite
Here's a preview of some of the exciting projects we have put together for you: Our feature article is "Railroads and Snow: Especially the Adirondacks" See some historic photographs of the railroads in snow. We have pictures of jet snowblowers on the "J" and snow jets on the New York Central. We also cover rotary plows and have a picture of a NY Central rotary snowplow. We also have a picture of a NY Central tunnel ice breaker. Some bad Winters we cover are the Winter of 1998 and the snow of 2006. 1888 was bad. We have a picture of Engine #100 in the snow 1888 and Main Street in Matteawan in the “blizzard of 88" See the Snow Belt in New York State All about the BIG STORM of 2007 that hit New York State and Pennsylvania Read about the Syracuse storm in 1966 that hit Dewitt Yard We cover some of the railroads most impacted by Winter. Find out about the New York Central's Snow Book and how Metro-North gears up for wrath of winter. Read about Winter on the Long Island Railroad and snow on NY City Subways See Budd RDC's running in the snow We have snow and plows at some "Wintery" places like the Adirondacks and Saint-Jerome, Quebec. See information about the Battenkill Railroad Snow Flanger See a train at Silvernails, New York covered by snow and another train snowed in on Winchell Mountain. Another type of train used to fight natural disasters is the fire train. Finally, please visit our reference section |
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Railroads On The Rebound |
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Over the last 50+ years, railroads have changed a lot. Now they are about to change again.
It is all about a combination of economic factors and climate factors. Since 1950 , railroads have consolidated. Freight moved from a "box car mentality" to a "unit train,mentality". Passenger went from a robust business to a "caretaker" arrangement called AMTRAK. This happened as everybody could drive for free on the Interstate Highway System or fly on an airline system where the government subsidized both airlines and airports. In the meantime, railroad express and railroad post offices went "down the tubes". The old Post Office Department and the Railway Express Agency could not adjust to the new way. UPS and Fex Ex could. |
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Carbon Calculator
What's the most environmentally-friendly way to transport goods? The answer is freight rail. The EPA estimates that every ton-mile of freight that moves by rail instead of by highway reduces greenhouse emissions by two-thirds. But what does that really mean? Our easy-to-use carbon calculator will estimate the amount of carbon dioxide that can be prevented from entering our environment just by using freight rail instead of trucks. We'll even tell you how many seedlings you'd need to plant to have the same effect. |
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JWH Rapid Response Temporary Housing Our containers will make a great summer camping. We can make your summer camp a great looking building. All the comforts of home at a much less cost. |
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| The Québec Gatineau Railway (QGR) uses this spreader to plow their yard and industrial trackage in Saint-Jerome, Quebec |
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Early January and the snow hits Western Michigan! Trains continue to roll past my house with little problems though. The snow continues. On Friday night I hear a whistle in the middle of the night. Three CSXT engines, running light, head westbound past my house. Guess they are keeping the line open. Around 7 a.m. a westbound CP freight passes. Before 9 a.m., on a trip uptown, I spot a westbound CSXT freight stopped by the grade crossing just before the St Joe bridge. Two hours later he is still there on track 2. Track 1 sees no signs of any movements either. The snow continues. Later in the afternoon, he is still stopped on track 2. I walk up there; two new GE AC motors are idling with nobody around. The crew must have “died” hours before. In the meantime, no traffic on track 1 as evidenced by the ever-increasing snowdrift just before the crossing. (the explanation, I found out later, was a derailment in Indiana: CP freight X504 derailed five cars on Conrail at Porter, causing delays to CSXT and Conrail trains. Two CP trains were detoured Chicago-Garrett-Walbridge-Detroit). Finally, Sunday morning in the wee hours, I hear a whistle. Normally, I don’t notice whistles too much because we are used to sometimes over 20 trains a day; but when they stop, its different. I look out the window and finally see the two GE’s heading west. Sunday, I take the dog out to explore. Track 1 is still drifted over with no traffic yet. Then I hear a whistle from an approaching eastbounder. CP 5726 comes off the St Joe bridge, rounds the turn, and hits the afore-mentioned drift at about 15 m.p.h. Snow flies into the air to the height of the roof, but he doesn’t even slow. 5726 is leading two HLCX leased units and an 80-car mixed load. On the way home, two more trains pass. One was a little unusual in that it had both a CSXT locomotive and a CP locomotive and was solid tank cars.
Everything was OK now. I wondered what might appear on “my” line if it ever got really blocked. I never heard of CSXT having rotary plows - they always seemed like a “southern” road. Before C&O, this line was Pere Marquette. They must have had, at least, some wedge plows. Wonder if any are still around? Should I just be expecting something like a Jordan Spreader if I ever hear about a “plow extra” approaching? When I think of snows, I always think of the old New York Central Adirondack and St. Lawrence Divisions. They even have a place called “Snow Junction”. That’s a term that really conjures up an image of winter. Snow Junction, near Remsen, where the Adirondack split from the St. Lawrence (later the Lyons Falls Branch) was the product of a 1960’s elimination of about two miles of parallel tracks. The “snow belt” that runs through Boonville and Lowville is nationally known. Originally built as the Utica & Black River, the railroad through this area became part of the Rome, Watertown & Ogdensburg which, of course, merged into the New York Central. The segment from Lyons Falls to Lowville was abandoned in the 1960’s. Remsen to Montreal also sees a lot of snow. This railroad was begun in 1890 by Dr. W. Seward Webb, son-in-law of William H. Vanderbilt. He began construction of a railroad from Herkimer (on the New York Central mainline) to Malone and on to Montreal. This touched off a battle with the D&H which then considered building from North Creek to Malone. It did not because it would have had to cross public forests and could not obtain the necessary permissions. The New York Central acquired control of the Mohawk & Malone from Webb in 1893 and shifted its southern terminus to Utica. At its greatest extent, the Adirondack Division (sometimes still called the M&M) ran 224 miles from Utica to Adirondack Junction (nine miles south of Montreal). Tourists, lumbermen and developers followed the advance of Webb`s railroad. Branches were built to Old Forge and Raquette Lake. This physician-turned-financier was one of the leading forces in the development of the Adirondacks. He ended up selling most of his land holdings to NY State and just kept his large estate at Ne-ha-sa-ne. Although shown on the timetables, this was a private station (87 miles from Utica) and not just anybody could use it. Trains needed prior permission to stop. Webb's sale agreement with the New York Central provided that the railroad would not sell a ticket to Ne-ha-sa-ne unless the purchases could prove he had an invitation from Webb. In addition to Utica-Montreal freights, Adirondack Division freights ran to Tupper Lake from Remsen, between Tupper Lake and Malone, and between Adirondack Junction and Malone. In 1910 freights ran six days a week. By 1915 there were two freights daily each way between Tupper Lake and Malone, as there were south from Tupper Lake to Remsen. Over the years, service dwindled. In 1956 trains 2 and 3 went from Utica to Lake Placid. 4 & 5 to Montreal connected with 104 and 105 to Lake Placid. Also, there was Utica to Ogdensburg service then. Service between Lake Clear (north of Tupper) and Malone ended in 1960. Malone was then reached by trackage rights over the Rutland and later over the Canadian National. Stations remained only at Remsen, Thendara, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. Passenger service was only Utica to Lake Placid trains 164 and 165. At the end of passenger service in 1965, only one freight a week ran between Remsen and Lake Placid. By 1965 Tupper Lake was the only station still open. By the time Penn-Central ceased operation in 1972, a lone peddler freight ran every other week. The line had a brief revival around 1980 in time for the Winter Olympics. This venture failed, but now a tourist railroad operates a portion of the line. The territory that the railroad passes through was very scenic and beautiful. It was also thickly forested and subject to fires. Being part of the State Forest Preserve Territory, much care had to be exercised by train crews and maintenance employees. Employee timetables gave very specific instructions on what to do in the event of spotting a forest fire. As late as 1956, tank cars for fire protection kept at Remsen, Thendara, Tupper Lake and Malone. Diesels on the division were usually ALCO road switchers. Before dieselization around 1950, Class K Pacifics (4-6-2) were the predominant power. Shown below is a table of some of the more interesting points on the Adirondack Division:
While it is sometimes assumed that the New York Central (or a predecessor) built the line to Lake Placid, it may surprise many readers to learn that this line was operated by the Delaware & Hudson as an 83 mile branch from Plattsburgh between 1903 and 1946. The New York Central had trackage rights between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid. In 1940, the segment of the D&H line between Plumadore and Saranac Lake, which closely paralleled the New York Central was abandoned. A connection was built at Plumadore so D&H trains could use NYC trackage from there to Lake Clear Junction and on to Saranac Lake. In 1946, the D&H cut back its branch as far as Lyon Mountain and sold the 9 miles between Saranac Lake and Lake Placid to the New York Central. That section of track which Webb originally connected to the New York Central became the Herkimer, Newport & Poland RR. It was a branch line till Conrail. Remsen (Prospect Junction) to Poland was cut in 1943. Middleville was 8.7 miles from Herkimer; Newport was 13.1 and Poland 16.5. There was a Borden plant in Newport. From the ‘50’s on, the speed was 15 mph to Poland. Speed from Remsen to Lake Clear Jct was 40 mph and Lake Clear to Lake Placid 40 mph in 1956 but down to 30 by 1965. On the while division, snow plows could go 35 forward but 30 backward. Jordan Spreaders were limited to 25. In 1897, the New York and Ottawa Railroad Company was formed by a group of investors allied with the Delaware and Hudson. Acquiring the Northern New York Railroad from Moira to Tupper Lake, it built from Moira to Cornwall on the St. Lawrence River. The Northern New York began construction in 1883 as the Northern Adirondack Railroad Co. and was completed in 1889. It was headed by a John Hurd who had a large mill in Tupper Lake. It built two bridges (the first collapsed in 1898) and reached Ottawa. The intent was to reach the D&H at North Creek, but the Forest Preserve Board never let this happen. This forced the road into bankruptcy and it was bought by the New York Central in 1904. In 1913 the New York & Ottawa was merged into the New York Central as the Ottawa Division. The Ottawa Division contained numerous logging branches. One of the largest concentrations of "forest-related" industries was St. Regis Falls (12 miles south of Moira). At its busiest time from 1909 to 1912, the line had two passenger runs each way daily plus the freights. By the 1930's, passenger service had dwindled to once a day and a freight served the line three times a week. Service was cut between Moira and Tupper Lake in 1937. |
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NY Central rotary snowplow. Beacon Historical Society collection When clearing the Hudson Line the plows could conveniently throw the snow in the river in many places. Click here or on picture to see more about railroads in Beacon, New York |
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| Plow and diesel |
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| Rotary plow |
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1945 blizzard in Buffalo (Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight) |
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Snow plow at Coney Island.
In the late 1960's My first trip there! |
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Even Snow Gets to NY City Transit Authority It was Winter 1978 beginning at 3:00 P.M. when the worst blizzard to hit the New York area since late 1947 dumped 18 inches of snow. The blizzard continued on and on until 2:00 P.M. on Tuesday, February 7, 1978, and caused major disruptions to most subway lines. The first casualty of the blizzard was the Sea Beach line from 7:00 P.M., Sunday, February 5, to 3:00 P.M. Wednesday, February 8, with trains skipping Avenue U and 20th Avenue due to icy track conditions. At first, N trains ran via West End, then terminated at Whitehall Street-South Ferry. Brighton M local trains ran express from Prospect Park to Kings Highway on Monday, February 6, in the P.M. rush hour, then D trains terminated at Prospect Park and M trains at Broad Street or Broadway-Myrtle until 2:30 P.M. Wednesday, February 8. But then a snow-caused short circuit blast on R-40M car 4452 at 7th Avenue in the P.M. rush hour knocked out all service from DeKalb Avenue to Prospect Park with D's running via Sea Beach and trains FROM Coney Island terminating at Prospect Park. The Franklin Avenue Shuttle was out during the same period as the Brighton. Sometime after 8:30 P.M on Monday, February 6, the West End line was completely shut down, was restored as far as Bay Parkway by 4:30 P.M. on Wednesday, February 8, and at 7:30 P.M. to Coney Island. Tuesday, February 7, saw Culver as the only subway line running to and from Coney Island but at 8:30 A.M., an F train stalled at 4th Avenue and service was cut back to Jay Street-Borough Hall until 11:30 A.M. GG trains then terminated at Church Avenue. Far Rockaway service was suspended with A trains reportedly servicing Rockaway Park but that soon quit. A trains ran to Howard Beach-JFK Airport with shuttle buses providing service from there to the Rockaways. The IRT Livonia Avenue line was shut down at 2:30 P.M. on Tuesday, February 7, when winds and snow drifts threw debris onto the tracks at Junius Street, near Van Sinderen Avenue. Dyre Avenue was out Tuesday, February 7, was briefly restored and then again suspended. By Thursday, February 9, service was back to normal on all lines with scattered delays and the 7 Flushing Express, B to 168th Street-Washington Heights, and QB didn't run with many trains being "snowed in" in the yards. It was also understood that the AA didn't operate and the A ran local during the blizzard. Staten Island Rapid Transit operated one train of R-44's powered by a diesel locomotive due to icy third rail and the cars had no heating and lights. The Long Island Railroad put its "Operation Recovery" into effect on Monday, February 6, 1978, but the blizzard wrecked havoc on various branches. Tuesday, February 7, saw no service on the following branches: Port Washington (flooding near World's Fair grounds), Port Jefferson, Ronkonkoma, West Hempstead, Oyster Bay, and Woodside-Penn Station. By Thursday, February 9, LIRR service was 50% below normal on all branches with bad overcrowding. The blizzard put most of the Metropolitans (M-1's) out of service. Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven Division trains were hit by a power failure at 8:30 P.M on Monday, February 6, 1978, but it was restored by 11:30 P.M. A Saturday schedule was operated on Tuesday, February 7, with some scattered delays, but generally these lines operated better than the LIRR. PATH trains, like the TA, started the rush hour early on Monday, February 6, 1978, but Newark service was out from 8:00 P.M. that evening to 3:00 P.M. on Wednesday, February 8. |
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Snow 2006 In Metro North territory, lots of snow days. Even electrics have no problem with a foot of snow. Other than the plows on the engines MNCR, has no plows or flangers left, just the MofW flangers or ballast regulators. As far as preparedness they cover the couplers with those yellow coupler condoms and make shure shoe fuse boxes are covered. The third rail show scrapper shoes are applied in fall and used entire winter. Big engine-mounted plows aren't really effective until there is about a foot of snow - remember, the rails are about six inches high. Hourly MU trains will blow enough snow off the tracks to keep them clear. Drifts are the only real problem with SNOW storms. Our real problems are with the freezing rain storms we often get instead. NJ Transit locomotives wear their plows all year long; cab cars have 'small' plows at the cab end. Lots of junk gets onto the tracks even in the summer, and they also do clear some snow at grade crossings. The usual problems on the New Haven, NJT and Amtrak involve ice on the catenary while the Long Island RR has problems with ice on the third rail. Everyone seems to have some problems with frozen switches despite the many kinds of heaters used. |
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New York Central tunnel ice breaker. Beacon Historical Society collection This modified hopper car was used on the Hudson Line to break ice that formed around the tunnel ports along the river. In warm weather you could often find it parked south of Beacon. Click here or on picture to see more about railroads in Beacon, New York |
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Eastbound arriving at Silvernails from Rhinecliff. Nimke Volume 2, Page 65 Courtesy Bernie Rudberg Click here to see more about the Rhinebeck & Connecticut Railroad. |
| REFERENCE |
| Snowfighting Photo Gallery |
| New York Central X-659 |
| All About Snow |
| History of snow removal |
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The Elgin, Joliet & Eastern (EJE) bought some jet snowblower a few years ago. The "J" still has the blowers. There are 5 units. 4 in Gary and 1 kept in Joliet They are still in use for big snows! The engines in the snowblowers are actual jet aircraft engines. I beleive they are GE J78 engines. They were originally maintained by a truck mechanic who had worked on Huey Helicopters while in service and had the knowledge to keep the engines running.
The start up of the engine had to be done just right or they would build up excess fuel in the nozzle and when the engine ignited it would send out a twenty foot flame. The cab controls allowed the engine to be tilted up/down and left/right. When the "J" first got them they were using JP4 jet fuel and due tothe high cost switched to high grade heater fuel to cut costs. The engines made so much noise that people living nearby complained and the "J" was not allowed to use them from late evening until the following morning. There is also a certain amount of danger in operating the jets. Along with the snow they will also blow the loose ballast out of the switches and if someone is standing in the way they can get a pretty good wallop from the flying debris. The ballast and debris is tossed onto the walkways of the leads and will freeze making it hard for the switchmen to walk without twisting their ankles. An operator with a large rubber tired end loader sometimes follows the jet. As soon the jet blows the snow and debris, the operator lowers the bucket and pushes the ballast and debris off the leads before it can freeze. Working that close to the jet with the high whine and roar, everyone must wear ear protection and it is still loud.pictures. With the cost of fuel being what it is I'm sure they are using them sparingly. Many thanks to Tom Hunter for these great pictures. |
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(Click on picture at left to enlarge) | |
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The New York Central had lots of track in snow country. They made up a " Snow Book" each year to help employees deal with the snow. |
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Snow Jets on the New York Central They took a flat car and mounted part of a wood caboose body, with cupola, on one end. The jet engine was in the middle, pointing away from the cab and it had a hydraulically controlled nozzle that could point up, down or to either side. The controls for the jet engine were in the cupola. Behind the jet car was a tank car of jet fuel, about 10,000 gallons capacity, and it was pushed by a locomotive. Their primary use was to blow snow out of switches in the major yards. In a real mess you would use Jordan spreaders to clear the body tracks, and the jets to open the switches. The jets were painted yellow by 1965, but it seems that I saw one or two green ones earlier. The engines were cheap, having run out their hours in either airline or military service. Around 1965 the Railway Maintenance Company designed a self-propelled snow jet called the Hurricane snow blower. It used a smaller engine and less brute force, but it worked OK for clearing snow from switches. The self-propelled jets have completely replaced the big old jets. They really don't melt the snow - the air blast just blows it away. It's not like a rocket - the air discharge isn't that hot. They will move ballast, or at least cinders and gravel in a yard track. NYC also had a snow melter, that used a conveyer to pull snow into a hopper arrangement where it was melted with steam coils and drained either overboard or into tank cars for disposal. They came down the Harlem Division from Putnam Junction early one morning after a snowfall. The chief dispatcher got phone calls from police departments all along the line. People had called the police to report low flying planes and even one report of a flying saucer. Also, heard stories that they had blown off the heavy steel plates on switch machines. The first snowblower was a project at the NYC technical research center at Collinwood. They brought several surplus jet engines that weren't needed any more for fighters. One of these they used to make the snow blower. Later another of that batch of engines propelled the jet powered RDC. |
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Some of the hardest hit areas from the January 1998 ice storm in Northern
New York State were those communities that Conrail's Montreal Secondary
traverses through. A relief train which had originated on the NYS&W at
Utica, NY departed Syracuse for Watertown. The train was powered by a
NYS&W B40-8 and a Conrail C40-8W and consisted of two Norfolk Southern coaches,
three NYS&W coaches, and several Conrail gondolas. The coaches were used as a
camp train for volunteer relief workers and the gondolas were loaded with
much needed supplies. Massena, NY to Watertown, NY was out of service from
January 8 until January 12. In the interim, some traffic had been detoured
and some had been put on hold. Conrail had considered routing Canadian National
traffic via the New England Central at Palmer, MA, but later opted to
deliver cars to the Canadian National at Buffalo, NY instead.
Equipment and supplies also moved by rail to the storm-ravaged Montreal
area to assist with the mammoth repairs being carried out on the extensive
damage inflicted by the ice storm. One of the items moved was utility poles,
which were moved on bulkhead flats. Military equipment was also been moved on
CN to the Montreal area to assist with the repairs and clean-up.
In early March, an Allegan County (Michigan) Road Commission salt truck was hit by a CSX freight south of Pullman, a few miles from St Joseph. The impact derailed 20 of the train’s 40 cars and took the three engines right off the tracks. As well as interrupting the 20+ freights a day, Amtrak’s Chicago-Grand Rapids line required bussing. Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad (CSS) suffered a great deal of damage to their electrical and signal system due to a March snow, ics and wind storm. It took two weeks to completely open up the line. In other South Shore news, they have filed to abandon 1.8 miles (9,520 feet) of track near Hammond, IN. It connects to CSS's main line between South Bend, IN, and Kensington, IL, by a switch at milepost 64.2, and is stub-ended, terminating inside the Harbison Walker Facility, the only shipper located on the track. The track has no mileposts and has never been shown in railroad timetables. |
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| Winter on the Long Island Railroad | ||
| I ran across a December, 1957 article in TRAINS magazine about the Long Island Railroad. Not only did it portray a different railroad than we are used to hearing about, but it talked about their elaborate plans to handle both snow and hurricane emergencies. |
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Rotary plows Rotary plows usually run on steam power, and are also quite hard to find in still-running order, plus a water tank would be necessary and a coaling tower, all things which went the way of the steam engine. It is possible to upgrade a rotary snowplow to modern standards-- have it powered by diesel, for example. Or it could be possible to build a new one with components from scrapped locomotives. A rotary snowplow does not have to be steam powered, for example, you can use standard traction motors to turn the rotary blades. That is the practice followed with the (former) SP rotary snowplows. The (former) BN's rotary snowplows also used that system, using traction motors to turn the blades. Power for those traction motors, in the (former) SP rotaries is provided by retired EMD F series B units that were set up only to provide power to the rotary blades. Similar setup in the BN units. This arrangement is then pushed by several standard road units. So, even if it was a steam rotary, it could simply be converted to a diesel powered system. Also even if it they were to leave it steam powered, it could be oil fired, and even if it was coal, you don't have to have a coaling tower, nor do you need a water tower for steam operations; you only have to have a source of water great enough to fill up the water reservoir in a reasonable amount of time. A fire hydrant will work fine, it will not be treated water, but it will work fine for what you want to do. Also, you can use a small pay loader to load the coal into the bunker. A wedge plow is basically just a boxcar that is pointed at one end and happens to be rather heavy. All you have to do is maintain a few bearings, the draft gear, and the equipment up in the cab, etc. In a rotary, on the other hand, it is basically a locomotive. Much more maintenance, much more cost, far more moving parts, and much more time consuming to fix if something goes wrong with it. The BN rotaries are very much traction motor powered. They have four motors on a shaft leading to the blade, with a standard control stand in the rotary cab MUed like a loco to the power supply so things stay simple and maintainable like any other road unit. Now they have a fleet of GP 28-2 locos with snow service modifications when they were converted from GP35s or GP 9s what ever, to power the rotaries so they can get some return from the equipment while they DON'T need them the most. And when it gets deep they couple one on and throw the magic switch, and loco turns rotory slave. Too bad there can't be a way to make the plow operated off a power take off like a tractor, and have it removable. Attach when necessary and detach when not. But the theory about a PTO driven snow blower does make some sense. Compressed air, or maybe a hydraulic motor of some sort could possibly power the augers. The continuous screw action of the auger could prove useful in the removal of snow on the right of way, as demonstrated by the way any other snow blower works. |
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Main Street in Matteawan in the “blizzard of 88". Notice the horse drawn street car behind the snow bank. Later photos of this area show the top section of the tower was removed. The ND&C RR (Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad) established an operation that survived through good times and bad for over 25 years until it was absorbed into the Central New England Rwy and later became part of the New Haven RR. Still later 11 miles of the old ND&C line became part of the ill fated Penn Central, next Conrail, then the Housatonic RR and currently Metro North. After many years and many different names, these tracks are still in service and owned by Metro North MTA. There is no regular train service on this “Beacon Branch” but they are keeping the line open for possible future use. To see more about this historic rail line, once a part of the Central New England Railway in New York State and the New Haven Railroad, click here |
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| Budd RDC's running in snow |
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Head End Railway Express and Railway Post Office |
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| On passenger trains, railroads operated lots of equipment other than sleepers, coaches, dining cars, etc. This equipment was generally called 'head-end' equipment, these 'freight' cars were at one time plentiful and highly profitable for the railroads. In the heyday of passenger service, these industries were a big part of the railroad's operations, and got serious attention. |
| See a great picture of an Adirondack Snow Plow in Utica |
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Our cake is a cream cheese pound cake. Just add eggs and oil. Light, fluffy, creamy A most lucious cake surrounded by a sugary crust Order some today! |
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Metro-North gears up for winter At Croton-Harmon Railroad Yard, trains were getting prepared to face the winter weather. For those things that have failed in the snow, Metro North has some type of plan to mitigate and minimize the damage. Trains are outfitted with shoes that scrape away snow and ice as it travels on the third rail that powers the train. Horns and fuse boxes are covered up to keep them safe from the elements. Crews check the seals around equipment boxes under trains to make sure they can keep out snow and moisture, and they've installed plates in locomotives to cut down on the amount of snow that gets into their motors. The railroad runs fewer trains during the snow and parks its 30-year-old electric M-1 trains away from the elements. It also operates the newer M-7 trains during the snow on the Hudson and Harlem lines. In their first winter weather test, none of those new trains experienced weather-related breakdowns. Newer trains, the M-8s, are being designed for use on the New Haven line, but they aren't expected to be available until 2008 or 2009. The railroad is overhauling older M-2 trains on the New Haven line to keep them running, and that work also will make them less susceptible to winter weather. |
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Picture of Newburgh, Dutchess and Connecticut Railroad between Pine Plains and Millerton
over Winchell Mountain.
2-8-0 #116 snowed in at Winchells 16 March 1916. From 25 Years on the ND&C page 140 J. W. Swanberg collection. |
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Fire Trains On the New York Central, there are several photos of the Adirondack fire trains in Harter's book "Fairy Tale Railroad". At least one was stationed at Nehasane Park. Most of the locos in work train service on the NYC&HR in the Adirondacks were equiped with steam powered water pumps mounted on the boiler. A tank car for water was coupled behind the tender. Tank cars were stationed at Remsen, Thendara, Tupper Lake and Malone. Somewhere in the Central Headlight there was a picture of the fire car that was at West Albany. It was not a fire train but a single car. Like a wrecking crane it was moved as needed and was not a "train". I believe it was a flat car with a tender and was enclosed with steel, a one-of-a-kind design. The fire car was kept to control fires in the shops at West Albany. Most of the buildings had wooden truss roofs, and if a fire started in the roof it could be very difficult to reach and extinguish. With all the tracks and few roads around the shops, it was prudent to keep a car of water with pumps so they could commandeer an engine, grab the fire car, and take it closer to the fire than a fire truck could reach. In the period when West Albany was operating, every major railroad shop had its designated fire crew of company employees. They had various pumps, hose reels, extinguishers and all sorts of things around the shops, and they held regular fire drills. The fire car was just one of their tools. It wasn't intended to go out on the railroad. (Photo clipped from an old New York Central Headlight) Ranging in size from one-man units equipped with hand fire extinguishers to completely outfitted 26-man brigades, the NY Central's fire-fighting teams presented a wide variety in equipment and organization, tailored to fit local needs. A three-car fire trains, wit extensive equipment, was maintained at Selkirk. Elsewhere on the System, completely-equipped fire cars were maintained at Weehawken, N. J., Bellefontaine, O., St. Thomas, Ont., Englewood, Ill., Niles, Mich., and East Buffalo and Syracuse, N. Y. The Southern Pacific fire trains were set up to extinguish fires in the timber snow sheds in the Sierra Mountains of California. They had nozzles on top of the locomotive pointed forward so they could put water on the roof and side walls from inside the shed. |
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