[SEL] Show pics

[Rick Rowlands]

The Southern Pacific Railroad had some rotary plows based in Roseville, 
California at the base of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  Their line through 
Donner Pass was a real battle to keep open.   After the wedge plows became 
ineffective due to the buildup of snow the SP would assemble a "super set" 
of two rotary plows.  They would leave Roseville with one rotary on the 
point, an F7B power car, three or four six axle locomotives, another F7B and 
the other rotary facing backwards.  With all that power and with the second 
rotary there wasn't much that this train couldn't plow through!

The rotaries that SP had were heavily rebuilt steam plows built between 1890 
and 1910. They now had four DC traction motors driving the blade with the 
power being supplied by the F7B.  So each rotary had about 1,500 HP at the 
blades and between 9,000 and 12,000 HP to push into the snow.

When you saw this lashup leaving the yards you knew there was hell to pay up 
on the mountain!

Rick


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Richard Strobel" <Richard_Strobel7 at msn.com>
To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 09, 2005 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: [SEL] Show pics


> Here's some purdy kewl ones:
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> http://www.kancoll.org/graphics/cora/snowplow.htm
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> http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/southernpacific/spx236.shtml
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> and two rotary plows:
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> http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/southernpacific/spx1346-1.shtml
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> http://www.uprr.com/aboutup/photos/southernpacific/spx1346-3.shtml
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> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Curt" <curt at imc-group.com>
> To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
> Sent: Monday, August 08, 2005 11:18 AM
> Subject: Re: [SEL] Show pics
>
>
>> Jeff Allen,
>> BIG snow plow???  http://frapa.us/Limon05/LM007.html
>>
>> Living in an area where 1" of snow is a big snow, having need of a blade 
>> this big is incomprehendable! Is this thing self propelled? Or pushed by 
>> a locomotive?
>>
>> Curt Holland
>> Gastonia, NC
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>>
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