# train plow stuck



## tahoejeff (Feb 8, 2007)

photos and video of a track plow stuck in colorado.

http://www.dropshots.com/day.php?userid=23...mp;ctime=071712


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## AmtrakWPK (Feb 8, 2007)

WOW!! Six engines to push one plow?!?! I thought they mostly used rotary snowblowers to un-drift and open up rails. That must be one heck of a strong and very heavy hunk of steel that they made that plow car out of. Sounded like the wind was blowing pretty hard. What was the ambient temp? How long did it take to get unstuck? Amazing pictures and videos. Thanks!

--- doing a search on that site, I found pictures and videos of a plow and three engines near Kanorado state line that shows the plow operating, followed by a derailment with two of the three units and the plow derailed and the plow buried in the snow. Whew! When the plow was running, from a distance, out in front of it, you just see a huge plume of snow flying into the air up and to both sides. I gather they have to have a chase vehicle out in front because when the plow is operating at speed there's no way the engineers could possible see anything in front of them.


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## tahoejeff (Feb 8, 2007)

AmtrakWPK said:


> WOW!! Six engines to push one plow?!?! I thought they mostly used rotary snowblowers to un-drift and open up rails. That must be one heck of a strong and very heavy hunk of steel that they made that plow car out of. Sounded like the wind was blowing pretty hard. What was the ambient temp? How long did it take to get unstuck? Amazing pictures and videos. Thanks!
> --- doing a search on that site, I found pictures and videos of a plow and three engines near Kanorado state line that shows the plow operating, followed by a derailment with two of the three units and the plow derailed and the plow buried in the snow. Whew! When the plow was running, from a distance, out in front of it, you just see a huge plume of snow flying into the air up and to both sides. I gather they have to have a chase vehicle out in front because when the plow is operating at speed there's no way the engineers could possible see anything in front of them.


that would be something to see. yeah, i don't know what they do when they approach crossings. blow the horn and cross their fingers?

i don't know anything about the temps, i found this link on another board.


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## AmtrakWPK (Feb 8, 2007)

It's pretty well organized. A chase truck (actually several, I think), pace and precede the plow and protect crossings, talk to the train crew by radio, and call out distances to the next crossing, and call out whistle boards, and also let the train crew know what the snow-depth conditions ahead are, and also things like freight cars on sidings that they will be going past, all that sort of thing. So in the one video where the plow-train with three engine units gets stuck, there is already a small work crew available, and they call in a backhoe/shovel that can then work on getting the train un-stuck. Those videos were very informative. And scary, to think how much snow it must take to cause a plow with three engines to come to a halt in just 50-100 yards from a fairly good starting speed. And another set of pictures showed a plow that derailed, along with two out of the three pushing engines, and evidently they got the engines re-railed and the track repaired, but the plow was so badly stuck and derailed that they were just going to leave it onsite until the snow melted.

The most incredible sight was the plow, viewed from way out in front of it, because when they are going through fairly heavy drifts all you see is a huge cascade of snow going up and out to both sides - you can't see the train, all you see is this huge wall, a tidal wave of snow, heading in your direction.


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