Amtrak Snow Storm Shut Down

Remembering that most of most railroad lines are in the middle of "nowhere," there's plenty of room to put the snow. Consider, too, that what is now the CSX Chicago Line was at one time virtually all 4 track - again, plenty of room to push that snow, and if you have to blow it out of the way, lots of empty acres to blow it into. In urban areas and yards is where they will have problems.

Kinda like our school districts around here. Really bad visibility notwithstanding, the main reason they delay school opening is often so they can clear the parking lots, etc. The roads are usually clear and open.

how many rotaries are there on the east coast? Can't be that many ... it's a pretty big capital expense for a fairly rare event (although sure seems lately like it's a lot less rare than usual) ...

Between those and the big plows, it's about the only way to deal with a big drift, or accumulation.

a Jordan Spreader's not going to do much against 8 feet of snow.

litz wrote:a Jordan Spreader's not going to do much against 8 feet of snow.

I beg to differ! Jordans are found with no end plow, a small end plow, or a full-height plow making them - from a face-on look - just the same as a Russell plow. So not only can they bust through drifts like a wedge plow, but also can extend the wings to push the snow farther from the track that a regular plow.

A strategy sometimes used in clearing a large yard is to use a Jordan for repeated passes along the tracks moving the snow farther and farther over - either till it's off the yard, or until one track in the middle is piled with the snow and the other tracks are clear.

The biggest problem with using them for snow fighting is the chance of missing some obstacle under the snow - signal battery boxes, mileposts, switch stands, tree stumps, you name it. Odds are pretty good whatever you hit is going to come out of where it is, but unintended damage is easy to do both to the obstacle or - in extreme cases - to the wing.

Deep Snow is no problem for the Jordan

That's what I'm talking about!!!!! Damn Pat, looks like fun! Does that beast have its own compressor? First one I ever ran was run off the MR on the loco and it was pretty easy to run low on wind. Finally got an air compressor like they use on highway projects and mounted it right on the back deck, and had no more problems in that regard.

Any trouble with the locks freezing? I recall keeping your air supply dry was VERY important!

Most lines are open now but will be closed next week due to flooding.

Apparently Buffalo Central Terminal came in handy:

http://ksn.com/2014/11/21/ny-highway-op ... a-concern/

my sources tell me csx is running them hot and heavy on the erie west subdivision on saturday. hopefully those sources of mine can get back out to railfan soon after that horrific blizzard.

Judging by all the train whistles I have been hearing all day and nite from lake ave Blasdell.


trains have been rolling

did csx or ns use anykind of plow or spreader to clear the rails or did they just say f it and run a train to clear the tracks regardless of the depth of snow?

Traffic through Utica yesterday was pretty constant - especially last night. Sounded like they were running on each other's markers...

I've see a Jordan spreader used for brush control - and saw at least one fair sized tree shake a few times, then fall.

As for snow, just like the wing on a highway snowplow, you can always make repeated passes, clearing a little more snow with the wings each pass. The fellow at the controls (and there are a bunch of them) needs to know his territory very well...

For those who are on Facebook, Pat has posted some very cool videos of the Jordan spreader being pushed by #5010 in the D&H group. Very impressive!

Matt, on YouTube, there are my videos...on Facebook, my son Patrick Jr put some up from today. Thanks, glad you enjoy them. The Jordan is one of my favorite tools on the railroad.

CSX Did bring in a Germany built rotary plow out of Selkirk to help clear out snow. There were contractors that also brought in large blowers to help clear the yards. CSX was running constant traffic today. The jet blower was busy at Seneca Yard and a ballast regulator with snow plow was cleaning up also. They had a spreader here in Buffalo, but it had too many leaks to use it in the mess of the storm.

The BSOR was out today clearing the line into the yard with the Jordan. We cleared the siding with the wings and pushed snow up higher than the wing out to the side. It is getting so wet that it looked like glacier chucks moving in time lapse! As for our machine, it is all air through the main reservoir hose of the loco. It also has a brake pipe feed, but it is too slow and sets the brakes up when you move the wings. We have a slightly newer spreader with the Sulair screw right on it....but I haven't begun to look at that one yet. The D&H one I am running has had all of the air cylinders repacked, all the control levers in the cab rebuilt and holds air pretty well. The main posts are worn a bit along with the main hinges, so once and awhile the wings will get stuck in position. It does use massive quantities of air. We do have to stop once and awhile to recharge the tank. As you said, dry air is best...moisture freezes locks and the controls in the cab. When it gets well below freezing, the wings are much less responsive.

You really do need to know your line when operating it. It will push over most anything in it's path...trees, milepost and whistle post markers, switch stands, guard rails and signal houses.....I have hit a few in my time.

NS supposedly ran a detour train today over the WNY&P!

http://forums.railfan.net/forums.cgi?bo ... &start=6#6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

NS Mixed Freight with TWO units and 108 cars just went east thru Jamestown, NY at 4:15pm today with
NS9262 and CN9388

Pat, you are using what is probably the best tool available for the job - it can go wider than a regular plow's wings, and can substitute for a wedge plow as well. It's one of the most impressive pieces of equipment in railroading IMHO.

I learned on one which was worn in about every place it could be, and as you say the accumulated slop plus air leaks can lead to things hanging up or malfunctioning. OTOH, back in the late 80's the Allegheny Railroad had their Jordan completely gone through and rebuilt. Fresh out of the shop the thing had absolutely zero lost motion, it responded to every control precisely - you could shave with the thing. Do you pour alcohol into the air manifolds? This is supposed to combat freeze-up in the locks due to moisture, but there was some concern whether it was bad for the packing and cylinders.

How much of the BSOR has been opened so far?