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Restoration effort underway for 1890s snowplow in Arcade
by Matt Surtel/Daily News
Chris Lester shows the Arcade & Attica railroad’s vintage snowplow, in a snowy field out-of-town. Plans are underway to repair the old unit for cosmetic display.
ARCADE — Chris Lester can’t pinpoint exactly when the Arcade & Attica’s vintage snowplow was built.
Even by that railroad’s standards, it’s old. Constructed for the line’s predecessor, it saw more than a century of service, before federal regulations forced its retirement five years ago.
An effort’s now afoot to restore the ancient snowplow for display.
“The windows are all smashed out of it,” said Lester, who’s vice president of the Friends of the Arcade and Attica Inc. “The door needs to be rebuilt. But then it’s just a good sandblast and paint, and patch up some steel that’s rusted. We want to get it, so that it’s presentable to the public and they can get it out.”
The wood-framed snowplow dates back to the late 1890s, he said. It was built originally for the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade railroad that went bankrupt about 1916.
The A&A was formed in 1917 and the plow continued in service on the new line. It received a major rebuild in the late 1930s or early 1940s, when the wooden exterior was replaced by steel.
Side wings were also added, to help clear the tracks more-effectively.
Make no mistake about it though —the plow remains ancient. The primitive-looking interior shows its 1800s origins, with metal pipes and levers running along the wooden floors and ceiling.
Ergonomics are almost non-existent. Slip out of your seat in the cupola, and you may find yourself on the tracks.
A coal stove’s the only creature comfort, and looks like it hasn’t been used in a long, long time. The old snowplow was built by the Russell Car and Snow Plow company, which is itself long-defunct.
The planned cosmetic restorations will make the plow more visually-appealing, Lester said. A spot near the village fire hall on Route 98 is being considered as a potential display site.
Friends of the A&A hopes to start work on selected Saturdays in May.
“If we get at it, and enough guys show up, we think we can have it done in three or four months, just by working on it Saturdays,” Lester said.
The group, along with the Arcade Historical Society, have set up a fund for the project. Donations can be sent to the Arcade Historical Society, Friends of the Arcade & Attica RR Snowplow Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 236, Arcade NY 14009.
The end result will give the old snowplow a well-deserved post-retirement career.
“That’s what our group is for,” Lester said. “We don’t want to see stuff like that go to scrap. We want to just preserve it, if we can.”
Restoration effort underway for 1890s snowplow in Arcade
by Matt Surtel/Daily News
Chris Lester shows the Arcade & Attica railroad’s vintage snowplow, in a snowy field out-of-town. Plans are underway to repair the old unit for cosmetic display.
ARCADE — Chris Lester can’t pinpoint exactly when the Arcade & Attica’s vintage snowplow was built.
Even by that railroad’s standards, it’s old. Constructed for the line’s predecessor, it saw more than a century of service, before federal regulations forced its retirement five years ago.
An effort’s now afoot to restore the ancient snowplow for display.
“The windows are all smashed out of it,” said Lester, who’s vice president of the Friends of the Arcade and Attica Inc. “The door needs to be rebuilt. But then it’s just a good sandblast and paint, and patch up some steel that’s rusted. We want to get it, so that it’s presentable to the public and they can get it out.”
The wood-framed snowplow dates back to the late 1890s, he said. It was built originally for the Buffalo, Attica and Arcade railroad that went bankrupt about 1916.
The A&A was formed in 1917 and the plow continued in service on the new line. It received a major rebuild in the late 1930s or early 1940s, when the wooden exterior was replaced by steel.
Side wings were also added, to help clear the tracks more-effectively.
Make no mistake about it though —the plow remains ancient. The primitive-looking interior shows its 1800s origins, with metal pipes and levers running along the wooden floors and ceiling.
Ergonomics are almost non-existent. Slip out of your seat in the cupola, and you may find yourself on the tracks.
A coal stove’s the only creature comfort, and looks like it hasn’t been used in a long, long time. The old snowplow was built by the Russell Car and Snow Plow company, which is itself long-defunct.
The planned cosmetic restorations will make the plow more visually-appealing, Lester said. A spot near the village fire hall on Route 98 is being considered as a potential display site.
Friends of the A&A hopes to start work on selected Saturdays in May.
“If we get at it, and enough guys show up, we think we can have it done in three or four months, just by working on it Saturdays,” Lester said.
The group, along with the Arcade Historical Society, have set up a fund for the project. Donations can be sent to the Arcade Historical Society, Friends of the Arcade & Attica RR Snowplow Restoration Fund, P.O. Box 236, Arcade NY 14009.
The end result will give the old snowplow a well-deserved post-retirement career.
“That’s what our group is for,” Lester said. “We don’t want to see stuff like that go to scrap. We want to just preserve it, if we can.”
