Do you feel it when you crash through a snowbank?

Noel Weaver wrote:

TB Diamond wrote:Snow can plug up the air horns on a lead locomotive when drifts are deep enough and they are hit fast enough. Had this happen many times.

In the Conrail days, they put a cover over the horns to try to prevent
this from taking place. It was at least somewhat successful.
Noel Weaver

Interesting sidenote: When CSX took over, they found a stash of those covers; and were so impressed they put them on just about all the Northern locomotives around, their own as well as ours.

Now that they're out, and the covers old and rotting, they won't spend the money to re-order what they themselves decided was a very useful device.

Illustrative of how CSX works.

An old shortline trick is to tape some old pantyhose across the bell of the horn. It works great at preventing snow from plugging them. Maybe CSX could ask for donations - if each employee brought in just ONE pair from the wife, they could solve the problem! ':P'