Pan Am snow fighting equipment

I am sitting here looking out at a snow storm that so far has piled so much snow onto my '74 AMC Javelin out in the back yard that I can barely find it. As of last night, this storm was to drop 15"-25" in the Boston area. It's not done yet.

This makes me ask what type of snow fighting equipment does Guilford have? I've seen the MEC plows parked at Rigby yard, but do they get used? And how about the blue B&M plow that used to be parked at East Deerfield yard? Does Guilford use any plows, or just modern yellow equipment?

Oh, and how well do the plows on locomotives work?

Jonelle
Curious

If we are to see any rr snow fighting equipment, this storm is sure to bring em out...

At least up here in Southern Maine,Guilford prefers to use motorized track equipment,such as a ballast tamper,with a "V Plow" on the front. A Helluva lot cheaper than running a plow train,with multiple crew. Near "the end" of the Mountain Division",MEC would use hi rail equipped front end loaders,with V plows to do the line,unless snow was of huge depth. Do the "Math" about size of crew,locomotive fuel etc. and see why the 1 man hi rail or ballast regulator is used. Be interesting to see if Maine eastern finally gets to use the ex-Conrail Russell plow they bought last year,as coastal Maine(the Rockland Branch) is getting the deepest snowfall in this "blizzard". Bud

Is it impossible or merely impractical to run a plow on the front end of the first revenue train?

...and how much snow is too much snow for a diesel's end plow alone?

On some occasions MEC would run russell plows on revenue trains, usually on locals or branch trains. Typically the factor for the plow trains is the snow between the rails and the drifts. The russell's have flanges located in the middle of the car to remove snow between the rails.

Plows on the front of loco's are fine for several feet as long as there is no huge drifts.

Josh

NellsChoo wrote:This makes me ask what type of snow fighting equipment does Guilford have? I've seen the MEC plows parked at Rigby yard, but do they get used? And how about the blue B&M plow that used to be parked at East Deerfield yard? Does Guilford use any plows, or just modern yellow equipment?

Guilford does occasionally use the old MEC Russell snow plows that you've seen at Rigby. Not very often, though. It definitely takes a major amount of snow to justify a plow train. They have "wings" which are useful for cleaing the area alongside the tracks.

They also have an ancient MEC Jordan Spreader that they use for plowing on occasion. I can't remember the exact date that it was built, but I'm pretty sure it was some time before 1920. The Russell plows were built in the '30s.

According to Guilford's web site, they are selling two B&M and one MEC plow, located at East Deerfield.

Hello Everyone,

I was hoping this board could help me answer a question. With the forecast predicting up to two feet of snow over the next two days, is it possible for Pam Am to pull out the snowplows? When does Pam Am press the snowplows into service? Or will the locomotives just plow through the snow?

2-3 will bring out the plows. Problem is if you let it sit and have the locos push it, next storm will be the real problem.

Thanks for the quick response. I will keep a look out in the Auburn area.

Let's hope all their equipment is ready to roll! 2' expected along part of the Fitchburg main!

Drove down to the Nashua yard this morning no power or mow crews around. I would guess the Nashua plow will be out this week plenty of snow.

Nashua plow


Hillsboro branch plow. Mow drives the loader down the tracks to Wilton. The branch is so bad and slow I don't think the wedge plow would make it with out bottoming out.


The NH main looking into Nashua yard from from Crown St.

If an engine can make it, so can the plow. Same clearance on the pilot of the loco.

A now deceased long time B&M conductor told a story about the now long gone Farmington NH
branch, which the B&M served five days a week, as Davidson Rubber shipped auto dashboards
and other auto trim to the mid-west in B&M box cars. Anyway, as the story goes, the train
crew brought a rough spot to the attention of the trackman that maintained the line. Probably,
the B&M was cutting corners at that time and the trackman commented "when you go off, then
it will get fixed. Some weeks later, there was a plow extra running to Farmington. You got it,
the plow derailed at the "rough spot".

Engine pilots bottom out on the Hillsboro.