Is it snowing yet?

[Riograndad]

Having only small loco mounted plows,a more "beasty" unit was needed,so an old Bachmann tender laying around for ages(ex mk1 Annie) was to make a quick bash into a snow plow,my original plan was to use the Rogers tender passed to me by my mate,alas was a little small,so used this.simple build,using up bits n bobs of plastisruc in the bottom of my scrap box,hardest part was shaping the blade,laminated 20thou shaped plasticard and extremly strong.The coal load is removable to add weight when the plow is working and painted to resemble stone,i think about 3lbs of ballast will do,as to the tender itself,the front drawbar was cut off,then glued on top to make a support for the headlight,about the only change,all done in a day including painting,plan is to use ALco WP&Y LOCO as pusher when used in anger,pics show Annie on clearance check run,seems all ok,,,just need some white stuff to see if it works ok,the only way to try it properly, then some weathering

 

[PhilP]

Looks good..
I like the rivet detail on the bracing..
?Can you drop the plow-blade at all? - It looks like a lot of clearance under it to me.

 

[Riograndad]

No the blade doesn"t drop,until i can check it in use i won"t know,but will be easy job to extend the blade,the biggest problem is length of the blade to the front wheels of the front truck,if i make it to deep the blade will hit the railhead at the bottom of grades,catch in rail joints etc,got to wait for some snow to check it out,trial and error!!!

 

[PhilP]

Evening!
Well, if you ere here in the middle, your wish would have come true!

Just back from Ashby.. 20mph due to poor visibility in parts..
Getting off my drive, and papers in the morning could be interesting..

 

[garrymartin]

That's a super bash , I got halfway through a similar bash before I gave up and used the parts for other projects :-[ does the headlight work ?

 

[Madman]

I certainly hope not !!!!! Nice looking plow, by the way !!!!!!!!

 

[Riograndad]

Was expecting some snow last night,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,rained :'(oh well ,,no, headlight at the moment is dummy just for overall look,once I see if the plow works may change to working light,it was just the dummy light from the back deck of the tender in a new position,easy to change at a later date

 

[Riograndad]

Forcast was for snow this mornin,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,anticipation,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,clouds,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,snowing,,,,,,,,,,,,Lasted for 5 minutes,didnt even cover the ballast :'( :'( :'(theres always next week

 

[Riograndad]

Rio fed up,,,,snowed last week,was working nights,so then it rained then froze,,,solid ice,couldn`t use plow,snowed last night,,,,,,,am workin days,melt by the time i get home and will be dark :'( :'(bother :'( :'(Next week?????well maybe.

 

[mike smith]

A small champfer on the underside of the blade in way of the rails will stop it catching the joints at the bottom of grades ....

 

[James Day]

We had a little snow in Warwickshire yesterday evening. Too late for train running then, but was able to get a couple of trains out today before it all melted.

I acquired a Thomas Snow plough last year, which is currently fitted and looks good, but is very light, as is the loco, so probably would not be of much use, but it would be nice to see it running in snow with the Christmas carriages.

When we last hand snow in early 2013 I think, I used my LGB 2095 which had adequate mass to press on and clear the line, which it did admirably. It was then kept running to keep the line clear whilst other stock joined in.

Other regular problems at this time of year are frozen points and signals, although signals are easy to clear, I probably need some Swiss Style point heaters to keep the loops working!

The biggest headache for me was when it was really cold, any snow that fell quickly turned to ice when sqaushed and then became perfect insulation! I can only recall that happening on one day though, on other days the trains performed really well!

James

 

[Riograndad]

Very true John,may even need to extend the plow blade nearer the railhead,need also to find a good working weight.just need some snow!! :`( James, I don`t know the weight of Thomas but untill now I have used an OTTO with a plow fitment, ideal for fresh soft snow up to about 2in,works well,thought I would post the little beastie working, (pic about 2yrs old)

 

[Riograndad]

Still no snow :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

 

[Riograndad]

Given up wi the snow,nuffin all year, :'( :'(Might just wait until the hot weather arrives,,,,,call it a sun scraper

 

[Chris Vernell]

Given up wi the snow,nuffin all year, :'( :'(

Lucky you. We can't get rid of the stuff :

 

[Riograndad]

I have a feeling that your Canadian snow may just border on a tad too much than i'm looking for? ,,,,only needed an inch or so to test plow,not even enough to cover the ballast :'( :'(