Total waste of time

[Riograndad]

Long ago when the railroad had i think only 3 locos and a couple of cars and with winter coming on i thought a plow would be a good idea,I had in my mind something along the lines of the old Rio Grande Southern`s 02 plow/flanger,just for the shape if nothing else.I didn`t have any spare chassis so a custom 2 axle frame was built together with body and blade so it became a plain plow as opposed to a plow/flanger,a plasticard box filled with concrete was made to match the internal body shape for weight,track tested,painted and weathered it was ready for the white stuff,,,,,so I thought,,,,only about an inch of snow turned up so out it came for a trial,TOTAL WASTE OF TIME,as the plow dug in the body swiveled around the front axle,the rear wheels lifted off the track as the coupling arm was to long an levered the body upwards as the loco pushed, dispite the weight inside,the wheelbase was too short,the only thing that would work was a hand push,one good thing that the blade worked perfectly,so banished to the garage in a box,I did think of upgrading to 4 axles,longer wheelbase etc but Otto with a plow came along instead,wanted to find it again for old times sake so cleared out the garage on my days off,came across a passenger car and 3 box cars never used and forgotten about so result there,couple of pics of the old plow,headlight and smoke jack long gone,body loose and weight gone,think now will be scraped and gone forever,,but you learn from your mistakes

 

[PaulRhB]

Shame to scrap it when a couple of minor mods will probably cure the issue.
Lock the swivelling axles by drilling through the plastic and put a screw in to lock it in place.
The second is probably down to the sheer mass of snow compared to reality. I'd go for solid Delrin blocks with an angle on the front under the front lip so if it does get forced down they slide on the railhead, or fit some small rollers in the same place using small plastic tube. Cut from a cotton bud or Evergreen tube pack using wire or rod to make the axle. Make the slider or roller wide enough to allow for the swing on your sharpest curve

 

[casey jones snr]

Long ago when the railroad had i think only 3 locos and a couple of cars and with winter coming on i thought a plow would be a good idea,I had in my mind something along the lines of the old Rio Grande Southern`s 02 plow/flanger,just for the shape if nothing else.I didn`t have any spare chassis so a custom 2 axle frame was built together with body and blade so it became a plain plow as opposed to a plow/flanger,a plasticard box filled with concrete was made to match the internal body shape for weight,track tested,painted and weathered it was ready for the white stuff,,,,,so I thought,,,,only about an inch of snow turned up so out it came for a trial,TOTAL WASTE OF TIME,as the plow dug in the body swiveled around the front axle,the rear wheels lifted off the track as the coupling arm was to long an levered the body upwards as the loco pushed,View attachment 228456 View attachment 228457 dispite the weight inside,the wheelbase was too short,the only thing that would work was a hand push,one good thing that the blade worked perfectly,so banished to the garage in a box,I did think of upgrading to 4 axles,longer wheelbase etc but Otto with a plow came along instead,wanted to find it again for old times sake so cleared out the garage on my days off,came across a passenger car and 3 box cars never used and forgotten about so result there,couple of pics of the old plow,headlight and smoke jack long gone,body loose and weight gone,think now will be scraped and gone forever,,but you learn from your mistakes

Don't scrap it. Find a suitable siding to park it in. It's a lovely looking model.

 

[PhilP]

I'm with Casey...
Let it slowly fade away in a forgotten corner of 'the yard'..

 

[TLR]

I have a similar one that I built many moons ago no swinging axles and several pounds of lead keep it on the track, only used it once shifted 5" snow on raised track.
Perhaps if it snows enough [ not trying to tempt fate ] it may get an outing this winter.

Shaun

 

[Madman]

Long ago when the railroad had i think only 3 locos and a couple of cars and with winter coming on i thought a plow would be a good idea,I had in my mind something along the lines of the old Rio Grande Southern`s 02 plow/flanger,just for the shape if nothing else.I didn`t have any spare chassis so a custom 2 axle frame was built together with body and blade so it became a plain plow as opposed to a plow/flanger,a plasticard box filled with concrete was made to match the internal body shape for weight,track tested,painted and weathered it was ready for the white stuff,,,,,so I thought,,,,only about an inch of snow turned up so out it came for a trial,TOTAL WASTE OF TIME,as the plow dug in the body swiveled around the front axle,the rear wheels lifted off the track as the coupling arm was to long an levered the body upwards as the loco pushed,View attachment 228456 View attachment 228457 dispite the weight inside,the wheelbase was too short,the only thing that would work was a hand push,one good thing that the blade worked perfectly,so banished to the garage in a box,I did think of upgrading to 4 axles,longer wheelbase etc but Otto with a plow came along instead,wanted to find it again for old times sake so cleared out the garage on my days off,came across a passenger car and 3 box cars never used and forgotten about so result there,couple of pics of the old plow,headlight and smoke jack long gone,body loose and weight gone,think now will be scraped and gone forever,,but you learn from your mistakes

You've lived up to a good standard


If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
32nd U.S. President

 

[chris m01]

It looks as though it should work but the bottom of the plow needs to be very close to rail height to prevent the problem you had. You also need the right type of snow. Not too hard or icy.
It's well worth the effort.

 

[Riograndad]

Thanks all for your comments,,I think the upgrades that Paul suggests may work but I have decided that it won`t run again as more upgraded and heavier snow fighting equipment is available,wider blade and seems to follow the curves better,as for scraping this has made me think some more about its fate,ok here goes,,2 options spring to mind,1,leave on a spur as suggested as all it would need is body refitted a dummy headlight(it did have 3v battery item) and smoke jack replaced,easy fix and as very lightweight without weight added,hole drilled in floor and screwed down at end of track, but bigger plow is on a spur and left outside all year,do I want two? and then a second option,,,,,The model is based (and only based) on the 02 plow flanger from the Rio Grande Southern as already stated in earlier post,now this bit of kit derailed whilst on snow clearing duties in March `51 (?)and was never recovered,sat beside the tracks until the end,(there are pics on the net)NOW IF i could find a suitable spot on the railroad could i replicate the wreck as a little scenic item,,,I would still fix the lamp and jack and maybe distress the item a little more,just might work,,at the moment food for thought but I think scraping is possibly now not an option ..pics show blade differences.thanks all for the inspiration!!!!!

 

[dunnyrail]

That plough looks like it should work OK. A friend has build a similar blade on a standard LGB 4 wheel Open Wagon and he uses a Household Brick to weigh it down. Works perfectly. Have copied this formula for my Aristo US Bogie one and guess what perfect with new fluffy snow.
JonD

 

[Riograndad]

A brick would work fine Jon,,,,,if it fitted,in this case the tender is filled with rocks/shingle,only problem with shingle is it makes hellova mess on derailments....rocks is better,

 

[Rhinochugger]

Shame to scrap it when a couple of minor mods will probably cure the issue.
Lock the swivelling axles by drilling through the plastic and put a screw in to lock it in place.
The second is probably down to the sheer mass of snow compared to reality. I'd go for solid Delrin blocks with an angle on the front under the front lip so if it does get forced down they slide on the railhead, or fit some small rollers in the same place using small plastic tube. Cut from a cotton bud or Evergreen tube pack using wire or rod to make the axle. Make the slider or roller wide enough to allow for the swing on your sharpest curve

Part of the problem is the wrong sort of snow

1:20 plows struggle with 1:1 snow unless it's light, dry and fluffy.

But it's a fine looking beast, and needs an outing now and again

 

[dunnyrail]

A brick would work fine Jon,,,,,if it fitted,in this case the tender is filled with rocks/shingle,only problem with shingle is it makes hellova mess on derailments....rocks is better,

Mr angle grinder if you had one would be able to trim a Block Paviour to size. Or you could fill the space with Cling film then put your stones back in mixed with say postcrete, sand n cement or even plaster of paris. Bit of a spray with water and washing up liquid and lo a nice bespoke shaped brick!
JonD

 

[chris m01]

A few photos of my plow. This works well most of the time but it does sometimes derail, especially when it is the wrong kind of snow. I bought it secondhand so I can't claim the credit for it although I did change the bogies which made a big difference. It hasn't seen active service for a few years but I'll give it a once over (get the mould off the roof, charge the light batteries etc) so I'm ready for winter.

Apologies for the hands in the photos but 19 month old grandson insisted on helping.

 

[Riograndad]

Mr angle grinder if you had one would be able to trim a Block Paviour to size. Or you could fill the space with Cling film then put your stones back in mixed with say postcrete, sand n cement or even plaster of paris. Bit of a spray with water and washing up liquid and lo a nice bespoke shaped brick!
JonD

Dunny and Rhino,totally agree about the type of snow,to work it has to be light and dry but we tend to get the wet heavy stuff,good idea about the brick or paviour but to get the weight over both trucks would probably need two,as it happens i have some granite rocks from my fishtank days that i use,they fit quite well and allow the dummy stone load to go back on,seems to work ok but would need a proper fall of snow to test properly,one other thing is that i dont couple it to the loco,,,,,if all that weight derails and falls off my highline(about 3ft)I will loose the plow,probably total it but not my ex WP&Y ALCO pusher,just too much to ask

 

[Riograndad]

View attachment 228545 View attachment 228546 View attachment 228547 View attachment 228548 View attachment 228549 View attachment 228550 A few photos of my plow. This works well most of the time but it does sometimes derail, especially when it is the wrong kind of snow. I bought it secondhand so I can't claim the credit for it although I did change the bogies which made a big difference. It hasn't seen active service for a few years but I'll give it a once over (get the mould off the roof, charge the light batteries etc) so I'm ready for winter.

Apologies for the hands in the photos but 19 month old grandson insisted on helping.

That is a serious piece of kit,like that a lot,but as you say we need the right type of snow,who knows maybe just maybe this year

 

[chris m01]

This is the right type of snow but there was too much of it. The video looks good but I must confess I decided it was too cold and the snow too deep so called it a day after this bit of film and went in for a warm.

 

[chris m01]

Earlier snow clearing

A pair of geeps works best for me. I find if the temperature is below about 2 degrees C it isn't worth going out because I use track power and ice forms straight away on the track that has been cleared of snow.

 

[Riograndad]

Earlier snow clearing

A pair of geeps works best for me. I find if the temperature is below about 2 degrees C it isn't worth going out because I use track power and ice forms straight away on the track that has been cleared of snow.

The last video seems to be perfect snow conditions,thanks for posting these

 

[maxi-model]

I found that when I first ran mine I had to fine trim the pitch of the gondola, by adding washers between the front truck and the bolster, to stop it grounding on the rail head and fouling at any joint . With sprung trucks I had to give it a slightly nose up attitude, As it dove into the snow the front truck would hit its bump stops and level the rig as it dug into the snow but did not hit the rail head. Max

 

[GAP]

What's this snow stuff you guy keep banging on about? .

Yeah I know Hat ,Coat Door

Seriously I'm thinking of a wick wiper car for the weeds that keep growing on and over my tracks.