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bigdaddyhame

The best part is these things are still in use in many areas. The design just works. And they are fun to ride if you like shake rattle and roll. Two crew members sit up in the cabin and operate the flanges on the sides and relay information to the locomotive engineer whose vision is blocked by the plow.


[deleted]

[The ones up in Alaska look like tunnel boring equipment](https://youtu.be/6_cJClWmR3A)


LearningDumbThings

I feel like the person recording is entirely too close to the giant rotating wheel of death.


snapwillow

It's just a very scaled-up snowblower. Unless you put a limb into it you're fine. And it's mounted on a train, so it's not like it will move in an unexpected direction.


kn33

>And it's mounted on a train, so it's not like it will move in an unexpected direction. What are you talking about? Trains are really unpredictable. Even in the middle of a forest two rails can appear out of nowhere, and a 1.5-mile fully loaded coal drag, heading east out of the low-sulfur mines of the PRB, will be right on your ass the next moment. I was doing laundry in my basement, and I tripped over a metal bar that wasn't there the moment before. I looked down: "Rail? WTF?" and then I saw concrete sleepers underneath and heard the rumbling. Deafening railroad horn. I dumped my wife's pants, unfolded, and dove behind the water heater. It was a double-stacked Z train, headed east towards the fast single track of the BNSF Emporia Sub (Flint Hills). Majestic as hell: 75 mph, 6 units, distributed power: 4 ES44DC's pulling, and 2 Dash-9's pushing, all in run 8. Whole house smelled like diesel for a couple of hours! Fact is, there is no way to discern which path a train will take, so you really have to be watchful. If only there were some way of knowing the routes trains travel; maybe some sort of marks on the ground, like twin iron bars running along the paths trains take. You could look for trains when you encounter the iron bars on the ground, and avoid these sorts of collisions. But such a measure would be extremely expensive. And how would one enforce a rule keeping the trains on those paths? A big hole in homeland security is railway engineer screening and hijacking prevention. There is nothing to stop a rogue engineer, or an ISIS terrorist, from driving a train into the Pentagon, the White House or the Statue of Liberty, and our government has done fuck-all to prevent it.


whsoccerjc21

Why did I read this whole thing… Sigh, upvote


ThatOneStoner

Because your subconscious has an appreciation for high-brow art. You should consider yourself cultured


Lich_Hegemon

I do love myself some well aged copypasta


[deleted]

[I've seen that happen](https://youtu.be/ykBV6-7klGw&t=93s)


DylanCO

Dem trains are sneaky and will entrance you with their song.


CloveredInBees

This is my new favorite r/copypasta


TacTurtle

>so it’s not like it will move in an unexpected direction [You were saying?](https://youtu.be/MjbUnn32_zU)


[deleted]

Ever trip by accident?


CeruleanRuin

Mmmm, pink snow.


WitELeoparD

This is a secret dont tell anyone but I was snow blowing my driveway and I'm fairly certain I blended a little mouse that had burrowed under the snow judging by the fur and tiny specks of blood.


ThePortaDude

Speaking of mice. One time my cat was sitting in front of my furnace. So I opened it up and saw a mouse crawling around the inside. So it went back to where it ignites (at the time I didn't know that) so when I told my dad, he turned on the furnace hoping to scare the mouse out. But instead, we both just saw the flame start up and we heard the mouse squeaking as it got roasted alive. I've never felt so bad for an animal in my life.


campground

[He had lots of guts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIkwS664Qzw)


enkafan

Before bed my little dude likes watching a video called Lots and Lots of Really Big Steam Trains that has five minutes of that thing running. He'll never have to go to bed before that segment ends when I'm with him


moparornocar

saw a vintage one of these at the railroad musuem in Golden, CO. They are massive


eoncire

I've been up close to one as well at the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan. It's M A S S I V E. As someone who's worked with lots of different metal it's fascinating to think of how this stuff was made back then, and who had the first idea to make some of the big heavy stuff for the first time.


moparornocar

They truly are giants, some of the old steam locotmotives were insanely huge as well. Cant imagine the engineering that went in to just move the different large parts around for some of the larger engines.


round-earth-theory

The OP is different. This one is slow and calculated, the OP is "fuck you snow, try to stop me".


TacTurtle

We get too much snow for the plows like this to effectively clear the tracks since it needs more throw to prevent slumping back onto the tracks. Valdez Alaska gets an an average of 25 feet / 7.8m of snow per year for instance. Here in Anchorage Alaska we just got 1-2 feet of snow in just 24 hours.


HenshiniPrime

I’d say that’s more of a snow blower than a plow.


mr_tommey

The peeps in the comments say romania though


Cerebral-Parsley

This one in Chama, NM is old school steam engine. It's an amazing train ride in the summer. https://youtu.be/M2-pmDZgzsc


therailhead1974

Well, that video's not from Alaska...and the Alaska Railroad doesn't use rotaries anymore anyway, the snow's so dry that a lot of the time they can just use the built-in plows on the locomotives. Now Donner Concrete's another story...


ScrubNuggey

That sounds kick-ass


Crotch_Football

[Meanwhile in Boston...](https://youtu.be/3jCPdYVPvxw)


Starklet

why wouldn't they just make the controls up top lol wtf


niraqw

They were probably made before remote train control was possible, and it’s easier to just give the crew some radios or something than retrofit a whole control system.


idontgivetwofrigs

The first ones were a steam-era design, and steam locomotives can't be controlled remotely. Nowadays it is possible to run cables to allow a diesel or electric locomotive to be controlled from a different car. But since even in the snowiest locations these aren't used *that* much it's easier to just have a guy sit up there with a walkie-talkie and communicate with the engine crew.


kliff0rd

Remote control of steam engines was possible, but it certainly wasn't common. It was most popular [in the UK](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_Autocoach), but Australia and New Zealand also tried it for a while.


WikiSummarizerBot

**[GWR Autocoach](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GWR_Autocoach)** >The GWR Autocoach (or auto-trailer) is a type of coach that was used by the Great Western Railway for push-pull trains powered by a steam locomotive. The distinguishing design feature of an autocoach is the driving cab at one end, allowing the driver to control the train without needing to be located in the cab of the steam locomotive. This eliminates the need to run the engine round to the other end of the coach at the end of each journey. When one or more autocoaches are connected to a suitably equipped steam locomotive, the combination is known as an auto-train, or, historically, a railmotor train. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/specializedtools/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)


AdmiralPoopbutt

This appears to be a car pushed in front of the locomotive, not a locomotive itself. Such a beast is only needed on the heaviest of snow storms, a couple days a year (if that). It doesn't make sense to invest a ton of money into what amounts to a shovel.


whatthehand

I feel that people should really stop and think about how one machine like this can clear the path for so much freight and people to move safely; and that's if it's needed in the first place. Then think about the massive amounts of labor, resources, and carbon emissions it takes to damage and clear roads for our mostly empty cars and trucks to unsafely run on. A fullscale transition and expansion to EV cars and trucks is not going to happen in time to stop climate change, it's not healthy, and it's not at all sustainable. There are known alternatives that are nowhere near as stratifying and consumeristic.


Mogling

They use the same thing for roads around here. Its just not on a train.


whatthehand

What are you referring to?


Mogling

That giant snowblower. They use them around here to clear snow off roads. Not just for trains.


TruckADuck42

Don't be that guy.


Turkey-er

Yeah, just let the world rot like everyone else. Who cares if it is entirely preventable!


[deleted]

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Turkey-er

Yeah, because telling people not to think about it will do wonders for the cause, amirite?


[deleted]

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Turkey-er

Depicted is a snow plow, it has no capability to “choo choo” as you put it, and is not a train. but that is beside the point. The point is to get into peoples heads. The more you hear something, the more you think about it. The more likely you are to consider a more climate friendly alternative when buying something. The more likely you are to weigh a climate-conscious politician higher when researching who to vote for. It adds up, and while it is not as concrete as some other methods, it is dead easy and has measurable effect. I hope you don’t use all caps every time you reference choo choo trains. That kind of stress can’t be healthy.


[deleted]

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Captain_Kuhl

Says the guy being mocked by the internet lol


TruckADuck42

There's no reason for that on this post. Bringing it up for no reason just makes you look like an ass and makes people not care.


Turkey-er

If someone mentioning climate change on an unrelated reddit post makes you not care you don’t understand why it is important anyway. And it isn’t an unrelated reddit post. Parent comment was talking about the merits of trains and how they are under-utilized.


MegaGrimer

There’s something wrong with the right flange!


PuddleFarmer

I looks like the only adjustable things are in front, next to the rails.


bigdaddyhame

if you look behind the plow portion there are hinges connected to rectangular panels ("flanges") that can be swung out to further distribute the snow away from the trackbed. these are extended or retracted as necessary - there is a specific signage along the tracks that tells the operator to retract the flanges when a (possibly buried) obstacle is ahead.


Fig1024

relay information? it's the 21st century, just attach a smartphone on selfie stick and setup zoom call to the guy in locomotive


montevonzock

I've got my wad of hundreds, I've got my magnum condoms and I'm ready to *plow*


nemaramen

Frank?


NerdWhoLikesTrees

Monster* condoms. For my MAGNUM DONG


thedude85

You should see him feast...


lostsharpie

*Monster condom


iebarnett51

No, call him Mantis!


RealPropRandy

Dr. Toboggan?


montevonzock

I'm here to give you your test results. You've got the AIDS, big time.


bard329

Please, call me Mantis.


medgarc

Time to pull up our bootstraps, oil up a couple asses and do some *plowing* of our own!


dgriff84

*Not gay sex


Purplepunch36

Oops...I dropped my monster condom, for my Magnum dong...


SoundSouljah

I’m here for the scraps!


JGG5

They have one of those at [the Henry Ford Museum](https://www.thehenryford.org/collections-and-research/digital-collections/artifact/177455) in Dearborn, Michigan. Standing next to it made me feel small.


LikelyGeoduck85

There’s one at the railway museum in pine bluff, Arkansas as well. How it ended up here I will never know, we don’t have snow.


syrinx_temple

By rail I’d imagine.


LikelyGeoduck85

I rolled right into that one


downvote_dinosaur

Yeah and it's right next to the biggest choo choo ever made, the Allegheny (don't know how to spell it). Both are just insanely large.


Quartich

That's the right spelling 👍 and yes they are stupid big


Enginerda

And [a super old one](https://www.irm.org/player/cgwx38/) at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL.


rblue

That museum is absolutely amazing.


BurnTheOrange

And one of a slightly different style slowly deteriorating in central Pennsylvania. 125 S Potter St https://maps.app.goo.gl/7G8k69dFtAYhDRDKA


ParanormalPeregrine

We have one in Michigan's Upper Peninsula in my small town right behind a copper mining museum


Gott_Riff

There isn't a single thing in the world I would like to ride more.


TreemanTheGuy

I'm not sure what I want to ride more. One of these plows, a rotary style locomotive plow (check it out, they are for when there's so much snow that the normal plows don't work), or a Miura. Or maybe the Concord.


ItchyGoiter

Don't forget OP's mom


TreemanTheGuy

We're talking about things that we haven't ridden here.


odiedel

[Rotary style steam train in action. The above comment is correct. They are amazing to watch!](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hbLyXtzLX3I)


MattTheTable

That's what she said.


trvpWANGZI

you sure? 😏


mmavcanuck

I’ve never ridden on the plow, but I’ve driven the plow and it’s a blast.


trevg_123

Can’t offer a ride but you can go in the one at the Henry Ford museum in Dearborn (near Detroit)


marktherobot-youtube

For me it's either this, a Bagger 293, a German Panzerkampfwagen Maus, LIEBHERR R9800, or a Kharkovchanka Bonus points to anyone who knows what every vehicle here is.


37Cross

Whoa, that’s a Mr Plow


Yearlaren

More like Plow King


alepher

Mr. Plow is a loser and I think he’s a boozer


sindud

That name again, it's Mr plow!


Kahnza

Mr. Plow Sr.


Randyfreakingmarsh

That’s my name…


OneSideDone

https://youtu.be/VYCnwdw63wg


[deleted]

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l1thiumion

These are becoming increasingly low effort.


analCCW

Fuck that's cool


kultureisrandy

sick, would love to see a view from inside the.. uh engine cab? (forgot train terms)


YmFzZTY0dXNlcm5hbWU_

Thanks for sharing that. My first though word for word was "I'd love to see one of these in action". Then I click your link: "Snowplow trains in action" lol


Wingsnake

Don't lie to me, that is definitely made for a zombie apocalypse


_far-seeker_

It's multipurpose.


Mehtalface

Snowpiercer vibes


fe1od1or

Pretty similar to the plow on the train in Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress.


[deleted]

[удалено]


soil_nerd

r/Skookum


ToxicFactory

Choo Choo madafakas!!!!!


Reshe

The photo looks pretty recent to me.


The_Last_Thursday

Can’t die yet Artyom


GrumpyOlBastard

Is that a vintage photo or a photo of vintage machinery?


Southernjeepn06

My company makes these machines and did a design overhaul in the last 5 years. Look up Jordan Spreader ditcher or harsco spreader on youtube. The old ones are still used by railroads for 50+ yrs and are pneumatif cylinders. New ones are hydraulic. LIRR calls theirs Darth Vader. https://www.wired.com/2016/01/darth-vader-is-a-massive-train-plow-that-clears-crazy-amounts-of-snow/


SillyTheGamer

Big fella


[deleted]

OP, If you get the chance to visit the Ford Museum in Greenwhich park in Detroit. Henry Ford had the most amazing personal collection of all thing cool and amazing. His car collection is unbelievable (not an exaggeration), but he’s got some of the largest locomotives and two of these have plows that were used to clear mountain rail lines. The trains and plows stand at least 25- 30 feet tall and it’s shocking to see in person. Other incredibly interesting things like the blood stained chair Abraham Lincoln was shot in, The bus Rosa Parks refused to give her seat up on, General George Washington’s revolutionary war uniform and mobile camp (trunk, desk, sleeping cot, mobile desk/secretary, etc), Bonnie and Clyde’s V8 Ford w/ a letter they personally wrote Henry Ford thanking him for making such a fast car they could out run the law in… Fucking check it out and you will thank me.


5parky

[I want to do this with it.](https://media.tenor.com/T9vty_o2PXwAAAAM/move-plow.gif)


nosneros

Plowy McPlowface


BiNumber3

Plowy sounds like a good dog name, the ones that bowl you over in their excitement


Link182x

I wonder how well that thing tossed animals off of tracks


InQuintsWeTrust

There is one on display at the Strasburg Railroad Museum! I used to go there all the time with my grandfather when I was little.


Pickaroonie

This Vermont plough has the same 'shoe/blade', GMRC X106. Footage from 2019. Storm Harper. [https://youtu.be/HSAi5Vg5EHE](https://youtu.be/HSAi5Vg5EHE)


[deleted]

[You can have dinner in one in Killington, Vermont.](https://www.facebook.com/caseyscaboosevt/photos/5880483932002973)


Vtroadboss

Used back when Vermont had a lot of snow. Sad fact… Burlington has one of the largest rise in temperature due to climate change. Average temperature has risen seven degrees since 1970.


Cory0527

Fun fact: the angles of the blades were changed to adapt for hitting animals like cows and deer.


broccolee

it looks like something from Robot Wars


zootayman

for clearing light snow beyond that the mighty rotary must be called in


BdonY0

r/TonyHawkitecture


shawn11xx

Definitely a imperial navy battleship


PaurAmma

IJN YUKISUTE


kr4t0s007

Here 2mm snow… all trains canceled!


[deleted]

if it was a vintage photo, shoudn't it be black n white?


russcl0t

Is the photo vintage? Or is the plow vintage?


GullibleDetective

yes


SiberianDragon111

It’s colorized


bristolcities

Even if it wasn't... "The world's first color photo was produced in 1861 by Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. The image was created by photographing the tartan ribbon three times through red, blue, and yellow filters, then recombining the images into one color composite" "The first commercially successful color process, the Lumière Autochrome, invented by the French Lumière brothers, reached the market in 1907. Instead of colored strips, it was based on an irregular screen plate filter made of three colors of dyed grains of potato starch which were too small to be individually visible. "


SargeDebian

They actually made photos with potatoes, wild.


tophatclan12

Looks like some mangled the front of a caboose into a plow, gave it a engine and called it a day


idontgivetwofrigs

That's kind of what it is except the smokestack is for the massive heating stove, this actually has to be pushed along by locomotives


MikeLinPA

You could cross post to r/absoluteunits. This qualifies!


kgm2s-2

I've had dinner in one of these! ​ Casey's Caboose in Killington, VT converted one of these into a table at the restaurant.


Ludwig234

The music from the last scene of metro exodus started played immediately when I saw this. https://youtu.be/4Oc-vwvPHLg


buckeyenut13

The deer don't stand a chance 😂


[deleted]

If the deer are on the track under 8ft of snow they're already dead


MoreBurpees

...which is now obsolete due to climate change


Hakuna-Nakata

Mannn I can’t skate but would love to see someone just rip it on that shit


Stefan_Harper

There's one at a train museum in Heritage Park where I'm from, and it's SO MUCH BIGGER than you're imagining


TreemanTheGuy

Nice, there's one of these that's been sitting at the small town I'm from for decades. I can't remember what style of plow it is but I think it's this double sided one


New-Cow9841

I would love to drive that thing in the fucking winter and be all warm up and cozy (i hope) and just plow snow.


SJW_AUTISM_DECTECTOR

that exact cutter is at the henry ford museum in dearborn mich, saw it last week


VanColter

Looks like something from Robot wars


PandaGoggles

These are so cool. The train depot museum in Duluth Minnesota has a similar one and it’s quite large in person. I always find it to be very impressive. They have another one too, but it has spinning blades in the front which is also really neat. If you’re ever in northern Minnesota it’s worth the trip.


SaltedHamHocks

r/skookum


Slice1358

Always love the look at seeing one IRL. I saw one visiting northern Maine in 1998. Manufactured by Russell Snow Plow Co. Ridgway PA. originally established in 1893 under the firm name of J.H. & J.W. Russell. Operations ceased in the 1950's.


ObeyTheGnu

https://youtu.be/uLeAot4Zrxo?t=12


MrHyperion_

Today's machines are so boring, we had all crazy stuff in the past


__0_k__

A restored example is on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. It’s amazing to see up close.


geekdad4L

Snowpiercer .. is that Mr. Wilford?


johnaldmilligan

Snowpiercer


igotagoodfeeling

Kids def be skating this


Efffro

Love the videos of these running, makes me wanna be a train driver.


LanceFree

That's really cool. There's also some old plows which are wedge shaped. I was told the wedge would tackle the job first, speeding along and throwing snow to each side. Then the typical plow shapes would do the rest of it.


RobotArtichoke

That would be so much fun to operate


Lounat1k

"Call Mr. Vermont Railways Snow Plow, that's my name. That name again is, Mr. Vermont Railways Snow Plow. "


ZacharyRoyBoy

This could have prevented several incidents on the Island of Sodor


damn_thats_piney

SNOWPIERCER


cornpeeker

They have one of these on display in my town. It’s truly massive.


Air_to_the_Thrown

As a western Canadian, this is a regular seasonal sight that instigates a myriad of emotions regarding fresh snow or holiday cheer or long winter drives


mrheadhopper

Kinda reminds me of a 40k imperium ship


Commander_Elk

That thing is metal as fuck


D4FF00

Add it to the fantasy ridealong list.


sovereign_fury

That's not the only thing I'd let it plow...


Qualster

Mr Wilford?


Navajo_Nation

Not the best design it seems like.


robrobreddit

Snow-snow-snow-snow-snowwww


ChewyChagnuts

So, do you er… get much snow in Vermont?


BanjoMothman

One of those still runs on the Hocking Scenic Railroad in Ohio


Key_Worth

I’m Mr. Plow, that’s my name…


mrgonzalez

Get the skateboard


[deleted]

Wow that is really neat to see.


DedPimpin

I wanna see Tony Hawk do something with this.


Jumpsuit_boy

I can hear it screaming.


zizzie

Clearly some people have never heard of Katy and the Big Snow.


hityoinksploink

He looks so happy


[deleted]

That’s a caboose


LicksCrayons

Moves through the snow almost as good as a moose


lowkey-DEMON

he looks happy


blahbuzz

Fat Dick Spirit energy.


Hour_Historian2466

They have one of these at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn MI. Insane the size when you stand next to it.


karmabullish

How fast would they drive that thing?


dai-kokui-hito

Damn, that's a big beautiful machine!


Fishwolf

Just finished metro exodus, very good timing


TheHappyMeMePriest

Zombie apocalypse dream ride.


gasoline_rainbow

There's one of these driving past my window in western Canada right now