Roller bearing fox trucks!?

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I was in Flickr a few minutes ago looking at plow equipment. I saw a fairly modern looking rotary plow in the BNSF swoosh scheme. It appears to have roller bearing fox trucks!

I'm at a total loss on this one. Wouldn't it be easier just to swap modern trucks rather than rebuild a 70-100 year old truck that had a shaky record to begin with?

[nkalanaga]

I wonder if it has something to do with the spring arrangement?  A snowplow is a low-speed device, and you don't want it bouncing around while plowing, especially with a rotary.  With the torque behind the plow blade, hitting a hard drift is likely to give the plow quite a twist.  A truck with springs at the axle ends, rather than at the bolster, could easily be made rigid, which could help keep it on the track, while the bolster could still equalize. 

[Spikre]

 
   while the trucks under Alco Rotaries may look like FOX trucks,
   they arnt.
   N is correct that the trucks were adjustable depending on where
    or how severe the weather may have been.
   but they were Fabricated from mostly sheet steel.
   Fox trucks were a product of Pressed Steel Car Co,and they tried to
   sell them thru the 20s.
   Roller Bearing Arch Bar trucks were sold by several firms from about
   1919 thru the 20s,Stafford Roller Bearing Co was one seller.
   but not many were sold.
         Spikre
           

[jpwisc]

I volunteered at a museum and there were a couple pieces that had journal boxes with roller bearings inside. It was probably a lot cheaper to swap out bearings than it was to swap out the whole truck.

[chessie system fan]

Can you post the link?

I recall seeing a picture of a BNSF rotary plow a while back that had an EMD radial truck in the front.  Maybe a Blomberg on the rear.  It was about the strangest concoction I've seen.

[nkalanaga]

I THINK, but don't know, that the BN actually built a rotary from a diesel, making it a self-powered, and maybe self-propelled, unit.  The self-powered wouldn't be surprising, as most today are powered with jumpers from a diesel.  The self-propelled would be very unusual, and I suspect, if my memory is right, that the trucks were used more for their capacity than for their motors.

On the other hand, the Swiss Rhätische Bahn had a self-propelled steam rotary, inherited from the Berninabahn.  It had small cylinders and rods under the body, between the trucks, so it could be moved in the yard, but still had to be pushed for plowing.  A strange looking thing when running, and I saw a video of it years ago, on tape.  Here's one, probably more recent, from YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vheLaXu8rFw

[Chris333]

http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/nyc-x659-2.jpg
http://www.canadasouthern.com/caso/images/nyc-x659.jpg

[trainforfun]

I THINK, but don't know, that the BN actually built a rotary from a diesel, making it a self-powered, and maybe self-propelled, unit.  The self-powered wouldn't be surprising, as most today are powered with jumpers from a diesel.  The self-propelled would be very unusual, and I suspect, if my memory is right, that the trucks were used more for their capacity than for their motors.

On the other hand, the Swiss Rhätische Bahn had a self-propelled steam rotary, inherited from the Berninabahn.  It had small cylinders and rods under the body, between the trucks, so it could be moved in the yard, but still had to be pushed for plowing.  A strange looking thing when running, and I saw a video of it years ago, on tape.  Here's one, probably more recent, from YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vheLaXu8rFw

Thanks for this nice video in Switzerland !!!!!!!!

Note : I still Wonder how they clean the "cog" in the middle of the rails as they use it extensively everywhere the slope is too steep .

[nkalanaga]

No cogs on the Bernina line, so no problem there.  I've seen pictures of one of the Furka-Oberalp's rack line snowplows, Xrotm 4934, and it is unusual, to say the least.  First, since they can't use one big blade, because that would hit the rack, they use two smaller ones, side by side.  The rack rail fits in the gap between them.  Then, in front of those, they have four "propellers", which look exactly like small airplane propellers, to pull the snow into the main rotary blades.  Since they do have rack turnouts, that could be a problem, but there the rack itself is hinged, and the unused direction is outside the closure rails, while the rack for the route lined is still centered.  It makes for a strange looking turnout, but it works.  The maximum height of the rack above the top of the rails is 60 mm, about 2.5 inches.

Second, they don't have to turn the plow.  The body pivots on the frame, so at the end of the run, they unlock it, walk it around, and run the engine around to the other end.  It seems to work...  Unfortunately, I don't have an online picture of it.

If you want a really weird plow, try the Jungfraubahn's #12.  It's built like a consumer snowblower, with the blade axle parallel to the wheel axles, and pulls the snow in, then throws it out a rotating chute on top.  Just like one you might use on a driveway, but bigger.  What makes it weird is that it's self-propelled, double ended, and runs on 3-phase AC, with two pantographs at each end, side by side, to reach two overhead wires.  From their webcam:


Thev, they have an older one, #11, which I've only seen from one end.  It seems to have a snowblower, rather than traditional blade(s), but the other end looks like a wedge plow.  Plus, it's articulated, AND uses a very strange current collector, which looks like two trolley poles, with sliding shoes between them, joined by insulators.

[Spikre]

 
   getting back to real American Machinery:
  Rotary Snow Plows
  Railway Mechanical and Electrical Engineer,
  March 1950,pages 131-133.
   a description of the Lima Built Leslie Patent Rotary
  plows built before Baldwin stopped production.
   Alco built its last Leslie Patent Rotary for NP during 1937.
  Lima built the Plows under License from Alco.
   " among the other features of the L-H Snow Plow is the 4
  wheel Front Truck with double springs over each journal box
 and a bolster equipped with 17 springs.provision is made for
 blocking the springs over the boxes out of action,thus locking
 the truck so that it is entirely RIGID when plowing.previously
 both trucks had been rigid on Alco built Plows.they had NO
 Springs over the Journal boxes and no Equalization.this was
 necessary because the Flanger, when plowing,is only 1/2"
 from the rails,and Spring Action would cause them to hit the
 rails.in this plow with the springs unblocked,the riding qualities
 are satisfactory and ,when ready to plow the Springs can be Blocked
  out of Action"
   the Lima plows were 1500 HP machines using 2- 3 cylinder Pacific
  Coast Shay Engine banks.the boiler was reversed compared to the
  Alco Rotaries.the boiler burned Diesel Oil.
    if any other info is wanted,just ask,if its there will print it here.
  one question here,is at one time had the Trains issue from about 1964
  that gave a Roster of these Lima Plows,anyone have that info ?
  only  4 were built, U.P. got 2,Soo Line 1,Rock Island 1, 1 cancelled order.
  built from 12/49 until 2/50.
     Spikre