Rotary Snowplow

[ljudice]

Anyone know what this is:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&rt=nc&nma=true&item=160876733151&si=aGoaGOc9XZLEp%252BWfhEUrXTa5NEI%253D&viewitem=&sspagename=ADME%3AB%3AWNA%3AUS%3A1123&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

I checked Spookshow - but it doesn't show up. I am guessing some Con-Cor thing???

It's not at all close to the SP Rotaries, so I didn't bother with it, although if it had stayed around $20-30 I may have...

- Lou

[spookshow]

You didn't check hard enough - http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/ccmoreplow.html

-Mark

[ljudice]

Mark - I was checking under cars not locos! 

I figured you had documented this odd-ball!!!   Thanks very much for the link.

The one today went for about $80 - it's only the second one I've seen and the first was actually earlier in the week.

My thought was to use the motor only for the rotor and mate it up with an F7 B unit - and push it around with a couple of six axle diesels. 

But it would require a lot effort, not sure it would be worth it unless I could find a cheap one!

- Lou

[Nato]

             I do have one of these.The Japanese plow was basically based on US designs,but no American Plow ever featured a six wheel front truck. I lettered mine for Onions Pathethc (Union Pacific) and gave it an early UP MOW plow number ,because the black color was used on plows from the turn of the century (first plows on road) to the late 1930's era if I recall when plows (maybe it was actually just after WWII) were painted silver as were wrecking derricks. By then plows had a different MOW numbering series. The plow looks quite a bit like early to WWI era Leslie and Alco Cook Plows. The discharge shute on the model is actually moveable so you could throw N Scale Snow I(powdered sugar?) to the left or right side. There should be some sort of cover (canvass) or actual metal over the coal load to keep snow from making the load soggy and non usuable. Think of the Atlas Tender provided with the old Demi-Trains Static plow kit actually based on Rio Grande Narrow Guage unit. Here is the one wrong feature of the Con Cor Plow. Real plows had to be pushed ,the steam boiler, or later diesel engine on the plow (Some Milwaukee's were electric from catenary) only turned the roraty blade. Con Cor's model being early N Gauge (Scale) it runs at a rocket speed ,fast or off. I even had a hard time finding a diesel or steamer in the 1970's 80's that I could match the speed to the plow so it would look like it was pushing. I bet todays newer locos would not work. Complicated to convert to DCC but it could be done.It is however  a very "Cool" model.Nate Goodman (Nato). Salt Lake, Utah.

[SkipGear]

I have a friend with a couple of them. We were at a show one day and he walked up to me with one in hand and asked, "Is this worth $25?" I knew what it was and told him "Most definitely." I then told him to stop by our both after he had purchased it. When he stopped by, I pulled up a recent Ebay auction for one that went for $180.00. A DOA one had sold for almost $100 a few days before. Needless to say, he was happy with his purchase and now snatches them up whenever he sees them. The last one was at auction and had been in a flooded basement, $15.00. I cleaned the motor and silt off it and it is now the one he uses as a runner.

These things are pretty slick to watch run.

[wcfn100]

            I do have one of these.The Japanese plow was basically based on US designs,but no American Plow ever featured a six wheel front truck.

You might need to be more specific.  Santa Fe had a plow built from a tender that had 6 wheel front and rear trucks.  I think it's still in Topeka.

Jason

[Hyperion]

You might need to be more specific.  Santa Fe had a plow built from a tender that had 6 wheel front and rear trucks.  I think it's still in Topeka.

Jason

ATSF 199361, and yes, it's still sitting at Topeka rusting away.  But, while it has 6-wheel front trucks, the rear trucks are 4-wheel.

I would say that it's not got a chance of ever running again.  But then I thought we'd never rebuild 972558, and I even went so far as working with our Curator to get it donated to a museum that would be interested in fixing it (even if just aesthetically, the rotary blade was literally blown to pieces), but we ended up getting that one rebuilt year before last after sitting around busted to hell for 10 years.  199631 is in far better shape, but a bit of an odd design and not really cut out for the really big snows that rotaries are reserved for thesedays.

[wcfn100]

But, while it has 6-wheel front trucks, the rear trucks are 4-wheel.

Looks like 6 here. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/modelrailroadmuseum/6243998237/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Jason

[Hyperion]

Looks like 6 here. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/modelrailroadmuseum/6243998237/sizes/o/in/photostream/

Jason

Hm.  So it is.  I stand corrected.  You'd think after seeing that thing Monday through Thursday for the past 8 months that I might have paid enough attention to know how many wheels the thing had.

[wcfn100]

They could have changed out the truck at some point recently.  I just thought I remembered 6 wheel trucks from when I was there several years ago.

Jason

[ljudice]

Interesting information here.... 

I've always thought that since Micro Trains probably sells out everything it makes to collectors who will buy anything it would make more sense for them to do some really interesting stuff like Snowplows or Jordan Spreaders. They could charge a bundle for them and you would figure they would be hot sellers....

[spookshow]

Mark - I was checking under cars not locos! 

Sorry, I figured that since it was powered I'd list it under locos.

Cheers,
-Mark

[ljudice]

Not your fault!!    I didn't realize it was actually powered! 

[nkalanaga]

Most of the steam plows have now been converted to electric, run with jumper cables from a diesel.  The BN used to have dedicated B units just to power the plows, painted in the brown MOW scheme.

I have a snapshot of a UP electric, taken in 1974 at Hinkle, Oregon, that looks like it may have its own diesel engine.  Not being a UP modeler, I've never researched it... UP #900080, if anyone is interested.

According to Noel Holley's book on the MILW electrics, the electric plows were most often run from diesels.  The problem was the catenary voltage was too high for plowing, even though they used traction motors from retired electrics, and the motors tended to "flash over".  They worked better if the line voltage could be lowered, usually meaning no electric locomotives being powered from that substation, or if they were run from a diesel.

[Ike the BN Freak]

Most of the steam plows have now been converted to electric, run with jumper cables from a diesel.  The BN used to have dedicated B units just to power the plows, painted in the brown MOW scheme.

Not just Bs, also As, as BN-1, the F-9 was a former Rotary Power unit.

Want to say BN also had some 6 axle rotaries.  Not sure it they were just the Bros units, or the traditional rotaries.