Snowplow Project

[Len]

Looking good. The power resistor has more mass to dissipate the heat, so your less likely to melt anything.

Len

[J3a-614]

Glad to see her done; I may try to scrounge a motor and battery and such to do the same with my own sitting in its box!   

What do you plan to use for a tender or B-unit?  An oil tender would be PERFECT!!

Or, as Doctor Beaker used to say on the old Jerry Anderson animated puppet sci-fi kids' show "Supercar," "Satisfactory.  Most satisfactory!"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercar_(TV_series)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054567/

A bit--no, wildly--off topic, but how many of you remember this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QTW3sEOaPqU

[Trainman203]

I live on the Gulf Coast.  It snowed last week for the first time in 10 years.  That's reallly too frequent, its usually 15-20 years apart.  And the worst places were 2".  Everything closed.  No one knows how to drive in it.  Today it's 70 outside.  More typical.

My layout is locally set.  So the last thing I need is a snow plow.  What I need to figure out is how to make a weed spray train that looks like it's spraying.

Anyone have any other operating MOW ideas?

[jonathan]

As always, thanks for the comments.

I am thinking of poking around for an oil (or coal) tender to add to this.  No hurry though... may find an old one laying around the club layout.  That's where this car is going.

HA!  I remember how much I loved those puppet shows; supercar & thunderbirds...  I tried watching an episode about a year ago. Funny how time makes the magic wear off some things. 

I have developed a fondness for MOW rolling stock.  Though I don't try to put together specific trains... Just throw stuff together that I think is cool.

Regards,

Jonathan

[Len]

Trainman - A brush cutter to keep the kudzu at bay:


Or an old Nalco weed sprayer:


Or an ash lift:


Len

[Trainman203]

When I was first model railroading in the early 60's, both the T&NO and the MP were using lots of older heavyweight passenger equipment in MOW service .  The T&NO cars were Harriman cars and painted silver, the MP cars were old section sleepers painted boxcar red.

[Trainman203]

That Nalco thing looks like an old steam engine tender.  For many years repurposed tenders were part of all MOW consists.

[RAM]

Trainman203, I don't think anyone knows how to drive in the snow any more.  They have a big snow up north, and what do you see on tv?  Cars and truck all over place.  Jonathan, It is easy to make an oil tender out of a cold tend.  Len, I see that little ash car is automatic.  That third rail keep the door shut, and as soon as the third rail ends the door opens and dumps the ash.

[dutchbuilder]

Jonathan , your topic inspired me to make my own snowplow in 0n30.
http://www.amerikaanse-treinen.nl/forum/index.php?topic=1311.msg36316;topicseen#msg36316
It's in Dutch but have a look at the pictures.
The model was drawn and cut with a Silhouette Cameo cutting plotter.

Ton

[Terry Toenges]

Ton - You designed the whole thing and made it? That's great work.

[dutchbuilder]

Inspired by this topic and using plans for the real RGS and D&RGW plow published in the Narrow Gauge and Short Line Gazette in 2000.
I used the plans as a lead to adapt them for a 2-6-6-2 tender chassis.
I used 0.5mm styrene in layers to make the model.
It's also the thickest material i can cut with the cnc machine.
It saves a lot of time using this plotter and as a spinoff it is reproducible.
Here is the translation of the main text:

During the holidays i started designing and building again.
Before that I had a creative dip.
That happens sometimes.
I had a 2-6-6-2 tender leftover from a T conversion and I got a brainwave to make a snow plow.
Why that tender?
Because the wheel sets have pickups so that I can motorise the cutting head.
The housing drawing was not that difficult, it has become a routine job with that cutting plotter program.
But then the cutting head and the housing, that was quite a challenge to draw.
Especially the milling head was a multi-day project.
See the result here.
If you alternate the last two pictures in the Windows viewer, you get an idea of ​​how the cutting head turns.


Ton

[jonathan]

Ton,

That is amazing work! 

Will you use a motor with a reduction gear, or another method?

Impressive!

Regards,

Jonathan

[jbrock27]

This is very cool!

As always, excellent work JV!

[dutchbuilder]

Ton,

That is amazing work! 

Will you use a motor with a reduction gear, or another method?

Impressive!

Regards,

Jonathan

I've been lazy and used a straight motor from an old cdrom player.
The rotation is acceptable at 3V.
I'm thinking of using a 3V regulator behind a Blackstone Tsunami dcc sounddecoder for motor control.
I tried to use the Tsunami in a 0n30 locomotive but it isn't strong enough.
For this application it should be good enough.
Sound decoder---bridge rectifier---3V regulator.

Ton

[dutchbuilder]

Have a look in my topic about the rotary plow from message #23.
I added some pictures with the painted plow.

Ton