Back in the late '70s we had a lake-effect storm off Lake Huron into Southwestern Ontario which built up real snow on the same scale as that near the end of your video. A diesel pusher tried so hard with a plow that the plow stuck, and flipped forward over its blade. Complete wreck on top of a blocked line. I have not been able to find a copy. It was in the Lucan or Granton area, north of London, ON. Your video is so realistic, so cool!
I've seen a video of that accident. It was included at the end of a Greg Scholl video on CN and CP snow plows (ploughs). He made a couple of plow videos and I don't remember the video name but I'm sure you can find it on his web site.
That's so cool, it's a dream of mine to have a set up simular to yours. We always see summer on models and I thought I was the only one that though it would be cool to have a set up for winter , awsome bud .
Pretty cool. Yes, it’s not unusual to see multiple locomotives pushing snow removal equipment. Saw my first Shay, in real world, at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in Felton, CA in 1967. Great ride- fascinating locomotive. Go there.
It's really an awesome scenic journey, albeit a short one. Much appreciated for all your time, efforts and money in sharing this spectacular video. Many thanks. Best regards, Nassa
I hate to get all mushy, but the moment I started watching this video (and the outstanding Sound) I remembered my Dad, and remembered that had it not been for him I never would have known about trains, or developed the love and appreciation for trains, this layout would have made made him smile that smile that said to my brother and I, "Daddy's happy"...miss him so...
Joseph Washington I know what you mean man, even though I was younger when my grandpa got me into trains I still love them today, he is no longer with us but I'm glad that I knew him and spent time with him while he was with us. R.I.P. Papa. If it wasn't for him I would have never even been on a train.
Thinking about it, a shay might be the optimal type of steam locomotive for snow plowing. They may be slow, but with small driving wheels, all-wheel power, and their geared transmission that makes wheelslip almost impossible, they've definitely got the raw brute strength to shove almost any amount of snow aside. Even better if they're given a rotary snowplow as they're less hampered by low speed operations than convention rod-type engines. If the opportunity presents itself to try again next winter, one trick I've heard used on real snowplows is to coat them in diesel fuel (for a scale model like this cooking oil should suffice) so that snow won't stick to the plow.
Adding a couple of ounces over each truck will greatly enhance tractive effort. If you do add weight, you may end up having to add some weight to the plow to keep it on the tracks. Nicely done!!
Great to see a Shay doing what it should. I can only afford to look at pictures of one. LOL Nice... I got to ride in the cab of the Shay in Cass W.Va.1970's when I was a lad.
That was so cool when I realized that it was a miniature. (I will Not call it a Toy!) That engine must be very heavy as I would think the wheels would just spin when it hit that heavy snow.
That has to be the most beautiful sound for a shay I have ever heard. I love the sound of the start up chugs to it sounding like its going 80 mph when it's only going 10. Awesome locomotive man. Beats a Phoenix and really puts the Tsunami shay sound to shame.
I should check comments more often...The sound is from a QSI Titan decoder. It is actually even better now that I have updated the sound file from the Q2-FX version which comes with the board to the Q3-ET version.
Maybe run a slightly longer train so that at full speed it gathers more momentum and inertia. That combined with a slightly longer and thinner plow blade will do crazy things. But that plow was awesome for that setup.
What actually happened here is that your crew ran into some hard pack snow . That's a problem you'll get in higher elevations . On the good side your crew and plow didn't run into hard pack that's turned into hard pack ice , at that point your crew would need to breakout the TNT , I'd say two sticks should do it and about halfway up so the track won't get damaged . Use a pike that you can heat up in the firebox to melt the prep work to set the TNT . So good luck . PS. I'd back the train about 100 ft . before you set it off .
Here in upstate NY, we're getting buried with snow -- 12" so far and it's predicted to go all day tomorrow...! Let's see... That would be 22.5 scale feet of snow already! I don't think that plow will cut it by the end of this storm...
We ultimately got an official 27.2 inches of snow -- just over 51 scale feet of snow !!!! Needless to say, the GC&E maintenance crews stayed in the bunkhouse!
I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!! I think I'd use a windshield scraper or broom or shovel to "manually" assist. It's like a derailment; sometimes you just have to pick it up and put it back on the track.
The toughest part is keeping the radio transmitter warm. I actually had to stop when the transmitter suddenly quit. The LCD display goes dark and you have to pull the batteries to 'un-freeze' it.
I have 2 more 2-truck Shays which I used for an earlier test run. This lash-up gives me 7 power trucks: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wy6U0usF2Ik.html
Did they rotary snow blowers yet? He could have blown it to the side of the track to get the 13’ (scaled) off the tracks. Impressive video! Thank you for posting it!
Your best resource is Kalmbach's 'Garden Railways' magazine. There are a lot of articles in there giving advice and ideas. To keep costs down, I bought nearly all my locomotives and rolling stock on eBay. I got very good at spotting the auctions that weren't being actively watched. Since my railroad is outdoors, and I didn't want to a) run power to the railroad and b) spend a lot of time cleaning the tracks for good electrical contact, all my locomotives have on-board rechargeable batteries and radio remote controls. And, since the tracks weren't electrified, I saved a lot of money by buying aluminum rail - about half the price of brass. One thing I would NOT recommend is to make your own ties out of cedar boards, ripped and cut on a table saw then hand-spiking the rails. The spikes push up out of the ties every winter/spring...
Do you have a rotary you can put in there of not yet one of those and see if it might help in the thicker parts of the snow. I am new to your channel so I haven't seen what all you have yet
Interesting how this video ended in my feed after watching vids of big rotary blowers and plows on the real thing at Donner pass etc. Assuming this scale train is made of much less dense materials than a real iron and steel train, I’d be curious how this beautiful scale model train compares scale wise in weight to the real thing? For the part at the end when it is quickly stopped by the deep snow it would be interesting to see how it might perform if somehow it could be weighted down to have a scale level of kinetic energy and momentum of a real freight train hitting big drifts.
Interesting question... The plow blade is plastic, as is the locomotive body. To keep the plow on the rails, I added 5 pounds of lead weight and installed ball bearing trucks to carry the extra weight. The Shay locomotive has 3 power trucks - all wheels driven - so it gets good traction. I have 3 more Shays - another 3-truck and two 2-truck Shays. If I hooked them all up, I could have quite a show...
If you plan to use track power, you either want brass or stainless steel. SS is more expensive, but doesn't need cleaning as often, if ever. My railroad uses on-board batteries and radio remote control, so track cleaning is not a problem. Therefore I opted for aluminum, which is about half the cost of brass.
That video was made when I only had a single-track main line completed. I have laid a lot of track since then and I still have a lot to go… ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m9a9TjRbyW4.html ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m9a9TjRbyW4.html
if it had more weight to the train and a 2nd engine i could of worked better. up in canada most of this type of plowing for trains were I am are at least 2 engine that I know of or 4 with a train load
