There was some discussion about steam use on the front of the blower. Steam is only used to melt the ice and and snow on the swing joints used on the wings. Air pressure is used to open and close the wings.
I believe that it is hydraulic pressure that operates the wings on this plow, but I could be mistaken there. Hydraulic pressure is a constant controlled pressure, air pressure could cause a jump if a load on the wings were applied and then removed. Air is compressible, and a liquid is not. I will have to investigate this further about air for the wings.
Maybe I'm missing something, but in the video I can't see where there is any actuator to move the wings. For example, at 9:07, that looks like an all bolted connection. There is no piston visible, and no air (or hydraulic, or steam) lines. It looks like there might be a small amount of adjustment using some big wrenches, but with 3 of those fittings per side it's not a quick in-the-field adjustment. Those brackets that anchor the rear of the big push bars so do seem a little strange though. Why is there a separate front and rear bracket instead of one piece? I wonder if originally there was a piston there to adjust the wings, but that that feature was deleted in one of the renovations?
Tried to watch the video a couple of times. The piston on the end of the arms on the wing is quite small and short in length. Air is the common item on locomotives, brakes, most controls on older designed locomotives used air power valves. Air is usually dry, doesn't freeze or change thickness with the temperature as hydraulic oil does. There also be a air dryer to dehumidify the air before compression. The pistons move the wings out to a defined locked position, defined by the length of the shafts. The air is used to open them and then close them when not in use.
I may be confusing this plow with another, but I thought I'd heard that the last plow in the USA was built in 1962 (and since upgraded). And it looked like this one. Are you sure that you didn't transpose the last two digits when you state that this was first built in 1926?
There were a bunch out there (most retired and gone now) but one of them is safe in a museum collection in St. Louis, MO. It was built in 1966 and retired in the 90s. That might be the snow plow you are thinking about. #207 was built way back in 1926. It had a few other names/numbers along the way. In 1967 it was converted over to model type with the trailing FB unit. In 2012-14, the machine was again updated (cabin and controls update, engines, etc - the works!) to what it is today.
A couple places he discussed that feature. Early on in the controls section you can see the chute direction control unit. When reviewing the steam room, he mentions just about everything that is controlled by the steam, one of which is the chute direction.
⚓️ Thanks sniper 😎 ok that’s funny 😎 a donation box on a railroad 🥸 like the railroad needs $$$ 🤩 no more asbestos in exhaust lagging ♦️Variable Frequency Drive… computer sets power going to the motors according to load ♦️
I have the Eagle Books of Trains with a cutaway illustration showing when it was steam powered. As I have an engineering background I found this very interesting. For info the Eagle was an English comic of the fifties and sixties famous for it's cutaway illustrations.
I'm curious how they get the wings to stay in place after they extend them? It seems like the steam cooling off in the actuator cylinders would cause them to retract into a more neutral position over time.
The steam was used mainly to keep the hinges and other moving parts from freezing, steam had very little impact on the ability of the cylinders to hold their position. If one piston retracted a bit the operators could simply add a little more pressure.
That sounds straightforward in theory; but when running you would have to make constant adjustments, as well as keeping the condensation drained from cylinders. Granted you could get by just slanting the steam pipes, so the condensation flows back to the boiler; however it looks like they didn't do that.
