Canadian Railroads > Wedge plow at Prince Rupert late 1980's

A CN wedge plow frames the Rupert Rocket power at Prince Rupert.

Robert Morris
Dunsmuir, CA
Robert Morris Photography

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A very nice scene from an interesting perspective.
ALLEN

Those plows were definitely needed in that area!
I remember seeing photos back in the mid-1970s showing snowbanks as high as a boxcar on the CN line to Kitimat.
And it wasn't unusual to hear of derailments on the main line caused by moose that got on the tracks, but couldn't get out of the way of approaching trains because the snowbanks were so high.

 

Will MacKenzie
Dundas, ON

The front coupler is interesting. It appears to have a mechanical connection to the operating cab. Also there is a framework in front of the operating cab.  Appliances on the front of a wedge plow had a difficult time as heavy snow and ice had a tendency to damage anything on the wedge. Although most plows had a front coupler, usually there was no cutting lever (uncoupling device). Snow and ice could totally plug up the inner workings of a coupler, so usually the front coupler on the plow remained permanently closed.

CP and possibly CN had two types of wedge plow, one for light prairie snow, and another for the heavy wet snow in the mountains. The prairie plows had modifications to throw light snow far away from the tracks and the mountain plows had modifications to keep the heavy snow from entering the operating cab. CP put heavy metal gratings over the front windows. CN seems to have put railings ahead of the cab to break up the snow.

When I worked as an operator at kwinitsa in the fall off 64 and winter 65 we had  a lot off snow  from Tyee to Terrace and  from Lakelse to Kitimat on the kitimat sub The psgr train was four budd cars and if there was any amount off snow a plow usually ran ahead from terrace to rupert.The winter off  1972 over 400 inches off snow fell in kitimat. Many slides on  the skeens sub as the  mountains  come right down on the hiway and railline  especially from mi 24 to tyee. I had 16 hour job all that fall and winter and had very good paycheques in those days.

ozzie korsnes
ex opr trondheim norway

 In reply to his eminence's question ... a clear view of the function the mechanical connection extending from the cab.

The unit is at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park in Squamish BC. 

-2008-
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rrpa_photos/54271/HPIM1405.JPG
http://s3.amazonaws.com/rrpa_photos/54271/HPIM1406.JPG

That mechanical connection looks like it's connected to the flanger blades at the very front of the plow blade.
Looks like no connection at all to the coupler.