Canadian Railroads > Plow Train in the Selkirks

During the recent holiday break I spent a few days around Revelstoke in hopes of catching the CP plow train that runs both east and west of town keeping the busy mainline open. The consist was configured for double ended plowing allowing the train to work either direction as needed.
 
The consist from east to west was:
CP 401020 Angus Plow built July 1929
CP 402800 Jordan Spreader built Nov 1972
CP 5901 SD40-2 built 1978
CP 6031 SD40-2 built 1983
CP 402880 Jordan Spreader built June 1959
CP 401019 Angus Plow built July 1929

The train ran on the Shuswap Sub as far as Three Valley and east on the Mountain Sub as far as Rogers Station east of Rogers Pass. There was a decent amount of snow that made for some great action pictures. Here’s a selection of the best from three days of plowing on the CP mainline in the Selkirk Mountains.

1. Spreading eastbound on the south track between White and Greely on the Mountain Sub.

2. Spreading eastbound on the north track at the same location.

3. Westbound on the south track approaching Greely with Albert Peak in the background.
 
cp1400

 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/23 22:44 by cp1400.

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4. Eastbound towards Revelstoke on the north track at Big Eddy Rd on the Shuswap Sub.

5. On the Shuswap Sub eastbound, north track east of Tum Tum.

6. Track speed east of White on the south track, Mountain Sub.

cp1400



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/23 22:45 by cp1400.

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7. Plowing through Ross Peak on the Connaught Track towards Rogers Pass.

8. Plowing the mainline at Glacier approaching the Connaught Tunnel.

9. Westbound through the Flat Creek snow shed west side of Rogers Pass.


cp1400



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/23 22:45 by cp1400.

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10. Plowing on the south track at Clanwilliam, Shuswap Sub.

11. Spreading west of Clanwilliam emerging from the third of three tunnels along Summit Lake in Eagle Pass.

12. Approaching the wooden avalanche shed along Three Valley Lake just east of Three Valley siding.
 
I hope you enjoyed this look at the tough snow fighting conditions on CP’s mainline in British Columbia.
 
cp1400
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/23 22:46 by cp1400.

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Great photos. Tough area to get to and photograph. As a result, we don't get to see many photos like this.

Posted from Android

Awesome stuff!!! Thanks for sharing your photos and info.

3, 6, 8 or 12 is my vote for IOTD

My favorite snow-fighting series ever!  Thanks.

-John

Good stuff. Interesting to see how it's done in that area.
Rare locations even in good weather.
t4p.

Great series!  #3 and #6 could each easily be IOTD.

What a marvelous series! I'm curious if you could tell ahead of time (radio chatter) if they'd be plowing or spreading as they came by you. Shots 5&6 in particular made me ask. You don't want a nasty surprise.
Fred

Call you the Dick Dorn of Canada

A Truly Super Awesome Series!  Each and every photo is awesome.
Thanks for your super photo posting.
ALLEN

You have some "once in a lifetime" images there.  Also amazing to think that plow is nearly 100 years old and still being used on a mainline.  Thanks for sharing.

Dave

Amazing series, thank you.

The plow trains often make an appearance on the Revelstoke VR camera. The return trip may have considerable snow on the wedge.

Posted from Android

Wow! Now that's happy plowing :-) Thanks for dodging the snow drifts to get this set of fine shots.

Fantastic series, and congrats on the IOTD!

Nathan

Superb series!

Excellent series of Winter Pictures. 

Great pics!!  Thanks for posting.