Learned yesterday that the Alliance Rotary Snow Plow and B Unit have gotten and NEW BNSF Paint Job. The B Unit will be done in a couple of days. Shawn
Lincoln's Rotary Snow Plow It is getting rebuilt. BNSF has decided that they ARE TOO important not too. And that is too costly to buy new.
We're overdue for a heavy snow winter. A lot of locals are speculating.... BNSF might end up needing a few plows inservice for 2010-2011. Boxcab E50
I wonder if something simaler will happend with the rotary they brought up to Wenatchee this year. They were working on it. KEvin
I like it. Would be great to see it in action. Rumor on the weather front is the southern half of the country is in for a warmer winter than normal due to la-ninia this year which means the nothern half may or may not get hit hard. Weather? Who really knows.
Lincoln's Plow In the picture looking at the rear corner, you can see Lincoln's plow. They are both in Iowa, Albia, I think?
Technically the B unit isn't a B unit, its a RSPU, Rotary Snowplow Power Unit. The traction motors in the trucks have been removed and now the prime mover turns the generator to power the motors that turn the rotary's blades. Therefore the B unit and rotary can't move on their own.
The SD-40 snoot that I posted pictures of with the plow. It is going to stay with the plow. Noone knows why an RCO engine is going to stay with it. Other than speculation about the BNSF trying to use it with RCO....
Someone answer me this then, cause I don;t know enough about them. What's in the back of the Rotary that the whole kit can't be in the "A" Unit?
Flashwave, Ike is right on about the technicals. The RSPU "B" unit is a separate piece of equipment. It could be reassigned to a different Rotary plow "A" unit so it retains separate numbers. The Snoot is there to move the whole thing along and could also be reassigned to other duties.
They are trying to get rid of the Snoot. The plow crew wants to get away from the noise. So they just want to pull a North American Cab off the line and use a trio of those to push the plow
I got that much, I just meant "A" and "B" for clarification. So if the RSPU (I still liek B unit though) is to power the Rotary, Then what's in the back 40 feet of the Rotart (That's a guesstimate) that isn't letting the Rotary power its own blades? Or is that what you meant by getting the crew away from the noise, it's just ~40ft of sound barrier?
In the back of the rotary is the motors for the blades. Along with ballast as you need a lot of weight to keep the plow from being derailed due to ice and snow still on the tracks after the blower portion removes snow.
Now, have I got this right? It looks like a B unit, but it isn't, it's a RSPU . . . reminds me of a fellow I used to work with on the matter of those white sticks you burn to produce light. He refused point blank to call the thing a candle. To him it was a PELGU: Portable Emergency Light Generating Unit (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) The kit does look nice, though! Regards, Pete Davies
Try this then, it's a backwards slug. I'm still trying to figure out needing a motor to power the generator to power the motor, but whatev. Speaking of slugs, why not slug the B's tractions to the snoot? (Because then there'd be a designatesd engine...) Snow plowing ain't gonna requrie whirlwind speeds, the kind that makes yard slugs dandy would seem to me ideal for a snoplow (bucking 30 cars vs bucking a drift), or is there a better reason?
Yes, the diesel engine in the B unit, turns a generator, which powers the traction motors in the rotary to turn the blades. Thats how diesel electric locomotives work, the diesel turns a generator/alternator, which produces electricity to power the traction motors.
