Darren - This has been an excellent thread! Having been to the museum several times I can not choose a favorite part. The museum is great in all areas. Where did you find the rotary plow? For some reason I do not ever recall seeing it. Maybe I need to hunt a little better the next time that I stop in. Ben
It's been hiding on the other side of the street for a longtime but truly kept mostly out of sight for protection. They are making plans to bring it into the main yard soon. :tb-wink: :tb-wink: :tb-wink: :tb-wink:
UPDATE from CRRM [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]A New Display Opens at the Museum![/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif]Rotary Snowplow, Locomotive 4455 and D&SL Caboose[/FONT][/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] An important example of early 20th century railroad snow fighting equipment was moved to the grounds of the Colorado Railroad Museum. The 160,000 lb rotary snowplow was moved from where it has sat for 35 years. The move itself was a difficult engineering feat. A temporary bridge was placed over an irrigation ditch that had acted as a moat all these years. Once the bridge was in place, the Rotary, its tender, as well as a locomotive and a tank car were dragged across the bridge for the first time. The rail cars were then loaded onto flatbed trailers and hauled across the street to the museum.[/FONT][/FONT] The first piece of equipment to be moved was the Denver and Salt Lake Caboose to the display track. Later, John Disher, the move contractor and his assistant, Tim Pickering, spent the afternoon preparing to move the Rotary: setting the rail on the bridge, setting the track panel from the Rotary to the bridge, and placing timbers under the middle of the bridge for additional support like a giant version of JENGA, the tower building game. [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] On Saturday, January 5, the process of moving the Rotary snowplow, its tender, Locomotive 4455 and its tender began. You can view a complete slideshow of the move by going to the following website: Rotary Move photos The 160,000 lb Rotary was dragged slowly over the temporary bridge. Everyone was awestruck as it creaked its way over the bridge. The flatcar bed which was the temporary bridge for the moves, sagged only slightly as the front of the rotary crossed over the cribbing below. Once it was across timbers and two rails were placed on a flatbed trailer and the Rotary was successfully and safely pulled onto it and parked closeby until it could be moved The tender followed and was rolled onto another flatbed trailer. Later in the afternoon, a cable was hooked to Locomotive 4455. Like the Rotary, it had not moved in 35 years. A week before, all of the journal boxes were oiled, as were all the moving parts on the engine. One of the rods was bent, and there was much speculation if the wheels would turn freely. The cable was hooked to the Locomotive, and slowly Tim began pulling it forward. Not only did the wheels roll smoothly, they didn't even squeak! By the end of the day the locomotive was sitting on a flatbed trailer, ready to be moved across the street. On Monday, January 7, the 4455 and its Tender , and the Rotary tender were unloaded onto the display track. Monday evening we received several inches of snow, which added another challenging element to the move of the Rotary through the parking lot. As you can see in the photos on the website, the Rotary was listing a bit, and with a decrease in traction, Tim provided the extra pulling power needed with his backhoe. Once in position, John backed the trailer to the edge of the display, but the track on which the Rotary rested was several inches lower than the end of the display track. More ground asphalt and plywood panels were placed under the wheels of the trailer in an effort to raise it level with the display track. After much pulling from Tim with the backhoe, and repositioning of the trailer by John, the Rotary rolled off the tracks on the trailer and onto the display track. It was a great sight, as you can see from the photos. After 35 years, the Rotary and the 4455 were finally on display at the Museum! [/FONT][/FONT] [FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif][FONT=Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif] Click on video on the Channel 31News story about the museum and the move [/FONT][/FONT]
