In our continuing effort to show every single mechanical method that man has devised to remove snow from his path of travel, home, driveway, and now train tracks we keep finding neato stuff. This one is (literally) close to home for me as it features a machine that the MBTA (Better known as “The T” in Boston) uses to clear the tracks on one of their various rail lines. The machine is called Snowzilla and for good reason. This is a specially built rail car that has a turbine engine with a nozzle/manifold at the end to direct 2,000 degree air onto the tracks ahead of it to melt the snow and clear the lines for the trolleys that run over them.
It is important to note that this is a trolley line because the vehicles that run over it are not trains per se but individual streetcars that carry people through neighborhoods like Mattapan, Dorchester, Milton, etc. The line was established in 1929 and the cars that are on it have largely been in service since the 1940s. It is one of the few rail lines in the country that uses stuff this old and is actually an important part of the transit system. The cars have been refurbished and stuff over the years but there are some old bones rattling along those lines. Why not replace them? New stuff is bigger and heavier and the line would probably have to be rebuilt to accommodate them. It is cheaper and easier to stick with what works on the 2.9 mile branch of the city’s train service.
The video below shows the machine in action, the operator talks about it, you get to see Snowzille puke fuel all over the snow, and get a look at the controls. This is a cool machine that does a fine job and with 1,000 gallons of fuel on board, it does so in a very thirsty and probably horrendously expensive manner. That’s how we roll around here.
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OF SNOWZILLA BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEO OF IT IN OPERATION –
“Every once in a while I look up to see if there’s someone in the way” Hey thanks guy! :0
These snow jets have been around railroads for some time now, and are made commercially. They are primarily used to melt ice in the switches, a lot faster than doing it with manpower. I have an HO scale model of one I built from a kit for my model railroad.
Stuff like this is where the GAS TAX goes, instead of the roads and bridges,
The lying politicians always want to hike the gas tax and funnel it into the “T”!
Massachusetts is second only to NJ in road cost per mile, and 47th in road
quality, nationwide. Wouldn’t it be nice if the “T” charged what it really
costs to operate, and fixed the the roads that need it?
dont eat the pink snow
These work Ok, as long as there is adequate drainage around the switches. Otherwise, the melt water refreezes in the linkage, and you are right back where you started, with a switch that is frozen up and can’t be used.