Union Pacific 900082 Rotary Snow Plow deployment

Erik, what a catch and these are beautiful photos. Congrats on the catch. Malcolm

That first pics belongs on the 2024 UP Calendar.  

Did they ever get to use the big rotary to actually "plow snow"? Any photos of THAT, if they did?

Tanks for sharing Erik.

Thanks fellas glad you enjoyed it.

@Steims posted:

That first pics belongs on the 2024 UP Calendar.  

Employees only I’m told end up on the calendar

How wide is the rotary snow plow?  John

Mercy!  You really worked hard for these photos, Erik.  Fortunately, you know the territory.  Great results.

In the summer of 1954, when I was 8, we took the City of Los Angeles (before dome cars were added) on the through Pullman sleeping car from Los Angeles to Omaha, where it was then placed in the Omaha Road's North American to Minneapolis then to Minneapolis.  

Crossing Wyoming, there were lots of snow fences and I asked one of the Trainmen what they were.  He explained blizzards to a kid who lived where it snows an inch every 40 years.  He told me about how the UP sometimes had to run plow trains to keep the cuts open.  

And he also told me about the rear end collision in winter weather just a couple of years earlier, at Wyuta, so I kept a close eye to the rear from the observation car, even though it was summer.

I've been wondering what it looks like over Donner Pass this season, with the insane amounts of snow falling in the Sierra Nevadas.  A lot of UP snow plow action?

@Professor Chaos posted:

I've been wondering what it looks like over Donner Pass this season, with the insane amounts of snow falling in the Sierra Nevadas.  A lot of UP snow plow action?

Yes, i.e. a LOT of UP snow plow action, including the big rotary plows. There are videos of much of the action all over UTube.

@Professor Chaos posted:

I've been wondering what it looks like over Donner Pass this season, with the insane amounts of snow falling in the Sierra Nevadas.

Question coming from the word "insane".

From the nightly news it does appear that insane amounts have been falling in other places in California.  But is that also true in the Sierra's too, or is it just returning there to an amount more in line with the typical average back when the snowsheds were originally built and the plows initially deployed?

BTW -- I'm trying to keep my question technical and avoid getting tangled in emotional topics like climate change.

Mike

@Mellow Hudson Mike posted:

Question coming from the word "insane".

From the nightly news it does appear that insane amounts have been falling in other places in California.  But is that also true in the Sierra's too, or is it just returning there to an amount more in line with the typical average back when the snowsheds were originally built and the plows initially deployed?

As of a week ago (and there's been more snow since then, with more coming), the Northern Sierra had 178% above normal snowfall, the Central Sierra had 227% above normal, and the Southern Sierra had 272% above normal. Some places in California are breaking 40 year snowfall records. The Lake Tahoe area has also set records - almost 700 inches so far (that's over 58 feet). Donner pass is only about 21 miles from there, and at a higher elevation, so no doubt they've had more snowfall than that.

Anybody know the function of each of the cars/equipment in the snow train consist?  What’s all going on to make that snow throw?   How many crew members?

EPIC photos! Enlarge those and hang ‘‘em up! Thanks for posting those. I can’t stop staring at that beast and it’s giant red blades. So cool.

@bigtruckpete posted:

EPIC photos! Enlarge those and hang ‘‘em up! Thanks for posting those. I can’t stop staring at that beast and it’s giant red blades. So cool.

Thanks Big Truck Pete! 👍😊

Erik, Really N I C E photos

Great YouTube video. However, that is NOT the specific UP #900082 "home-made" diesel powered rotary of the original poster's subject.

@Hot Water posted:

Great YouTube video. However, that is NOT the specific UP #900082 "home-made" diesel powered rotary of the original poster's subject.

Yeah I noticed that after the fact.  How many rotary’s does the UP have?

@superwarp1 posted:

Yeah I noticed that after the fact.  How many rotary’s does the UP have?

Just from memory; 3 or 4 in Roseville (all former SP, specially modified for snow characteristic on Donner Pass), 1 or 2 in Cheyenne (including that big diesel powered #900082).    

Interesting that UP runs rotaries back to back with the engines in the middle so they can go either direction, and with F7 B power units. Pretty neat that the rotaries and B units still retain their SP lettering. As an aside, Donner Pass action seems to get a lot of attention, but the BNSF also has a nice fleet of modern looking rotaries, all painted up in the sharp modern orange & black livery. Pictures on line, and also there's an article at their website, "Snowplow Operators: BNSF's Winter Warriers.

Neat stuff guys! Keep sharing, it’s a privilege to share with you all. 👍☺️