Orange, Red Line trains to snow: Not now, not today, not again, demon snow

By adamg on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 3:19pm

The T has hooked 80 of plows to the front of Red and Orange Line trains today to try to smash that demon snow away from the trains' air scoops so it won't short out the motors like it did so disastrously in 2015 (but just in case). Also, it will have a jet-powered Snowzilla like this to blast the snow away.

Topics:

The T

Free tagging:

Red Line

Orange Line

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Comments

The MBTA didn't buy 80 of the Snowzillas in the pic

By O-FISH-L on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 3:57pm.

I believe the 80 snow plows they're talking about are small plows that attach to the front undercarriage of regular trains. The snowblower in the picture is one of two refurbished so-called Snowzilla machines.

That's a picture of Snowzilla

By anon on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 4:20pm.

That's a picture of Snowzilla. The T doesn't have 80 of those.

What they attached to lots of trains is more mundane: a small scraper plow between the rails.

Thanks

By adamg on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 5:47pm.

What I don't know about MBTA snow fighting ...

Fixed!

Snowzilla is pretty awesome

By Bob Leponge on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 5:58pm.

Korean-war vintage military jet engine bolted to a self-propelled rail car.

http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2011/01/23/m...

. Its given name is the Portec RMC Hurricane Jet Snow Blower, model RP-3, and at its heart is a jet engine transplanted from a Korean War-era fighter. The engine is capable of generating 3,000 pounds of thrust and reaching a temperature of 1,000 degrees, and its exhaust is directed down a chute to blast snow from the Mattapan line.

(I suspect that 1,000 degrees is Turbine Inlet Temperature, and not the temperature of the exhaust blast...)

Fun fact

By aldos on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 6:40pm.

A similar device used to be commonly used in NASCAR for track-drying. The so-called 'jet dryers' are now used less frequently, in favor of a new compressed-air system that is more efficient and less explosive.

Another fun fact

By Stevil on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 7:06pm.

You have to be really careful how and where you use these things. They can throw ballast stones all over and blow out windows, windshields, heads and more. At least in the old days. Maybe they've figured out how to manage them a little better now.

I got to see Snowzilla in

By anon on Thu, 02/09/2017 - 8:49pm.

I got to see Snowzilla in action a couple years ago at Mattapan station. It was blowing gravel right into those glass busway shelters and shattering them. There was a T cop stopping people from walking by the thing. A woman was very upset she couldn't bring her small child into the danger zone because "she had to put money on her Charlie card NOW" ugh