If you register, you can do a lot more. And become an active part of our growing community. You'll have access to hidden forums, and enjoy the ability of replying and starting conversations.

Operation Snow Storm

Discussion in 'Bullhead Memories' started by Ploughman, Mar 2, 2018.

  1. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    A few photos of an Operation run in winter 1947.
    One of Yorks relaying gangs, Number 7, was despatched to work with a snowplough train between Leeds, Selby, Ravenscar, Goathland and Whitby.
    These photos were taken by Ernie Sanderson who was a member of the gang.
    The gang were sent out for the duration and lived in a second train with messing facilities and bunks while they were out.
    Besides the snowclearing work a secondary purpose was to deliver supplies to cut off villages such as Ravenscar and Fyling Hall.

    1947 - 1.jpg

    1947 - LONDESBOROUGH 1.jpg Londesborough.

    1947 - LONDESBOROUGH 6.jpg Londesborough

    1947 - NUNBURNHOLME.jpg Pendas Way Crossgates Leeds Tank Factory behind.

    1947 - PENDAS WAY 3.jpg Fyling Hall

    FYLING HALL - 1.jpg Number 7 Gang

    Number 7 gang - Copy.jpg Ravenscar

    RAVENSCAR - 1.jpg Ravenscar

    RAVENSCAR - 3.jpg
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2018
    ragl, 240P15, 30854 and 4 others like this.
  2. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    More photos of Ernie's.
    Ravenscar
    RAVENSCAR - 4.jpg Ravenscar
    RAVENSCAR - 7.jpg Ravenscar
    RAVENSCAR - 8.jpg
    RAVENSCAR - 9.jpg Ravenscar
    RAVENSCAR - 10.jpg Robin Hoods Bay
    ROBIN HOODS BAY - 1.jpg Robin Hoods Bay
    ROBIN HOODS BAY - 2.jpg

    For their efforts they received a sit down Fish and chip tea in a cafe in Whitby.
    A bit later they received a Thank you letter as well.
     
    Last edited: Mar 2, 2018
  3. StoneRoad

    StoneRoad Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    923
    Likes Received:
    352
    Occupation:
    Restoration of heritage items, mainly in timber.
    Location:
    Haltwhistle
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Thanks for those, Bryan.
    Yikes and double Yikes, I've walked part of the trackbed over by Ravenscar, It was somewhat bleak even in the summer.
     
  4. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    When there were so many more sets of points (with less sets of points heaters) and innumerable miles of signal wires to freeze up than exist today, those old photos give a real sense of just how much human effort was involved in keeping the network running back then.

    Quite the contrast with expectations after 70 years of progress! Of course, adoption of continuous welded rail and widespread mechanisation of so much PW work means the numbers of staff available today to deal with severe winter conditions is a fraction of what it took to keep the pre-Beeching/Marples mileage (of jointed track) up and running through some of the worst conditions mother nature could throw at the railways. I'd imagine the limitations of modern track circuitry would be another factor when compared with 1947.

    It's a matter of record that troops were (unsurprisingly) ordered in during the winter of 1947 to keep the nation moving and there were experiments to mount jet engines on wagons in attempt to deal more effectively with the blizzard conditions during that winter. A few possible pitfalls seem pretty obvious, not least of which would have been establishing something akin to workable safety guidelines.

    Does anyone please know how many of these contraptions were thrown at the snow during that winter? The basic concept seems viable enough, as there's evidence a-plenty of updated versions of it in present day North America, but the notion looks to have fallen from favour here. Pity, as the UK network could really use an effective leaf-blower!

    This, apparently taken at Dowlais Top (S.Wales Valleys):
    DowlaisTop_Winter1947_JetEngineSnowplough.jpg.cf.jpg
    Photo courtesy of alangeorge.co.uk

    Here's another, but larger (No prize, but does anyone recognise that cockpit)?:
    Snow-Blower-MiG-mounted-on-a-train.jpg.cf.jpg
    Photo courtesy wierdomatic.com

    From (I think) Canada, comes this image. It comes from a series of images delighting in the title 'Engine Porn'!
    Blower1359254165.jpg.cf.jpg
    Courtesy forums.pelicanparts.com

    And a broadside shot of a different machine:
    20127262738_CN snowblower 1 Aug 99 Moncton.jpg.cf.jpg
    Coutesy railroad-line.com

    And, although I suspect it's a tad more restrained in operation than the UK's 1947 contraptions, here's an actual clip of one of the modern equivalent in use in Maine (I can't see any accreditation, but it was posted on YouTube):
    https://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/v...alt2&age=1230069041&fr2=p:s,v:v&fr=crmas&tt=b
     
  5. StoneRoad

    StoneRoad Member

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2009
    Messages:
    923
    Likes Received:
    352
    Occupation:
    Restoration of heritage items, mainly in timber.
    Location:
    Haltwhistle
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Yikes, the elf n saftie aspects of those give me pause ...
     
  6. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Where's your sense of adventure man? :D

    With that large 1947 jet, I've always had visions of windows and frozen washing on lines a quater of a mile from where it was in use being shot through with flying ballast!
     
    John Baritone likes this.
  7. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    May 12, 2006
    Messages:
    18,046
    Likes Received:
    15,736
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cumbria
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    I will have to have a dig round but there is a video online somewhere of the GWR Dowlais experiment shot by the GWR civil engineering department, whilst it cleared the snow, it also cleared a lot of the ballast and had to be discontinued as it made the track unstable.

    Edit - this is not the one I was thinking of, but despite the video comments sugesting its Lincolnshire the signal box suggests Dowlais Top?

     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2018
    30854 likes this.
  8. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Fantastic find and many thanks for posting it. That jet looked to be dumping an awful lot of snow onto the adjacent line, which can't have been any too helpful. I could easily imagine one or two signal wire pulleys not coming out of it all too well either. A tad more work needed on that idea, methinks.

    In view of the caption mentioned, I wonder if there actually is another clip which really shows one of these hair-raising contraptions over in Lincolnshire?
     
  9. sir gilbert claughton

    sir gilbert claughton Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2017
    Messages:
    1,061
    Likes Received:
    511
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    retired
    Location:
    east sussex
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    the cockpit looks like a ME262
     
  10. sir gilbert claughton

    sir gilbert claughton Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jan 17, 2017
    Messages:
    1,061
    Likes Received:
    511
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    retired
    Location:
    east sussex
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    bn09b.jpg Meanwhile...in Canada.....
     
  11. GWR4707

    GWR4707 Nat Pres stalwart

    Joined:
    May 12, 2006
    Messages:
    18,046
    Likes Received:
    15,736
    Gender:
    Male
    Location:
    Cumbria
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    And in Norfolk....

     
    StoneRoad and 30854 like this.
  12. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Ooh! ...... our Norfolk .... Well, I wasn't expecting that!

    Some of those 37's must be over 55 years old by now. What with the "2040 Deadline" (Oink oink, flutter flutter!), you've got to wonder if a few of these, plus a handful of 20's and 08's might yet see out the diesel age in "big railway" service.
     
    StoneRoad likes this.
  13. Romsey

    Romsey Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2007
    Messages:
    3,619
    Likes Received:
    1,636
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired SPM
    Location:
    Close to Spike Island
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Or Switzerland ...

    Xrot9213 & 182 Ospizio Bernina 18 Feb 2018.jpg

    Cheers, Neil
     
    240P15 and 30854 like this.
  14. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    @Romsey Looks quite a small tender ... Is that one of the RhB G4/5's?
     
  15. Romsey

    Romsey Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2007
    Messages:
    3,619
    Likes Received:
    1,636
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired SPM
    Location:
    Close to Spike Island
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Xrot9213 has a small four wheel tender which looks completely out of proportion to the main part of the snow blower.
    It's RhB 182 (Ge4/4) Bernina Bahn line mini Krokodil assisting the snow blower.

    Cheers, Neil
     
    30854 likes this.
  16. 30854

    30854 Resident of Nat Pres

    Joined:
    Mar 8, 2017
    Messages:
    12,172
    Likes Received:
    11,493
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired
    Location:
    Brighton&Hove
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    No I do not currently volunteer
    Cheers Neil. On closer inspection, how the hell did I take it for a G4/5? Glad to see at least one of the old Krokodil's still finds gainful employment, but I'm really beginning to worry about my lastest pair of specs!
     
  17. Romsey

    Romsey Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Jul 14, 2007
    Messages:
    3,619
    Likes Received:
    1,636
    Gender:
    Male
    Occupation:
    Retired SPM
    Location:
    Close to Spike Island
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Yes, a bit like that after the Gluhwien at the SRF music festival in Pontresina on the previous evening!

    That Krokodil is privately owned, but seems to be stabled in the RhB heritage stock shed at Pontresina. There is at least one other Bernina Bahn Krokodil around the network plus a couple of 11kv ones in use on heritage trains around Davos.
    We also had 802 one of the electro-diesels assisting at one point.

    If you feel rich, the RhB Snow blower trips for 2019 are already being marketed by the Swiss Travel Centre in London, but you can book direct with the RhB in Chur.

    Cheers, Neil
     
  18. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2007
    Messages:
    2,198
    Likes Received:
    973
    Location:
    Durham
    Hi Ploughman/Bryan. Wonderful photos of the operations at Ravenscar/RHB/Fyling Hall. Thanks for posting them. Do you know the plough and locomotive numbers please?
     
  19. Ploughman

    Ploughman Part of the furniture

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2008
    Messages:
    5,806
    Likes Received:
    2,649
    Occupation:
    Ex a lot of things.
    Location:
    Near where the 3 Ridings meet
    Heritage Railway Volunteer:
    Yes I am an active volunteer
    Sorry but unless you can make them out on the photo then no.
    The photos I scanned off were not in very good condition.
     
  20. MarkinDurham

    MarkinDurham Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 4, 2007
    Messages:
    2,198
    Likes Received:
    973
    Location:
    Durham
    Ah, no worries. Perhaps someone else might have a better copy.
     

Share This Page