Chicago Great Western X 38 Russell Snow Plow

We split the crew today and got some work done on the CGW X 38 snowplow.

The Floor

Buzz Morisette tackled the job on the floor inside the rear end, completing removal of five floorboards whose ends had a lot rot near the doorways.  On the north side, the framing below those boards was rotted away to a large extent, so Buzz removed that, needlechipped and primed the steel below them.

In the Cab

In the cab Dave Rogan continued to work on air piping, checking for leaks and working to understand the maze of piping, valves, and fittings.

Air UP

Simon Harrison monitors the pressure gauge, here approaching 50 psi.  That is perfectly adequate to check for leaks and other defects before we move to the next stage.

The previous week we had started the process by hooking up air to the plow and charging the brake system.  The way this is designed, that train air line also serves to charge two large air tanks that supply the plow blades, and all the other devices needing air inside the car body.  It charges those tanks through two parallel valves and lines - one with a flow constrictor to limit air flow.  The other allows more rapid air flow, to be used when filling for the first time before the plow train leaves, but not during road service.  It fills the tanks faster but takes that air from the normal train line delivery system.  Why the second line that works more slowly?  Dave Rogan found out when he opened the rapid fill valve to save time and 'dynamited' the brakes providing loud noise and a surprise for everyone else in the car.  The second SLOW line does not steal the air from the brake system faster than a locomotive can supply it.