The first snow train design was developed in Russia in 1910. Collected snow was loaded into wagons located on a parallel track. In the thirties, the first snow blowers of the conveyor scheme appeared with the movement of snow along the entire train to the unloading mechanism. Trains with such a device are used on Russian railways now.
Snow train operation
The purpose of such trains is to clear crossings, stations and hauls from snow. In the warm, snowless season, such trains can be used to clean the tracks of dirt and debris. In addition to the direct cleaning of tracks and the surrounding area, snow removal trains transport snow or garbage from cleared areas. Over its more than a century of history, this type of rolling stock has received many improvements.
Types of Snow Train
The composition of the snow train may vary. They may consist of several wagons. For example, non-self-propelled trains of the SM family consist of a head carriage with a harvesting unit, one or two intermediate cars and a closing carriage with an unloading device. To move such a train using a locomotive. PSS snow removal trains are self-propelled. They may include from three to five cars, including the traction and energy section. There are also single-car snowblowers.
SM snow removal trains
The head section carries a diesel power station, providing energy to the units of the train. Such trains are able to clear the eighty-centimeter layer of snow. The sweeper has wings to increase the width of the swath. Without wings, a strip about two and a half meters wide is cleared, and with spread wings a little more than five meters.
The speed of movement of such a train in the operating mode can be different and depends on the density and thickness of the snow layer, as well as on the presence of various obstacles, and varies in the range from five to ten kilometers per hour. A drum with brushes is installed on the head section for cleaning the tracks and collecting snow. To combat deep and dense snow, a cutting knife and wings are installed on it.
In order to completely clear a section, in some cases two train passes are required. In such cases, the drum is lifted and used only when it is necessary to further push the snow onto the conveyor. Additional strips along the sides of the path are cleaned by both wings and side brushes. Brushes can be mounted on the wings themselves or in the base of the front section.
SM snow-removal trains of all modifications are capable of clearing tracks of highly compacted snow and ice. In such cases, you need to perform two or three passes on the site. The ice is chipped during the first pass, and for the second and third paths they are cleaned with brushes. When all the wagons of the train are filled, it should be in a specially designated place for unloading. Unloading such a train can take place in any direction both during parking and during movement.
PPS Snow Trains
The PSS-1 snow removal train consists of a head section of a gondola car, two middle gondola cars, a gondola car with a conveyor equipped with a rotary mechanism, and a propulsion or traction and energy section with a rotor unloading mechanism. The PSS-1K snow train is used to clear stations and hauls, crossings and arrows from snow and debris. Snow is loaded into gondola cars and unloaded in specially designated areas for this by mechanical means.
Such a train can clean up to one thousand two hundred cubic meters of snow or up to five hundred cubic meters of garbage per hour. In the mode of ice breaking, the productivity can be up to six hundred cubic meters. The PSS-1 snow train can operate in two modes. When moving the head section forward, snow is cleaned from the snow with a brush drum-feeder and folding wings. In this case, the collected snow is discharged away from the tracks at the same time as cleaning.
Arrows can also be purged with a special fan machine. In the same mode, a chip of ice frozen on the tracks is carried out with the help of an active ice cleaver in those sections of the track where it is necessary. When moving forward with the tail (traction and energy) section, the station paths, hauls and crossings are cleaned with side brushes and a supply brush drum. At the same time, the collected snow mass is ejected away from the tracks.
The station parks are also cleared with a drum feeder and side brushes. In the same mode, pre-crushed ice is cleaned with side brushes and a drum.
Snow train equipment
The design of such trains provides for special devices designed for breaking ice and providing complete clearing of track sections for unhindered passage of trains in the winter. The wings increase the width of the stripping strip in the overall places, which significantly reduces the time spent on work. When moving the train and in oversized places, the wings are folded along the frame.
Brushes in front and on the sides of the train are designed for better cleaning of tracks. In difficult cases, a complete clearing fails the first time, and the train must make one or two more passes. Additionally, the snow blower is equipped with a baking powder for grinding snow mass before loading onto the conveyor. Snow removal trains speed up track cleaning due to high productivity, which on some models can reach up to one thousand tons per hour.
The use of snow blowers in the summer
In the summer, snow-removal trains are used to collect garbage from the tracks and can work with an additionally attached tank with a supply of water for treating cleaned areas from special sprayers. This treatment can significantly reduce the amount of dust raised by trains in dry weather.