Cleaning Snow out of Railroad Switches
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- I'll set the Switch on Fire in this video as I show you how to thaw
out railroad switches and crossings and clear the snow out from them.
It's critical in snowy cold weather to keep these switches functioning
correctly to help prevent derailments as well as keeping crossings
and frogs free from ice and snow buildup. But that's just part of my
winter time duties here on the railroad.
Check out my other You Tube channel with more cool railroad and
rail fanning videos along with other adventures Dave has:
/ @thatsdavesotherdoings
Disclaimer: I am an employee of Iron Senergy at Cumberland
Mine. My job is railroad track maintenance. I am very fortunate to
have this job and everyone at the mine is very fortunate to have
Iron Senergy as it's current owner. Our past owners had every
intention of shutting this mine down, but Iron Senergy took
over and have kept this mine alive.
Please understand: I am NOT in any way an official or unofficial
spokes person for Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine. Any viewpoints,
opinions or anything that I show in the videos, or write in the video
descriptions or any answer to any comment, should NEVER be
misconstrued or interpreted as being in any way shape or form,
any kind of official or unofficial statement from Iron Senergy,
Iron Cumberland, Cumberland Mine, any of the mine's management,
any of the contractors that may be shown in any video, nor of
any of my fellow co-workers.
Any viewpoints or opinions I may make in the videos, in the
descriptions, or in any answer to a comment is strictly that of my
own and NOT an official or unofficial statement or viewpoint that
Iron Synergy or any one at Iron Senergy or Cumberland Mine
necessarily has or makes.
Again, we are very fortunate to have Iron Senergy as our current
owners. Please, when making a comment be respectful of Iron Senergy,
Cumberland Mine, my fellow coworkers and also any contractors
that may be shown. Thank You, Dave
#railroadswitch#thawrailroadswitch#switchfire
99% of people hate their jobs and then there is Dave that broke the mold.
😂😂😂😂😂😂 yeah so true flame thrower would be very good lol
Lol Dave a Strange way to keep warm watch them wooden sleepers ! then you will be dealing with De Railing lol
I don't hate my job. I'm not in love with it but I don't hate it.
On balance it's a good well paying job with shitty aspects. Believe me when I say those less than ideal aspects are rough, but I'm compensated properly because of it.
You'll do anything if you get paid properly- well almost lol.
Thank you for the kind words Wayne. I am pretty lucky that I have a job I love doing. Very much appreciate your taking the time to to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Dave, 1 million thanks to whoever did the brush cutting. The right way looks great and Mapletown Road looks fantastic. What is the light/beacon assembly on the front of 22 four? Remote control indication while at the harbor or the mine?
years ago dave when I started trucking scrap I hauled out of a yard that scraped rail cars they had there own locomotive, so what the brake man did was when they were expecting a lot of snow he'd cover most switches with flat cars there for keeping the switches clean!!! pretty smart!!
Hey that is a pretty smart idea Jeff. Flat cars would work great for
that. Problem with the hopper cars is if snow accumulates in them
then it makes for a real mess when they try and dump coal out of
the cars. If they are not running trains and a big snow is coming,
we open the doors on the hopper cars. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.
My dad worked for Southern. During heavy snow all management people would be assigned certain amount of track. They would use diesel fuel in the switches and light it to keep the railroad moving. I would go with him at night and camp out in his 52 Chevy. He tended those crossovers.
Southern was a great RR in it's day and yes many a track man spent
the night keeping the switches and crossings free of ice and snow,
how cool you got to go with your dad on some of those nights Gunsaway. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
It's amazing what a bit of snow or even ice can do when it comes to compression resistance. Even enough to jack a monster 6 axle road diesel right up and off the track. Thank you for sharing this one with us, Dave. Again I don't know how you fellows up north function when those temps start to get down in the single digits not to mention below! And always a good day when locomotive #1 makes an appearance.
We never thought ice could derail a heavy thing like a locomotive
Shane, but we sure learned a lesson the hard way. Glad you enjoyed.
Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I use to work for a construction company out of Cleveland Ohio that did rail maintenance. We used a mobile air compressor that we used for our neumatic tools for rail maintenance to clear the ice and snow off the switches. We had a hand made wand with a lever valve to flow air or shut off.
That's the way to go Kevin. We have a long wand that we have
in the past hooked up to the air line on the loco to blow snow
out of the switches, it works great so I'm sure your configuration
would work great also. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
We carried a snow broom on the locomotive and the crummy. We cleaned out switches before placing cars. The track gangs couldn't always get to the customer's sidings so the roustabout crews performed the task. When I started on the EL in the 1970's they used snow oil which would melt the snow from the rods and switch points. Highly flammable, couldn't use it near switch heaters. The propane heaters made an eerie whistling sound when heating; you could also roast weenies over them. A lot of switch heaters are now electric and are remotely controlled. The track men had a fusee holder and ignited the propane heaters with a lit fusee. It isn't fun railroading in the snow. Don't you have a cold weather head cover to attach to your hard hat? I don't envy you working out in the blustery cold. Thanks for another great video. Take care and God bless.😎🚂🚃🚃🚃✝
No I do not have a cover for my hard hat Gary. I get in the truck when
I get cold....:-) Very interesting comment to read, appreciate very much your taking the time to share some old railroading with us
my friend.
all our switch stands have a holder for a broom that has a ice chipper on the other end, however... conductors often pretend they dont know how to use it and we usually gotta come clean the switch for them after they packed too much snow/ice into it! Funnily enough they will also break the broom on purpose if they dont want to clean it and make mow do it ^^
Never knew about removing ice from the switches, thank you, I learned something today.
Your quite welcome MightyWookie. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
It's amazing how strong ice can be. We had a lite locomotive derail once because of ice in a crossing down in Connecticut. Man, it was cold that day. Took two days to get it back on the rails, laid it right over on its side. I'll never forget it, we stacked 215 ties for a pad for one of the crane outriggers, there was a ravine on the side the loco went over, then never used it!! Man, it was cold! We also had a jet engine mounted on a hi-rail car that cleaned the switches in the yard. Boy oh boy was that thing a site to watch. It was loud and violent, would send ballast, spikes and anything else that wasn't nailed down into a low earth orbit.
We never thought ice could jack a heavy loco off the tracks Anthony,
but we learned a valuable lesson the hard way that day. I bet your
experience with that was a real fiasco. That's what I need to make
a cool video is one of those jet engines!!! :-) Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I worked in the steel industry for over 35 years in northern Ohio and all steel is moved by rail. When it was cold and much snow was expected the RR used to park cars above the switching points if possible to keep the snow off them and we had a small little mobile RR car with a cab on it and it had a jet engine mounted on it that would be turned on and pointed at the tracks to blow off and melt the snow and ice - its was a very cool little car to say the least! I could still hear the sound of that jet engine as the car went by and took care of business to keep the plant running. I love your videos by the way as I'm retired and these videos bring back memories of days gone by.
Really pleased to hear you are enjoying the home movies Krispy.
That's an excellent idea to park a car over a switch, we've done
that a few times on our main line switches if they weren't running
trains. I need one of those cars you had here!!! Boy what fun I
would have with that.
When our switch heaters go out we use plastic shovels and brooms, and hydro, and light it on fire. We have 750dc, 480ac, 240ac heaters and gas, and propane, there is a lot of miles.
Nice tiger torch.
Of course your mine railroad is different then mine and we cannot use any blower safely not to mention we have third rail. At switches like that we use Kerosene pots, they last eighteen hours when lit. For simple heat why do you not have those?
We also have two jet engine blowers mounted to a track car. It has power, heat, and loves to throw ballast at windows to break them. LOL
Nice job though. Glad you had the tesing done, thank the man Sperry for that invention.
Kerosene pots would be nice but they got me instead Tuco....:-) Even years back when we only had 1 loco and 4 of the switches got used every train trip we would have to manually clean those switches all the time. I'm really glad I don't work track that has 3rd rail!!! Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend
@@ccrx6700 🙂
Very >COOL< video Dave! Always enjoy seeing what can fill your day. And your positive attitude always brings a smile! Have a great week my friend!
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃💯👍🇺🇸
Thank you for the really nice comment Jim. Glad I made someone smile today....:-) Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
That brings back memories. I remember very well cleaning switches. No leaf blowers back then. lol. An old corn broom a shovel and pointed bar for chipping ice. Cool video.
Yes this is much nicer than brooms Michael, but still use a pointed bar to chip ice away, specially out of the frogs if I don't have a propane heater. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.
Good job! Loved seeing the train in the snow.
Thank you and we do appreciate your watching the snow cleaning show.
Stay well dave,your a happy soul,when you joke and smile about the job you need to do that makes the go better, even when not every day is good one,all the best to you dave.
Appreciate the very nice comment Joseph. Thank you very much for taking the time to visit with us to watch the video my friend.
Man you guys have it easy with those blowers. Us train crews are stuck using a switch broom 😂. Definitely appreciate you guys keeping us on the rails!
Our train crew won't touch a broom. They call us and we have to drop what we're doing to go clean a switch for them 😂
What a bunch of lazy bums 😜🤣🤣🤣 We’ll call engineering when we can’t turn the switch at all, otherwise we’ll sweep it.
@Maverick_31 they've told us that us track guys are only there to make them look good 😄
Blower sure is nicer than a broom I will agree on that Maverick.....:-)
Thank you very much for your visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.
That’s the best way to thaw out rail switches. Don’t shovel unless you have to. The mine is very fortunate to have you
Thank you for the nice comment Wayne. I'm all with you on
not shoveling unless you have to! Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Very few people have the positive mental attitude that you do! Love it!
Thank you for the very kind words Byron. And we do appreciate your taking the time to visit and check out the video my friend.
It is very interesting to see how you handle switch maintenance in the snow. Thanks for showing us.
You are certainly welcome Fred and glad you enjoyed. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend.
Cleaned a lot of RR switches out during my RR career. Used a Stihl Backpack blower. Enjoyed watching and have a wonderful upcoming Wednesday Dave.(Steve)
Your quite welcome Steve. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Your very welcome also Dave.
Very good video and production Dave, I enjoyed this very much! A railroader's work is never done!
Glad you enjoyed Dave. Thanks so much for writing in and for taking the time to watch the cleaning snow video my friend.
Another great educational vid, Dave. Thank you, as always, for bringing the railroad to us. Stay warm and safe.
Your quite welcome Kenneth, glad you learned something new. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I was never a RR man but always liked seeing trains. I was a merchant sailor for years after 8 years in the Coast Guard and cold weather hits us all. In the arctic we'd have to chip ice off the decks, rails and superstructure to keep our center of gravity down. It could be pretty brutal & dangerous. Slipping and falling down all over the place on a rolling ship.
Take care out there Dave! Things can happen fast!!!
Oh wow, I never realized anyone had to do that Jon. I do imagine
that could have been pretty scary and dangerous! Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
It must suck to have to do that by hand! The tracks by us have "high speed switching" and there are switches everywhere between our town and the yard in the nearest larger town. Every one of them has a propane tank next to it and a switch heater. I'm sure that is insanely expensive, but necessary if you don't have a large team of Dave's 😉
NS has those around here also Mojo, I made a video of one couple
years ago but haven't shown it yet, would be cool if I could video one
when it was turned on, I'm waiting for that. They sure save a lot
of man power and you are right, they are expensive. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
Hi Dave, I'm glad you enjoy your work so we can enjoy watching 😊
Thank you for the nice comment. These home movies are a lot of
fun to make 1208Bug, glad you are enjoying them. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
A fun day , you can eve get to play with fire. You are always keeping the rails safe.
Always a good day on the RR when I get to play with fire Beverly....:-)
Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
Great job Dave you are a dedicated employee 😊
Thank you for the kind words Anthony. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
I don't think a lazy person would like railroading much! Thank you for sharing Dave, I didn't even think of the switches in snow, that certainly adds to the work load!
Your right about that Raymond, railroading is not a job for a lazy
person. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
As a fellow western Pennsylvania resident, I know about the 'weather roller coaster' Mother Nature puts us on quite often.
It wasn't bad watching you do your job, but I was inside the entire time! LOL!!
Thank you for sharing and for your diligence.
May God keep you healthy and safe
Yep never know from one day to next if it's going to be 21 or 51,
rain or snow Trainman. Not bad when it gets cold and stays that
way, the fluctuation in temps makes it hard to get used to the cold tho. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
That is How ya Do It.4-5
Thank you very much Alan for taking the time to write in and
to watch the switch cleaning video. May you have a very good day my friend.
Thanks Mr. Dave, I appreciate you taking the time out of your busy Schedule to film all your railroad activities. I really enjoy your videos. It gives this old man enjoyment of Transportation products. After 35 years driving 18 wheelers, and 45 plus years of Ministry work, too. Transportation has been my life including going to the rail sides to pick-up containers from off the trains in locations in VA, NC, and GA. Thanks again, Mr Dave have a wonderful day and the rest of your week.
Your welcome and thank you for the really nice comment Rev. Harry.
Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Thanks Dave for filming on this cold and snowy morning. Amazing how much there is to consider in cold weather railroading. A good leaf blower and industrial size propane torch is a must...
Thank you for the nice comment Steve and you are quite welcome. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Good morning Dave. I am glad you uave multiple ways to deal with the snow and ice. Have a great day my friend.
Glad to have good friends like you who watch these home movies too
Lewis! Thank you very much.
You are quite practiced in playing with fire. If it keeps the train running, it must be good stuff. Thank you for sharing, Dave. Your videos make my day. Thank you.
My videos may make your day Shirley, but playing with fire on the RR
makes my day....LOL Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
We used to have a 1” pipe about 6’ long with a ball valve with 8’ of 1” hose hooked up to a locomotive and blow out the switch from the pilot, it worked great until it was outlawed.
When we were running only a single loco we too had one of those
and used the loco car dump line to blow snow out of switches with
that Jason. Yes it did work great but the train operators weren't too
pleased about getting out in the middle of the night to blow out
switches with it....:-) Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend
It never fails to amaze me how much equipment you guys need "behind the scenes" to keep your railroad running Dave. Snow never falls in the part of Australia I live in, so seeing the additional demands winter brings to you guys is really fascinating. Thanks as always!
I would imagine it would be Pete seeing that stuff you never get
to see at home. No snow, I'm moving there!!! :-) Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
On my line all the MOW had back-pack type blowers & ALL the locos had brooms.. Used to hate stopping my train short of every switch to clean them out on really snowy nights! One of many things I DON'T miss now that I've retired...
I can certainly understand that Hans! We used to keep a long
air wand on the loco and use the loco air to blow out switches
when the snow got pretty deep, that worked great even with wet
snow. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
I see switch heaters burning on the Northeast Corridor right near my house. It makes a merry sight on a cold, snowy morning.
I sure bet it would Eric. Nice they have them. I am not so lucky....:-)
Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
@@ccrx6700 you are most welcome, Sir. It's the least I can do. Thank you for enlightening me.
@@ericmintz8305 👍😊
I ❤ all the shows. I watch as many as I can. I even learned a thing or two. It is February 27th 2024 and we had near 60 degree weather. Tomorrow 30. I will bet, that the operators are glad that you are out there doing your job, and doing it well.
Appreciate the nice comment Earl and glad you are having a good
time watching all the home movies. Weather here is up and down
also, one day 65 the next 25. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend.
It's good that you have the propane heater there to help thaw things out! Brrrr!!! Just be careful to keep warm and stay well.
You remind me of my dad. He loved his work at Pettibone. He was a crane engine assembler. I still remember his almost musical "Hello!" When my younger sister and I ran to meet him when he came home from work. Used to bring us penny gumballs from the machine at work.😊
What great memories you share with of your dad Trena, those are
special to you I'm sure. Very nice! We do appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
LOL! After 26+ years in Alaska, that "14F" sounds HOT! HAHAHA!! I'm glad I'm not up there anymore.
I would imagine it certainly does Eric! T shirt weather for you.
Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
This was another learning video for me Dave. Thanks for showing us how you clean the switches. They are a pretty important thing on the rail line.
Your quite welcome William, glad you learned something new. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Hello Dave the ice in switches could be a real problem . Cook some Hot dogs with that fire 😂. Does a great job .That’s The fun of Railroading 😂😂Robin out . Be safe
Next time it snows I will try and remember to bring some Robin. That will make a cool video! :-) Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I've used leaf blowers for years cleaning snow off our vehicles, and when it's powdery, the driveway too. Great thinking
Yes sir, I also use the blower for cleaning snow off my hi rail trucks,
works great. Here in Pa. we are supposed to clean all the snow off
the car roofs so snow doesn't blow off them and cause an accident,
the leaf blower is the ticket to do that.
@ccrx6700
I live in Utah. It's the same here. We get alot of powder, so usually it's easy.
Hi Dave, I learned a lots of railways from your UA-cam channel, thanks for sharing. I salute to you!
Thank you for the very nice comment Fat Lo. Glad you are enjoying the home movies. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Thanks for taking us along, Dave! Really neat to see how you handle the snow and ice around the switches. I've seen the hand-held propane torches like that but I never would've expected you to use a leaf blower! From a layman's perspective, it seems like the massive weight of trains would crush through any resistance that ice or frozen ground could offer, but it amazes me how much care you really have to practice with the cold temps. Thanks again for sharing! I learn so much every video!
Appreciate the nice comment Seth. When that loco went off the rails because of the ice build up, we all had thought the same as you
did. 368,000 pounds it weighs and it ain't gonna derail from a little
ice. We sure were wrong on that and learned a valuable lesson the
hard way. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend
@@ccrx6700 What a horrible lesson to have to learn, too! Thanks again for sharing all this with us, my friend! Hope you're having an excellent evening.
@@TheyCallHimDietSeth 👍😊
Thanks you for sharing this cold work day Dave.
Your quite welcome Derrick. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Extreme cold and heat do make your mind go blank
My mind's been blank since I was born Reubensandwich....LOL
Thank you very much for your visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.
On Steel Highway this past December, I saw the heated rails for the mass transit trains on fire. I’d heard about it, but never saw that in action. It was amazing. I think there were 4 sets of switches all on fire at once. As I’m in Pacific Time, 23:00 hours here is 01:00 in Chicago and about the coldest temps. Theirs is automatic and yours is done manually.
It would be nice to have some of those automatic gas switch
heaters, but we will never see one here. They are cool to watch,
specially at night Joanie. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
BRRRRR, fire and a blower sure beats the broom. Wish I had that when I was cleaning switches at 5 deg. in Jan. years ago. Good video. Glad it is 65 today instead of that 14. :)
Yes it sure does Bryan. We've used a long wand run off the air
line on the loco before also, that does a great job, specially when
the snow is heavy. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Good videoing there Dave be safe.
Thank you Wade. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
You know what, this video reminds me of the brilliant movie "Runaway Train" (1985) with John Voight and 4 out of control locos speeding through the snowy landscape of Alaska 😀
Dave, keep up the good work and i hope you never get this kind of "action" on your little line like in this movie ;-)
Let's hope that never happens here too, it would be a real
disaster Faktist. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Nice work on snow ⛄️ patrol Dave
Thank you for the nice comment Ian. Just a part of doing my job
keeping trains safe. Very much appreciate your paying us a visit
to check out the video my friend.
I saw tracks on fire once, but it was at night, now I know why. Thanks brother....
Always a good day here when I get to play with fire Clark..... :-)
Oh yea, the rail on fire at night is spectacular to see. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend
@ccrx6700
I often forward your videos to two of my friends. One spent 35 years on the csx railroad in Ontario Canada, the other works up on the Alaskan railroad. He is a conductor, bit also does maintenance work and Avalanche control work up there. When he lived here, he was head of Avalanche control in the canyons, I got to go up with him one day and even got to fire a 110 mm shell to bring down a snow buildup site. I still have the shell next to the 120 mm shell my dad got while he was in the navy.
Thanks again for all your great videos,and your infectious laughter. I love it.
God bless brother
@clarklindquist8137 oh wow. Next time you gonna shoot snow im going with you 😊👍😎
I’m surprised the ties don’t catch fire. When you’re hungry you can cook some hot dogs..lol. Great video as always Dave. Thanks and keep warm.
Have never caught a tie on fire using the Fire Snake or a propane
heater William, thank goodness. I do carry a couple of fire extinguishers in the truck when I do stuff like this just in case
tho. Thank you for taking the time to visit and check out
the video my friend.
Now I see an advantage to your self-guarding switch frogs. No guard rails to clean out! I was wondering about them.
You are right in that Reggie, but self guarded frogs are only for
low speed tracks too. So just can't have them anywhere. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Appreciate you for sharing your adventures with us on the railroad. It’s really cool to see what you’re up to on the daily!
Thank you for the nice comment WJYE. Glad you are enjoying the home movies. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Good job Mr. Dave, that's using the ol noggin. Glad spring isn't to far away now. Snow is bad enough, but ice is a real pain. Stay safe buddy.
Spring is coming real soon Rick, next week get up to 70 around here.
25 tonight tho. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
THANK YOU DAVE.
Your quite welcome Ralph. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Another good one, my friend. Nice to watch your dedication at work. You should be proud. That work ethic is hard to find these days. Props to you.
Thank you for the nice comment Jerry. Glad you enjoyed. Very
much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
hello Dave & it's is Randy and i like yours video is cool & Thanks Dave Friends Randy
Thank you Randy. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Thanks for sharing how you 'hit the bottle' Dave😉 I need one of those torches for my driveway.
Your welcome, glad you enjoyed Joseph. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Hey Dave I’ve been railroading myself over 25 years and most of them for New Englands biggest regional rr. Love to office you in one of my crews . Looks like you really love what you do. I’ve done all of when you’ve shown on your films. Good to see you showing non rr workers how it is. Take care and keep em upright . Lol
Appreciate the very nice comment Jeff. May have to get up there sometime and pay a visit, that would be cool. Thank you very much for taking time out of your day to visit with us and check out the video. May you have a really good day my friend.
Use the fire snake 🐍, that would work too right, lol thanks BigAl California
Yes sir it would work and I've used it several times in the past for
switches and crossings Al. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
You're one important cog in that wheel. Stay safe and blessings
Thank you for the nice comment Jeff, but I'm just another monkey in the circus..... :-) Really appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and may you have a very good day my friend.
I bet Jan had a good hot dinner for you Dave that cold evening.
She always has a good dinner for me Mack. Great wife and I do
appreciate her. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Hi Dave, Good to learn something new. Torch melts snow into water, you go away and the temperature drops, and you get ice. I guess that's just another reason for good track drainage.
Torch evaporates the water shopshop. However using the leaf blower to try and blow away wet snow can cause more ice to form. There's
always a need for good drainage for sure on that! Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Is there a problem with the coal freezing to the hopper cars? Are the cars cleaned out of snow and ice before they're loaded? In the gravel business there is nothing worse than the load freezing in the end dumps. Our quarry trucks had heated bodies but sometimes the material will still freeze in them.
Yes there is a definite problem with coal freezing to the sides of
the aluminum cars Pete. There will be a video out soon on how
we spray the insides of the cars with a side release agent to prevent
coal from freezing to the sides. If they are not running trains consistently and a big snow is coming we will open all the doors
on the bottoms of the cars. If we let the snow build up in the cars
then load coal on top of that snow even with spraying it creates
some big problems. Many of the triaxle trucks they haul gravel
with around here can direct their exhaust to warm the bed up
if needed, but it always doesn't work very well like your trucks either.
Here in Melbourne, Australia, today was about 32 Celsius. That's about 90 F.
We are lucky, rarely does it get to freezing, although it does in some rural areas and those with a bit of altitude. I am not aware of any areas that have or had railways needing to clear off snow or deice switches.
Thank you for showing an aspect of cold weather railroading.
Gee how unfortunate you guys don't get to play with fire every now
and then Kevin.....:-) Always a good day here when I can set something on fire....LOL Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Tough job keeping switches and track clear in the winter time. Thanks for sharing Dave. Keep warm brother!
Thank you for the nice comment Brian. Just doing my job here. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
That propane rosebud is called a "pear burner" in Texas because we use them to remove the needles from cactus to feed our livestock.
That's pretty interesting to hear Fordman, new one on me. Feed cactus to cattle. Very much appreciate your paying us a visit to check out the video my friend.
Great video Dave! I can imagine how much work this would have been back a few 100 years ago. Now, it's all about "Job Security" and I am sure you are appreciated !
Back in the day it was an all night job for many a track man to go around and keep smudge pots filled on the switches and keep the
snow broomed out of them Captain Tom. The only one who appreciates me is my kitty cat Freddy when I give him treats....LOL
Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
your enthusiasm is contagious love watching your videos and love learning keep up the amazing work!
Thank you for the nice comment DJ Toby. Glad you are enjoying the home movies. Very much appreciate your paying us a visit to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I can remember in the late 60s early 70s Toronto Terminal Railroad, who ran Union Station Toronto, would pour diesel fuel on the switches and set it on fire with flares. With all the double slip switches it looked like a war zone out there. Probably would not meet today's environmental standards. The funniest thing though was to watch CN working on the Turbo trains by heating the fuel lines with flares and pounding the jet engines with wheel hammers to get the engines to start. Such a low tech method to start a modern engine. Of nothing else works get out cans of diesel fuel, big hammers and flares.
Love your videos, and the use of a leaf blower.
I've set switches on fire before also using Fire Snake D Bolt. That's always fun, we used to use a rope soaked in diesel fuel
before they started getting us the snake. Just pouring fuel
on a switch and lighting it wouldn't seem to last very long. Big Poof and it's all over. Appreciate very much your taking the time to visit with us and may you have a very good day my friend.
It's so nice that you use real temperature measurements that people can actually relate too! I hate it when people complain about the heat and then tell you it's 35 degrees! Have you ever had the coal freeze in the cars?
Thank you Keith. Yes we have had coal freeze to the sides of
the cars many, many times in the past. I will have a soon out
video on spraying our cars with side release agent to help
prevent the coal from freezing. And yes we have also had the
coal freeze as a solid block in the car and nothing would come
out, just have to wait for several days of warm weather to dump
those puppies out. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Nice job Dave! I guess you could call your leaf blower a snow blower now, lol.
You are right about that Wilbur, does a pretty decent job too,
specially at getting snow on my pants....LOL Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
It's bring your leaf blower to work day! Haha! I imagine it helps to speed up the process of clearing the switches.
I guess you could very well say that Chris....:-) Blower was happy to
get some usage anyway. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
That’s pretty cold for me…and kudos for you using the blowtorch to thaw the switches….and the blower to blow the built up snow….keep up the awesome work man…love your videos and information on the railroading….
Really pleased to hear you are enjoying the home movies Kevin. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
You do a great job Dave!
Thank you for the nice comment Jeff. Glad you enjoyed. Very
much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
I love this channel!
Thank you for the nice comment J Williams. Glad you are
having a good time with us. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the snow cleaning video my friend.
We had to go up to a new mine the just opened rolling thunder mine up n Nicklaus county n pave a road pitching the rd towards a sediment pond pretty cool seeing them set up the conveyer belts n stuff
They are owned by Alpha Natural Resources which used to own
us Jeremy. Alpha was a decent company to work for until they
bought out AT Massey, it went down hill from there and they
finally ended up filing bankruptcy. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
You keep the railroad going, thanks for the video.
I try my best Richard, but just doing my job here. Thank you for the nice comment. Appreciate very much your tuning in to the show and may you have a very good day my friend.
You are making me cold just watching this ,Dave.
More complex those switches, than you would have thought at first.
Nicr to have a warm truck to retreat into when it gets too col
Thanks, Dave!
Your quite welcome Michael. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I could see where 16 degree weather would cause the ice between the switchpoints to create ice damming. I would also assume that the bolts needing to be replaced are caused by downward stress on the rails from the locomotive and railcar traffic in addition to the lateral shear stress of the rail shrinking in cold weather and expansion during warm weather. I bet when you finally have a weather warm up you find quite a few bolts sheared off. Great video on how all the "little things" keep a railroad moving.
It's a constant thing out here with 16 miles of jointed track bolts shearing off Dave. I keep after them and at minimum weekly go out
and replace missing bolts, a never ending battle. Glad you enjoyed
the video and we very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow show my friend.
Snow is fine as long as it doesn't mess with the traffic or walking. In other words, snow is great on the fields and everything you don't need to drive or walk on. I don't miss the snow and cold of Michigan one bit.
Will agree with you on that Roy! Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend.
Thank you for sharing this cold work day!
It definitely was a cold day, but gotta do what needs done despite
the temps Clarence. Thank you very much for your visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.
When I see another posted video of yours, I click like before it starts knowing it’ll be another good one! Thank you Dave, keep up the awesomeness:)
Thank you for the nice comment CN. Glad you are enjoying the home movies. Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and check out the snow cleaning video my friend.
Looks like fun Dave and be safe my friend
Always a fun day on the RR when I get to play with fire Mike....:-)
Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I use ACT 6006 track&contacr cleaner on my switches. But at $27 for 8floz, I don't think that feasible😂😂 Great work, Dave👷♂️⛏️🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲🙋
Sounds like a good plan Doug, got to keep those switches throwing nicely or else CCRX will get a call for a derailment....:-)
Very much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
I love your enthusiasm
Thank you for the nice comment CMP. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I remember seeing photos of switches in Chicago at NorthWestern Station after a snow storm. It looked like all the switches were on fire.
Yes they probably were Joe, they have to keep those transit
switches free of ice all the time. They are so cool to watch after dark being all lit up. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
Oops, I should've watched the video a little longer. I see you have one of Those flame throwers
Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Great work...Thank you for sharing. Would love that work myself.. Stay warm..
Your quite welcome Dale. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Hi Dave, we have 9 switches to blow out at our place in Northfield MN. We use the stihl backpack blowers and the brooms. Wish there was an easier way to do it but like you said, you gotta do what you gotta do. Take care buddy!
Would be nice to have one of those back pack blowers, they no
doubt do a better job than my small leaf blower. We used to have
a long air wand that we plumbed into the loco air line, that worked
great and did well in wet snow. Thank you for taking the time to visit with us and check out the video my friend.
It's a strange year when it's colder and snowier down where you are than up here in northern Wisconsin. Hot video, thanks Dave!
Yes it is Poowg. We have warm then cold, it's crazy and you can't
get used to the cold that way. Once it gets cold and stays that way,
you get used to it after a few days. Thank you very much for visiting with us to help clean snow out of switches my friend
Thanks Dave
Your quite welcome Tom. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
Well Dave what a job you’re the man another fantastic vid thanks .
Thank you for the nice comment Lawrie. Glad you enjoyed. Very
much appreciate your taking the time to visit with us and
check out the video my friend.
I remember when we used to dig the ballast out between the ties under the switches and place heater pots in the cribs between the ties. They had wicks and diesel fuel. we would light them during a snowstorm and after a train would pass. we would check to make sure they remained lit. It kept the switches dry. I also remember a jet engine blower that would travel through the yard blowing out the switches. We had to keep a man several hundred feet in front of the machine to avoid anyone getting hit by the flying debris such as switch plates. When the jet blower was finished, those tracks were dry.
We always called digging those ties out under switches window
dressing. I've never seen one of those jet blowers work but they
must be really neat to see. Appreciate very much your taking the
time to write in and also to watch the video. May you have a very
good day my friend.
@@ccrx6700 Thank you Sir. I worked 8 years with CSX. I absolutely loved the job, but they kept furloughing me every year and it was too hard on the family. I loved the job and railroading. I would still be there if it weren't for the furloughs.
@@metro143 👍😊
I think they make cheap chest phone holders, could make videos with your hands free to work. Great video as always Dave, thanx buddy!
I'll have to look into something like that Max and see what I can
come up with. Very much appreciate your taking the time to check out the video and post a comment my friend.
Man, I love this channel!
Really glad you are enjoying the home movies Bill. Very much appreciate your taking the time to write in and to check out the cleaning snow video my friend.
I learn something new every time I watch your channel! Had never thought about snow/ice causing switching problems. Makes sense, though. Honestly, melting snow with the propane candle looked like more fun than the work I did today.
Always fun day when I get to play with fire, specially when it's cold
out and get a bit of heat off it Jeff....:-) Thank you very much for visiting with us to help me clean snow out of switches my friend.