Back in the late '70s we had a lake-effect storm off Lake Huron into Southwestern Ontario which built up real snow on the same scale as that near the end of your video. A diesel pusher tried so hard with a plow that the plow stuck, and flipped forward over its blade. Complete wreck on top of a blocked line. I have not been able to find a copy. It was in the Lucan or Granton area, north of London, ON. Your video is so realistic, so cool!
I've seen a video of that accident. It was included at the end of a Greg Scholl video on CN and CP snow plows (ploughs). He made a couple of plow videos and I don't remember the video name but I'm sure you can find it on his web site.
That's so cool, it's a dream of mine to have a set up simular to yours. We always see summer on models and I thought I was the only one that though it would be cool to have a set up for winter , awsome bud .
Pretty cool. Yes, it’s not unusual to see multiple locomotives pushing snow removal equipment. Saw my first Shay, in real world, at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in Felton, CA in 1967. Great ride- fascinating locomotive. Go there.
Adding a couple of ounces over each truck will greatly enhance tractive effort. If you do add weight, you may end up having to add some weight to the plow to keep it on the tracks. Nicely done!!
That has to be the most beautiful sound for a shay I have ever heard. I love the sound of the start up chugs to it sounding like its going 80 mph when it's only going 10. Awesome locomotive man. Beats a Phoenix and really puts the Tsunami shay sound to shame.
I should check comments more often...The sound is from a QSI Titan decoder. It is actually even better now that I have updated the sound file from the Q2-FX version which comes with the board to the Q3-ET version.
Thinking about it, a shay might be the optimal type of steam locomotive for snow plowing. They may be slow, but with small driving wheels, all-wheel power, and their geared transmission that makes wheelslip almost impossible, they've definitely got the raw brute strength to shove almost any amount of snow aside. Even better if they're given a rotary snowplow as they're less hampered by low speed operations than convention rod-type engines. If the opportunity presents itself to try again next winter, one trick I've heard used on real snowplows is to coat them in diesel fuel (for a scale model like this cooking oil should suffice) so that snow won't stick to the plow.
I hate to get all mushy, but the moment I started watching this video (and the outstanding Sound) I remembered my Dad, and remembered that had it not been for him I never would have known about trains, or developed the love and appreciation for trains, this layout would have made made him smile that smile that said to my brother and I, "Daddy's happy"...miss him so...
Joseph Washington I know what you mean man, even though I was younger when my grandpa got me into trains I still love them today, he is no longer with us but I'm glad that I knew him and spent time with him while he was with us. R.I.P. Papa. If it wasn't for him I would have never even been on a train.
It's really an awesome scenic journey, albeit a short one. Much appreciated for all your time, efforts and money in sharing this spectacular video. Many thanks. Best regards, Nassa
Great to see a Shay doing what it should. I can only afford to look at pictures of one. LOL Nice... I got to ride in the cab of the Shay in Cass W.Va.1970's when I was a lad.
That was so cool when I realized that it was a miniature. (I will Not call it a Toy!) That engine must be very heavy as I would think the wheels would just spin when it hit that heavy snow.
Maybe run a slightly longer train so that at full speed it gathers more momentum and inertia. That combined with a slightly longer and thinner plow blade will do crazy things. But that plow was awesome for that setup.
What actually happened here is that your crew ran into some hard pack snow . That's a problem you'll get in higher elevations . On the good side your crew and plow didn't run into hard pack that's turned into hard pack ice , at that point your crew would need to breakout the TNT , I'd say two sticks should do it and about halfway up so the track won't get damaged . Use a pike that you can heat up in the firebox to melt the prep work to set the TNT . So good luck . PS. I'd back the train about 100 ft . before you set it off .
Here in upstate NY, we're getting buried with snow -- 12" so far and it's predicted to go all day tomorrow...! Let's see... That would be 22.5 scale feet of snow already! I don't think that plow will cut it by the end of this storm...
We ultimately got an official 27.2 inches of snow -- just over 51 scale feet of snow !!!! Needless to say, the GC&E maintenance crews stayed in the bunkhouse!
I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!! I think I'd use a windshield scraper or broom or shovel to "manually" assist. It's like a derailment; sometimes you just have to pick it up and put it back on the track.
The toughest part is keeping the radio transmitter warm. I actually had to stop when the transmitter suddenly quit. The LCD display goes dark and you have to pull the batteries to 'un-freeze' it.
Interesting how this video ended in my feed after watching vids of big rotary blowers and plows on the real thing at Donner pass etc. Assuming this scale train is made of much less dense materials than a real iron and steel train, I’d be curious how this beautiful scale model train compares scale wise in weight to the real thing? For the part at the end when it is quickly stopped by the deep snow it would be interesting to see how it might perform if somehow it could be weighted down to have a scale level of kinetic energy and momentum of a real freight train hitting big drifts.
Interesting question... The plow blade is plastic, as is the locomotive body. To keep the plow on the rails, I added 5 pounds of lead weight and installed ball bearing trucks to carry the extra weight. The Shay locomotive has 3 power trucks - all wheels driven - so it gets good traction. I have 3 more Shays - another 3-truck and two 2-truck Shays. If I hooked them all up, I could have quite a show...
Did they rotary snow blowers yet? He could have blown it to the side of the track to get the 13’ (scaled) off the tracks. Impressive video! Thank you for posting it!
Your best resource is Kalmbach's 'Garden Railways' magazine. There are a lot of articles in there giving advice and ideas. To keep costs down, I bought nearly all my locomotives and rolling stock on eBay. I got very good at spotting the auctions that weren't being actively watched. Since my railroad is outdoors, and I didn't want to a) run power to the railroad and b) spend a lot of time cleaning the tracks for good electrical contact, all my locomotives have on-board rechargeable batteries and radio remote controls. And, since the tracks weren't electrified, I saved a lot of money by buying aluminum rail - about half the price of brass. One thing I would NOT recommend is to make your own ties out of cedar boards, ripped and cut on a table saw then hand-spiking the rails. The spikes push up out of the ties every winter/spring...
That video was made when I only had a single-track main line completed. I have laid a lot of track since then and I still have a lot to go… ua-cam.com/video/m9a9TjRbyW4/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/m9a9TjRbyW4/v-deo.html
Good evening. ln watching your 3 truck Shay cutting through the snow is Awesome. I've seen 2 SP GP-9's that can't do what your Shay can accomplish. However I'm seeing snow sticking to the Wedge which wouldn't happen so much if you Spray Teflon on the Wedge. But that's only a "Suggestion" "Try it you might Like it" ! {:
Do you have a rotary you can put in there of not yet one of those and see if it might help in the thicker parts of the snow. I am new to your channel so I haven't seen what all you have yet
First, wouldn't a leaf blower be WAY FASTER? And second, how do you plan on finishing construction of that deck when you got your toys strewn all over it?
If, by 'deck', you mean the table work that the train is running on, that is the outdoor layout, and that's all I plan to do. I'm not into scenery, just operation and sound. The 1:1 scale trees are the only scenery I will have.
If you plan to use track power, you either want brass or stainless steel. SS is more expensive, but doesn't need cleaning as often, if ever. My railroad uses on-board batteries and radio remote control, so track cleaning is not a problem. Therefore I opted for aluminum, which is about half the cost of brass.
if it had more weight to the train and a 2nd engine i could of worked better. up in canada most of this type of plowing for trains were I am are at least 2 engine that I know of or 4 with a train load
At the time I had 2 more 2-truck Shays, but didn't bring them out. I now have a 2nd 3-truck Shay as well. I should make another video with all 4 locos - 10 power trucks, 20 driven axles... 😃😏
Back in the late '70s we had a lake-effect storm off Lake Huron into Southwestern Ontario which built up real snow on the same scale as that near the end of your video. A diesel pusher tried so hard with a plow that the plow stuck, and flipped forward over its blade. Complete wreck on top of a blocked line. I have not been able to find a copy. It was in the Lucan or Granton area, north of London, ON. Your video is so realistic, so cool!
I feel like way back in the day something similar happened to a old steam train and thus the rotary blower was born
I've seen a video of that accident. It was included at the end of a Greg Scholl video on CN and CP snow plows (ploughs). He made a couple of plow videos and I don't remember the video name but I'm sure you can find it on his web site.
That's so cool, it's a dream of mine to have a set up simular to yours. We always see summer on models and I thought I was the only one that though it would be cool to have a set up for winter , awsome bud .
I love my 0 Gage rotary snow plow. If I had a layout up north on the outside like I did when I was a kid it would come in really handy.
Pretty cool. Yes, it’s not unusual to see multiple locomotives pushing snow removal equipment. Saw my first Shay, in real world, at the Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge Railroad in Felton, CA in 1967. Great ride- fascinating locomotive. Go there.
Adding a couple of ounces over each truck will greatly enhance tractive effort. If you do add weight, you may end up having to add some weight to the plow to keep it on the tracks. Nicely done!!
Actually, the plow has 5 pounds (!) of lead teletype weights inside. Hence the need for ball bearing trucks.
Fun and impressive to watch. What an amazing model train. Looks like a fantastic setup.
I thought it was a real train until I seen the trees,very nice.
This might be one of the greatest things I've ever seen a model train, the fact that it actually works is incredible.
The Merrimack Railfan Thanks!
that was some pushing power ! in full size , that would be a miracle ! and then to stay on the tracks
That has to be the most beautiful sound for a shay I have ever heard. I love the sound of the start up chugs to it sounding like its going 80 mph when it's only going 10. Awesome locomotive man. Beats a Phoenix and really puts the Tsunami shay sound to shame.
I should check comments more often...The sound is from a QSI Titan decoder. It is actually even better now that I have updated the sound file from the Q2-FX version which comes with the board to the Q3-ET version.
hope your wife don't mind building those tracks everywhere? looking good!
Thinking about it, a shay might be the optimal type of steam locomotive for snow plowing. They may be slow, but with small driving wheels, all-wheel power, and their geared transmission that makes wheelslip almost impossible, they've definitely got the raw brute strength to shove almost any amount of snow aside. Even better if they're given a rotary snowplow as they're less hampered by low speed operations than convention rod-type engines.
If the opportunity presents itself to try again next winter, one trick I've heard used on real snowplows is to coat them in diesel fuel (for a scale model like this cooking oil should suffice) so that snow won't stick to the plow.
I hate to get all mushy, but the moment I started watching this video (and the outstanding Sound) I remembered my Dad, and remembered that had it not been for him I never would have known about trains, or developed the love and appreciation for trains, this layout would have made made him smile that smile that said to my brother and I, "Daddy's happy"...miss him so...
Much? 😭
Joseph Washington It's great you you've got those memories of your dad!
Joseph Washington I know what you mean man, even though I was younger when my grandpa got me into trains I still love them today, he is no longer with us but I'm glad that I knew him and spent time with him while he was with us. R.I.P. Papa. If it wasn't for him I would have never even been on a train.
Joseph Washington DC
Joseph Washington hbhvj
The little engine that could, good try the snow was just to much!
Enjoy you trains and all the hard work that was put into an awesome display!
🚂
good job WildWillie you might have to build an OY .....lol
am i the only one who finds this satisfying?
It's really an awesome scenic journey, albeit a short one. Much appreciated for all your time, efforts and money in sharing this spectacular video. Many thanks. Best regards, Nassa
Great to see a Shay doing what it should. I can only afford to look at pictures of one. LOL Nice... I got to ride in the cab of the Shay in Cass W.Va.1970's when I was a lad.
Impressive smart move with the shays those guys have power is spades.
Love your plow, put mine on a gondola hasnt run yet.
Neat setup, track must be real long, neat video Thank you for posting
The main oval is 70 feet long, with 16 foot diameter curves, 156 feet total for the outer loop.
The shay engine was very good choice,the gearing makes for a powerful engine that can plow to a couple of pounds of snoe
Wow that is so neat awesome video
Looked like a whole lot of fun!!!
That was so cool when I realized that it was a miniature. (I will Not call it a Toy!) That engine must be very heavy as I would think the wheels would just spin when it hit that heavy snow.
That is amazing. I am surprised it didn't jump the track when backing up and ramming the snow.
The plow has 5 pounds of lead in it to keep it on the tracks. I had to install ball-bearing trucks to carry the weight.
I think you need a rotary blower to clear that much snow !
Awesome setup!
Maybe run a slightly longer train so that at full speed it gathers more momentum and inertia. That combined with a slightly longer and thinner plow blade will do crazy things. But that plow was awesome for that setup.
In my town we have a Shay and a snowplow like that.we are quite lucky.
Subbed! Awesome little railroad
What actually happened here is that your crew ran into some hard pack snow . That's a problem you'll get in higher elevations . On the good side your crew and plow didn't run into hard pack that's turned into hard pack ice , at that point your crew would need to breakout the TNT , I'd say two sticks should do it and about halfway up so the track won't get damaged .
Use a pike that you can heat up in the firebox to melt the prep work to set the TNT .
So good luck .
PS. I'd back the train about 100 ft . before you set it off .
That is the cutest little train so darn cute
Lol, at first I thought this was real. Love it ,,,
You are great man!
Imagine if all g-gauge stuff with diecast you have no problems plowing through that snow
Goos job i thought is was a full size train for a min there awsome
Matthew Crews Thanks!
That was Awesome more Power !!! Do u have a snow blower in that scale? That would be cool.
At first i thought i was a real train lol
luckybatcher so you wasnt a real train?
your new o0
?
Dream toys: train, ships, naval fleet, airplanes
At full bore, that sounded like a (real) SD-40 at run 8!
I like that you used a Shay gear engine
This is so cool
Put firecrackers in the big mound next vid.cool trip!
Where i live the plow is built on a tanker car so they can fill it with water if they need more weight.
Great video. ☺️ I just subscribed to ur channel. ☺️
Maybe spray a bit of pam cooking spray on plow so snow doesn't stick to plow face?Just a idea.
very nice, Abo.
Here in upstate NY, we're getting buried with snow -- 12" so far and it's predicted to go all day tomorrow...!
Let's see... That would be 22.5 scale feet of snow already! I don't think that plow will cut it by the end of this storm...
We ultimately got an official 27.2 inches of snow -- just over 51 scale feet of snow !!!!
Needless to say, the GC&E maintenance crews stayed in the bunkhouse!
Yes, it has on-board batteries and radio remote controlled
Looks like you need a rotary snowplow for the deep stuff....
Operator had skill note the 3blast of the horn to single reverse
I think I can. I think I can. I think I can!! I think I'd use a windshield scraper or broom or shovel to "manually" assist. It's like a derailment; sometimes you just have to pick it up and put it back on the track.
The toughest part is keeping the radio transmitter warm. I actually had to stop when the transmitter suddenly quit. The LCD display goes dark and you have to pull the batteries to 'un-freeze' it.
Interesting how this video ended in my feed after watching vids of big rotary blowers and plows on the real thing at Donner pass etc.
Assuming this scale train is made of much less dense materials than a real iron and steel train, I’d be curious how this beautiful scale model train compares scale wise in weight to the real thing?
For the part at the end when it is quickly stopped by the deep snow it would be interesting to see how it might perform if somehow it could be weighted down to have a scale level of kinetic energy and momentum of a real freight train hitting big drifts.
Interesting question...
The plow blade is plastic, as is the locomotive body. To keep the plow on the rails, I added 5 pounds of lead weight and installed ball bearing trucks to carry the extra weight. The Shay locomotive has 3 power trucks - all wheels driven - so it gets good traction. I have 3 more Shays - another 3-truck and two 2-truck Shays. If I hooked them all up, I could have quite a show...
I thought that the train was a real sized train at the start lol
this is so satisfying
Very Cool
Did you add any weight to the caboose before you put the plow on the front of it ?
Nice job once again I thought it was real.
I love this soooo much!
Did they rotary snow blowers yet? He could have blown it to the side of the track to get the 13’ (scaled) off the tracks. Impressive video! Thank you for posting it!
Forrest Creek yeah I've seen rotary blowers for trains this size
Probably could have used a second engine to help out with the banks.
I have 2 more 2-truck Shays which I used for an earlier test run. This lash-up gives me 7 power trucks: ua-cam.com/video/wy6U0usF2Ik/v-deo.html
Great video
How about a scale snowblower up front? Thanks for the view, could imagine the full size version doing that . . .
Some of us just have too much fun.😊
So cool
Ya need an additional engine. Snow plows are so extra realistic, the train can actually do work. PS. Great sound dubbing.
No sound dubbing at all...
That's a QSI Titan power/sound decoder with 2 speakers!
The sound was recorded live.
Good video, but you should have sent out the rotary plow for that much snow...especially when the snow flakes are the size of golf balls. 8-)
Hi, I love your trains and set up. How does a person get started or find systems. Thanks
Your best resource is Kalmbach's 'Garden Railways' magazine. There are a lot of articles in there giving advice and ideas.
To keep costs down, I bought nearly all my locomotives and rolling stock on eBay. I got very good at spotting the auctions that weren't being actively watched.
Since my railroad is outdoors, and I didn't want to a) run power to the railroad and b) spend a lot of time cleaning the tracks for good electrical contact, all my locomotives have on-board rechargeable batteries and radio remote controls.
And, since the tracks weren't electrified, I saved a lot of money by buying aluminum rail - about half the price of brass.
One thing I would NOT recommend is to make your own ties out of cedar boards, ripped and cut on a table saw then hand-spiking the rails. The spikes push up out of the ties every winter/spring...
I want to rob that train!!! Well dang! Reckon I'm going to need a snow shovel if I do.
cool video dude . ill bet it took forever to build that track !
That video was made when I only had a single-track main line completed.
I have laid a lot of track since then and I still have a lot to go…
ua-cam.com/video/m9a9TjRbyW4/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/m9a9TjRbyW4/v-deo.html
You are wise to use the wedge not the rotary snow blower!
Try some WD 40 on the plow for next time
During the scenes before 3:07, you may as well have grabbed a rotary plow.
Spray some Pam on that blade. It should help.
Watch it you don't want to get stuck in the snow up in the mountains like to see if San Francisco did for a week
Good evening. ln watching your 3 truck Shay cutting through the snow is Awesome. I've seen 2 SP GP-9's that can't do what your Shay can accomplish. However I'm seeing snow sticking to the Wedge which wouldn't happen so much if you Spray Teflon on the Wedge. But that's only a "Suggestion" "Try it you might Like it" ! {:
Good idea!
Thank you.. I've been modeling for 52 yrs. now and I'm full of idea........WidWillie12065. Hopefully this will help you out.
...time to call out the rotary there at the end...
Yup! That may be a project for this winter...
I like alot!
Is it hard to maintain those outdoors rails in working order?
Do you have a rotary you can put in there of not yet one of those and see if it might help in the thicker parts of the snow. I am new to your channel so I haven't seen what all you have yet
Looks like you could have used a rotary at the end
neat, do a video with 2 or 3 engines plowing
I wonder why the model is not short circuit because of the snow.
P Sk Power is from on-board batteries, tracks are not powered
WildWillie12065 Thank you very much for replying me. It's look like a real train great model.
First, wouldn't a leaf blower be WAY FASTER?
And second, how do you plan on finishing construction of that deck when you got your toys strewn all over it?
Quicker? Yes But not as much fun...
If, by 'deck', you mean the table work that the train is running on, that is the outdoor layout, and that's all I plan to do. I'm not into scenery, just operation and sound. The 1:1 scale trees are the only scenery I will have.
So often people find fault with another person's work when they don't know what they're talking about. It is a very nice layout. Congratulations!!
can you send some pics of your snow plow? I would like to build one.
I should check comments more often...
If you're still interested, I'll put together a video slide show of what I did (I took lots of pictures...)
OK - I did it anyway: ua-cam.com/video/MIifoo3BHMU/v-deo.html
3 words for you : high. speed. plowing.
You need a fan
Too Kewl!
Not sure if it will work but next time try using 2 locomotives and see if it will still get stuck...
Should plow the track while the snow is fluffy, not when the sun has turned it into wet compacting snow. But the video was fun to watch anyway.
what kind of track should i use for outdoor
If you plan to use track power, you either want brass or stainless steel. SS is more expensive, but doesn't need cleaning as often, if ever.
My railroad uses on-board batteries and radio remote control, so track cleaning is not a problem. Therefore I opted for aluminum, which is about half the cost of brass.
That poor engine earned its keep that day! Model trains are not just for play anymore. lol
if it had more weight to the train and a 2nd engine i could of worked better. up in canada most of this type of plowing for trains were I am are at least 2 engine that I know of or 4 with a train load
i want your snow plow train toys
need 2 motors for the push..
Lankster Price к
Add another HEAVY pusher Locomotive..dude!
I have 2 more 2-truck Shays which I used for an earlier test run. This lash-up gives me 7 power trucks: ua-cam.com/video/wy6U0usF2Ik/v-deo.html
Where did you get the shay
2 locomotives will do the trick
At the time I had 2 more 2-truck Shays, but didn't bring them out. I now have a 2nd 3-truck Shay as well. I should make another video with all 4 locos - 10 power trucks, 20 driven axles... 😃😏
WOW.