4k: Union Pacific Railroad Rotary Snow Plow at Troy, CA on Donner Pass
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- On Feb 9th, 2023, Union Pacific Railroad operated its rotary snow plow over Donner Pass. A spreader set worked west between Soda Springs and Cisco, plow, plowing snow onto the #2 track/up against the snow bank from the #1 track. The rotary traveled east up the #2 track, cutting the snow bank back. Here is the condensed version of the footage I caught.
Damn that power unit sounds good!!! I could listen to that all day!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Editing in the audio is the hardest part since the drone doesn't take audio
Seen those in Colorado, gots me under my blankets keeping warm. Cool video. 🏜️😎☝️✝️🛐❤️
What an awesome machine.
This is terrific footage. I love the high angles that drones can offer. I betting that the snow plow operator had more fun that day than anyone!
Thank you!
He probably said, "Yeah, it's just a job... THAT EVERYBODY ELSE WOULD LIKE TO DO!"😁
@@terryhaines8351 na
Great footage and amazing quality. I love the little Cat that was following along side earlier on.
Thank you!
Great video!! I stood in front of this beast in Old Sacramento when it was parked at the rail museum. The size of the blades and diameter of the blower are impressive. This is not the highway departments puny little Snow Blast, this is Old School Industrial Rail Power, and the folks who get to run it are having some major fun, they live for these moments.
Thank you!
I love the people and machines that keep the world going????
So Many do so much!
Excellent drone footage . . ! Passing this link along . .
Thanks Paul. 3rd video I've ever done. Gonna refine it. Have, like 67 videos that I took from the last trip. Hope to have them up in the next week. Lots of cool flanger stuff!
When I get home, my wife asks me what did I do at work, and i'm like "today I watched a train shoot snow off the donner pass" and she just smiles and doesn't realize the calm these kind of videos bring me. lol
Haha glad it brought you some entertainment!
Very cool. Thanks!
Glad you liked it!
Unbelievable Amount of Snow. WOW! 👍🙏
When I was a kid in Truckee, the minute the snow began to fall, ALL the town plows and many of the Dads with trucks with plows would immediately go out and start plowing, because we had SO much snow, SO fast, every winter, that if you got behind it, you'd lose all the roads; the town would get shut in and isolated....for the whole winter. For real.
I wonder what the last year was, that actually happened. The whole town mostly shut in, with no road use
Interesting fact, the man who laid out the right of way through these mountains in the 1860s, Theodore Juda, was a visionary, and some sections are still used today unchanged from his original layout.
Actually over 11,000 Chinese laborers built those tracks. Theodore Juda designed it and found investors, but he most certainly wasn't building the tracks with the Chinese laborers.
@@itwasaliens The unknown workers of the project. Juda got very sick from his last trek across Panama coming east and passed away. Nowadays they layout and build roads anywhere where back there it would be considered impossible. Thanks for pointing that part out.
@@itwasaliens Designers and engineers have rarely built large projects instead of supervising them, what is your point? Are you trying to bring race into engineering...sad. Well, good thing that even China didn't care about the almost 400,00 people that died on behalf of the Chinese government building the great wall.
Honestly, after years of this whining and complaining, no one cares. We know history, we know that immigrant Chinese labor AS WELL as other labor was used to build the railways in the west. Funny, don't see you all complaining about Irish labor or any other European immigrants. Seems like your biase is against a certain race. That's racist. Be better.
Breathtaking views, thanks for sharing this.
Much appreciated!! More videos coming soon!
I used to see these rotary plows parked in the Sparks, NV rail yard when I was a boy. I always loved to see the unusual appearance and giant round fan on the front. For a long time I didn't know what their purpose was. We would go to the Harrah's Automobile Collection which at the time was in Sparks adjacent to the rail yard and I would always look for these plows. They are very impressive in person.
we are a great big rolling railroad. thanks for posting
Beautiful footage, especially when going to full screen mode. Reminds me of plowing for El Dorado County DOT in Tahoe and when the Rotaries would come out to widen the roads, so there would be a place to put the snow from the next storm. Reminds me of the old steam powered rotaries the SPRR used. Used to keep them in Sparks or Roseville. This plow doesn't have the directional chute our DOT rotaries had, no need on the railroad right of way so they are just "tubbing" downhill. Our old DOT rotaries had 12V-71 Detroit diesels, you could hear them working miles away. The guy in the snow cat is doing what we called "pimping" for the rotary plow, which we did with a grader, both to pack the snow ahead of the rotary plow and to cleanup spillage behind the rotaries. Great video brings back memories!
I bet the snowblowers have been working a lot this year. Thanks for sharing your video. Love the high angle views. Well done. 👍
Those have only been out once this year...on the railroad.
Amazing drone footage!
Yup ~ it is bleeping AWESOME to see in person, lol
That was incredible. I so appreciate you filming that.
'Rudolph Diesel'... 1896... still doing the mandatory Big Work.. :)
Amazing video bet it would be fun to drive the snow cat
That would be fun duty for sure. Groomed with one of those 350s for years. That machine is running pretty much wide open trying to keep up.
This is not paw patrol
Excellent coverage, thanks.
Thank you!
Wow Ray, that is incredible footage. Thank you so much for going there and sharing the footage with us.
Thank you! Should have more in the next few weeks once I organize and edit everything.
So cool, terrific shots, drones are so cool. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the comment!
Kudos to the crews, that is truly a coordinated effort. What powers that blower, sure moves the snow. What’s next, it melts and floods. Wish you the best
Awesome! This is the first drone video I have seen that included audio of the target and no drone noise.
Thank you. It's not perfect but I have to record sounds from the ground then match it up. It's pretty time consuming.
@@raylewis_rr_photography Arrrrr I was wondering how the hell you did it. Good job!
Back in the day, i was fortunate enough to be invited aboard a couple of private rail road cars trips and when we traveled this route after a fresh snowfall, standing on the back platform was spectacular with only two small ribbons of track revealed in the fresh snow as we passed through! Not being from snow country it was always a thrill to watch the rails disappearing behind the car. At different points along the way, snow would be falling covering the tracks in the distance like nobody had disturbed natures beauty! 🚦🚂
Thanks for sharing this amazing footage!
Thanks for the comment/view. Glad you enjoyed it. Working on 10 days of footage now. Hopefully will be uploaded soon!
Excellent!
love that old tunnel at like 3:30. I am always shocked at just how much and how far that thing can throw.
They have amazing machinery and men and women up there
Amazing, what a perspective! IF only we had today's technology in cameras, drones, etc. back when SP was still around.
Might as well dream big, I want to see an AC12 4294 pushing that plow. Hey I never thought I'd see a Big Boy run and that happened.
Outstanding!!!! Live here in Auburn and always wanted to watch this live. Great video.
Thank you. Been up there the past 10 days. More footage soon
Absolutely wonderful video -- the amount of hours they must have been employed to clear snow this winter must surely have paid some serious OT.
They are putting in a ton of hours this year for sure!
Impressive, good old British Rail grinds to a halt, if there’s 2-3 cams, or less! Well done.
Great video!
That’s really cool 😎
Well done!!!!!
Thank you! Hoping for one more trip this winter. It's a looong drive from Phoenix.
Cool
We now have over 45' of snow at the Donner Pass. Our home is 700' lower and we have 42' of snow so far this year.
I just left yesterday after 10 days of shooting trains. It's getting deep for sure....wait, it's freaking deep haha. Been going up there about 25 years. I missed a few big years while deployed, but it's the most I've seen personally
I sure the Donner party could have used one of those snow blowers!
Fantastic video, Ray.....
Thank-you!
I would have loved to been there in person to see this. You video is the next best thing, thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Glad you enjoyed it, thank you!
This has got to be the best Donner Pass snow plowing video I have ever seen. I would like to see more arial video with a long view. Also showing how close the Interstate highway is to the tracks.
Thank you! I have some new footage I need to process. Im new to video but am working on different angles as well. Very limited with the drone in regards to focal length...and the fact I live 11 hrs from Donner....more to come
That would be the coolest job ever 😎
Thanks for sharing the footAGE
awesome!!!!
Thank you
killed it dude
Good Video
Snowcat needs a snowblower!
Fantastic liked and subbed
Thank you
i think you have it figured out . looks great just like all your other work
I appreciate the kind words. Helps me stay motivated. Lots of footage coming from flangers, spreaders and the rotary
Very cool video 👍📸👍📸👍📸👍
Love the Snowcat pacing the train to get the residual snow further off to the side !!!!!
Thank you. He did a great job pacing it!
The road crew responsible for snow removal on the road running parallel to the railroad tracks - 🤯
He did a great job paralleling the plow
This is awesome Ray. Scott Marsh
Thank you. Not a big video guy but I've had fun with it on Donner. Now getting sound to match the drone footage is a real pain
@@raylewis_rr_photography I wouldn't know just a old stills guy LOL
@milwman1958 I should have never tried video. But at least with the Donner snow removal equipment it's shorter clips. But I'll tell you my thumbs need a workout. Trying to keep the drone steady for 30 mins straight is tough!
2:25, spectacular.
This was before the big snow days.
There was still alot there even at that time. But yea I just left on March 8th and quite a bit more snow. Caught the rotary then too. Just need to edit that footage
Great video. Looks like the train is only doing clean up. I can't imagine when it was the first pass and 4" all the way across the blower.
I wonder if the drone operator was part of the train crew since this video goes for so many miles which would put it's operating distance too far from one starting point to communicate with the drone?? Spectacular video
The rotary goes like 3 to 5mph. I am able to relocate. It may look like alot of mileage but it's not. This footage probably covers 1.5 miles if that. I got alot more footage last week, and I was pacing it around 2.6 mph at times.
Brilliant footage !!! And great piloting !!! You made it look easy. But from my own experience I know that it is not always so . James.
Thank you. I'm up here now so more footage to come. And your right flying smooth ain't easy. I gotta get my thumbs in better shape!
@@raylewis_rr_photography I do aerial chases of CN here in Southern Ontario. Check us out. thanks James.
@@FrogandFlangeVideo will do. Up on Donner waiting for the next storm then I will check it out.
@@raylewis_rr_photography Man !! Would love to be close enough to Donner to check that corridor out. I watched some videos of the towns in the area. Insane amount of snow !! cheers. James.
@FrogandFlangeVideo me too....I'm an 11 hr drive away. Canyon fly cause I need the 4wd and it's usually last minute. I need a different passion haha
👍👍👍
What drone are you using to capture sound? That is really clean!
I have a Mavic 3. I record sound from the ground and sync it in with premiere.
Beautiful video, I especially love the scene with the abandoned tunnel. Nice to see the 70 year old F units still providing yeoman service on one of the world's most important railroads. Do they still have 567s or do they have newer engines? I assume Jeremy Renner is not driving the snowcat.
Its said that the b unit on the rotary set on this plow, SPMW 207, was repowered with a 12-645 engine.
At 2:59 it shows an old tunnel entrance. They must have changed the route at least once.
Yes they bypassed that tunnel in 1975 I believe.
Too bad the Donner party didn't have one of those! They would have made it to California!
This certainty was some awesome footage. I am curious as to how to recorded the sound ?
Thank you for the comment. I record the sound from the ground then sync it into the video. I'll have some more Donner Pass snow removal footage posted soon, just need to edit it but haven't had the time.
My uncle was an engineer for for the Western Pacific RR .
Any snow sheds still being used?
There are three sheds left. Back in the day there was 50+ miles. Today, 2 miles'ish exist. One right above Donner Lake, one on the west portal of the "big hole" (tunnel near Norden), 1 at Norden and one at Shed 10 near Cisco. All protect switches.
The snow cat is pushing snow in certain sections
the old 567
Here from The Weather Channel app to smash the like button. Great footage! I am trying to capture some train footage here in CO too. Yours is superb! How did you capture the sound?
I record audio from the ground and do my best to sync it with the video. Still learning. This video was literally the 3rd video I've ever shot. More of a still guy. Just got back from 10 days on Donner...lots off footage coming soon
Driving over the bridge in that snow groomer looked a little sketch! How do you get that job? Awesome!
As long as you stay off the catwalk between the two bridges haha.
What is the tunnel to the left? An old grade I assume?
Yes it's abandoned tunnel #40. It was abandoned in 1975.
great footage, to bad the whistle never blew ;)
Thank you....yea they were moving pretty good. Was mostly smooth sailing
Awesome. I'd love to know the specs on the plow! 1,000HP? The video and sound are mesmerizing! How do you know they were going to be out doing this?
Not sure exactly. I tried googling. But based on discussions with my peers eems to be 2 to 3k.
@@raylewis_rr_photography Probably custom built so probably not much online about it?
@scotttaggart It was rebuilt in 2013 in Iowa which is probably why. Check this site out www.trainweb.org/rrsnowfighting/
@@raylewis_rr_photography Thanks. Some serious stuff we laymen never think about or witness. They mention icicle breakers (talk about a specialty item!) on the link. I can imagine a 20 lb iceicle hitting one of those blades could cause some serious damage but maybe that is not where icicles are encountered.
@@scotttaggart the flanger and spreaders have icicle breakers. They run pretty often to keep them from growing too big.
Raymond Lewis - SPECIAL REQUEST: Of ALL the railroad rotary snow plow videos EVER Uploaded NOT a Single one has ever SIMPLY(?) shown a close-up of the snow-covered tracks with the plower approaching THEN the UNCOVERED tracks.
Please be the first to do so in your next post (another major snowstorm is coming).
Thank You!
I'll keep that in mind. It doesn't come out too often, although this is a year of years! I have some views like that of the other snow removal equipment up now. And I'm working on quite a bit of material that I took recently om a 10 day trip.
Rotary snow plows are only used when the snow is falling too heavy for the flangers to keep the tracks clear. Generally 2-4 flanger sets are used and run constantly between Truckee and Emigrant Gap when the snow is falling. The flangers repeated trips start to build up a canyon wall of snow on both sides of the track so then during the day (when the crews can see better) the Spreader is brought out to shove those snow canyons over the downhill edge of the right of way. When it is really snowing heavily is when you see the rotary in action.
Why are there snow cats there? Are they part of the UP plow crew?
Yes they are part of the plow crew. Not sure why they were following. But I know they helped clear a few spots along the way
What drone do you use please?
I use the Mavic 3.Note it doesn't record sound. I get sound from the ground and edit it in
Only see one of these in old government films growing up...
Dream jobs, train or cat operator!
Add another month of hibernation for any bears denning below.
That’s badass ! Where can I buy an locamotion snow blower . Asking for my rich friends… lol
Good video I like it a lot🚂🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃🚃 We had are train show lot of videos p.waco
Thanks for watching
@@raylewis_rr_photography Did you get the BIG HOOK yet?
@PWaco-yq7wr No sir....I left On March 7th. I live in Phoenix now, so it's a pretty long and expensive trip. I love the place so much though I try to go back every year. Just retired from the Air Force, so I'm trying to make the most of it.