Re: RGS Goose # 3 in action circa 1935

Geese do not do well in snow. At the CRRM we have run #7 year round.All it takes is an inch of snow on the railhead. The lead truck wheels pack the snow down on the railhead and the power truck looses traction. If the snow is wet enough the front truck wheels slide piling up the snow in front of the front wheels. Geese 2 and 6 had the front "flanger" blades still attached when the CRRM got them. No.7 had them removed after Brinkerhoff used #7 to scrap the RGS and Marshall Pass line. The CRRM crew installed replica blades on #7 and that solved the problem. All it takes is for the blades to scrape the top of the railhead clear of snow and you have traction. Using the sanders help too. The CRRM has two stretches of track that are over 3-1/2%, Getting a goose started on those grades requires scraping the snow off the railhead behind the front truck and ahead of the power truck and sanding by hand. The Pathe film shows #3 plowing snow at a good rate of speed. I imagine the "flanger" blades are down as the plow would not scrape the railhead, and the blades would clear what the plow missed.
Geese 2 and 6 have plows, but everyone involved would be hesitant about going through that much snow even at the CRRM's maximum speed of 10mph.
Getting up some speed on a dry stretch of track does allow you to drive through portions that have snow on the railhead. The bottom of the flanger blades are flat, they do not have ice cutters extending down to clear the inside of the rails.
Bill Gould



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2010 11:40AM by HighCommander.