Re: Diesel Rotaries - NNG

CSX maintains a relatively new European diesel-electric "snow thrower" at its Selkirk, NY Yard. This unit (No. 1000) sees occasional use when Jordan spreaders and other plows are unable to cope. I believe it went out a couple years ago to deal with 14 foot drifts of lake effect snow on CSX's Montreal Secondary between Syracuse and Watertown. In Penn Central days an ancient Cooke rotary was kept at Dewitt near Syracuse to handle problems on that line. The NYC converted this rotary to diesel electric power and paired it with an Alco FB unit, if I recall correctly. I remember seeing the Dewitt rotary in action south of Watertown in the early 1970's. The trainmaster said he hated to use it since it was "ungodly slow" in clearing the line. The Dewitt rotary also saw use between Buffalo and Niagara Falls during the Blizzard of '77. I have no idea how much damage it must have caused, throwing snow around in an urban area.

Also in the east there's a former Long Island RR steam rotary at the National Park Service's Steamtown Museum in Scranton, PA. This unit was retired by the LIRR in 1965 and sold for preservation. It's said to be in semi-serviceable condition since it saw little use on Long Island.