Re: Firing a Rotary Snowplow

Hi Justin,

I attended the 2011 operation at White Pass and made a similar observation. I can't say definitively that the heavy firing was by design. In retrospect, I probably should have asked that question at the shindig that the RR folks threw for the train crews and photographers when the operation was completed. I learned a lot talking to those guys.

I can say that the 2011 operation was done primarily for crew training...it was not designed as a photo charter, as some of the RR mags implied. So there were a lot of folks acting in capacities where they had limited experience. It is possible that some of the firemen may have been new. As you know, the WP&YR is primarily a diesel operation. I think they run about 2 steam trips a week.

Another possible explanation is that the rotary fireman's crew position on #1 is quite blind. He cannot see his fire, nor can he see his engineer. Coordination between the two crewmembers seems to be essential on an oil-fired machine, and apparently bad things can happen if the throttle is opened significantly and the firing does not follow closely. The heavy firing may have been a cautious approach on the part of the fireman to ensure that the two did not blow the fire out. Typically, when the snow was very deep, the train would have to make multiple thrusts at the snowpack. As they approached, the rotary engineer would spin up the impeller and the smoke would be very black. The rotary fireman would then stick his head out the window, observe the stack and adjust his mixture. Unfortunately, many of these thrusts did not last long, so the black smoke cycle was repeated over and over. During sustained running in shallower snow-pack, the smoke tended to be less dense.

Another thing to remember is that the locomotives were just creeping along, but the rotary was working its little heart out against the 15-20 ft "Canadian Concrete".

I might add that when that smoke plume was especially black, you didn't want to be downwind of it. At one time or another, I think all of the photographers got dusted with unburned Bunker C. We wore it like a badge of honor the rest of the day. (It washed off easily.)

Here is a small album of pictures that I took on that trip. The White Pass folks treated us wonderfully. When I got home, I was actually a little depressed. I have no idea how I will ever top the White Pass Rotary experience!

White Pass Rotary 2011

/Kevin