Snow Blowers


Extreme Snow Plowing

Extreme Snow PlowingExtreme Snow Plowing – Jet Engine Snow Plows

If I had not seen the picture I am not sure that I would have believe this to be possible. Using jet engine snow plows to clear snow from runways and other areas that need not only the snow removed, but everything melted as well. This particular picture tops the list of extreme snow clearing operations. Apparently this picture was taken in Russia where they have mounted Kiimov VK-1 jet engines on the front of trucks. These engines are normally mounted on Mig 15’s. This is one of the most unusual kind of snow plows that the writers have ever seen!

Although these extreme snow plows with jet engines, probably would be effective, there would be some practical issues that might be problematic with this configuration. The snow would be blown into the air and we suspect that it would be very difficult to see in these conditions, especially if you happen to be blowing snow into the wind. It would be a total white out under this condition.

Melting Snow

Also what happens to the snow when it melts? The exhaust from the jet engines will be very hot and will melt a lot of the snow. The water will puddle in places and will refreeze as soon as the jet engines are moved onto another area. This would make for very icy conditions after these trucks have passed. Maybe it is not a big issue, however if I was driving on a road after these guys had been in operation, I would be very careful indeed.

The amount of fuel that would be used to run these engines would be prohibitively expensive. It costs a great deal to run airplanes with jet engines and this would be the same. I am not sure that it would be cost effective to run these jet engines as extreme snow plows for very long.

Extreme Snow Plowing – Major Train Snow Plow

Another type of extreme snow plow that is actually much more effective and common are the snow plow trains shown in this picture.

These trains should probably be called extreme snow blowing instead of extreme snow plowing. However when you consider the size of this machine and the power behind it we think that it qualifies for an extreme snow plow as well. These machines are typically used in the mountains were they get a lot of snow. Also where there are avalanches from time to time and the snow must be cleared from the tracks.

This particular extreme snow plow has two engines. The front engine mounted with this snow blower is the size of a small house on the front. There is another car behind it, probably for supplies and carrying extra fuel. The last car is something you do not see much of these days. It follows up the rear of the snow plow train. It provides a place for the crew to relax in when they need to take a break from work.

They could be out on the tracks for days clearing snow and cannot easily get back to an urban setting for a day or evening off. We suspect that there are bunks, a small kitchen and a dining area in the caboose for the crew during down time from snow blowing.

These are two examples of extreme snow plowing services. The first one probably is effective but not very economical or friendly to the earth. The second is a more practical design and likely very effective as well as necessary.  If you have more and have pictures, please send them along.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

One Response to “Extreme Snow Plowing”

  1. Wow these are extreme snow blowers

Leave a Reply

?>


Web Content Development