A bogie comprises two or more wheelsets, in a frame, attached under a vehicle by a pivot. Bogies take various forms in various modes of transport. A bogie may remain normally attached or be quickly detachable. It may include suspension components within it, or be solid and in turn be suspended. It may be mounted on a swivel, as traditionally on a railway carriage or locomotive, additionally jointed and sprung, or held in place by other means.
A loader is a heavy equipment machine used in construction to move or load materials such as soil, rock, sand, demolition debris, etc. into or onto another type of machinery.
Rail transport terms are a form of technical terminology applied to railways. Although many terms are uniform across different nations and companies, they are by no means universal, with differences often originating from parallel development of rail transport systems in different parts of the world, and in the national origins of the engineers and managers who built the inaugural rail infrastructure. An example is the term railroad, used in North America, and railway, generally used in English-speaking countries outside North America and by the International Union of Railways. In English-speaking countries outside the United Kingdom, a mixture of US and UK terms may exist.
A grader, also commonly referred to as a road grader, motor grader, or simply blade, is a form of heavy equipment with a long blade used to create a flat surface during grading. Although the earliest models were towed behind horses, and later tractors, most modern graders are self-propelled and thus technically "motor graders".
A snow blower or snowblower or snow thrower is a machine for removing snow from an area where it is problematic, such as a driveway, sidewalk, roadway, railroad track, ice rink, or runway. The commonly used term "snow blower" is a misnomer, as the snow is moved using an auger or impeller instead of being blown. It can use either electric power, or a gasoline or diesel engine to throw snow to another location or into a truck to be hauled away. This is in contrast with the action of snow plows, which push snow to the front or side. Typically, the snow is discharged to one side, but most snow throwers have a movable chute that can direct snow across the full 180 degrees of motion in front of the appliance.
A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels at the front for steering and continuous tracks at the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the load. The purpose of this combination is to produce a vehicle with the cross-country capabilities of a tank and the handling of a wheeled vehicle.
A rotary snowplow or rotary snowplough is a piece of railroad snow removal equipment with a large circular set of blades on its front end that rotate to cut through the snow on the track ahead of it. The precursor to the rotary snowplow was the wedge snowplow.
Snow removal or snow clearing is the job of removing snow after a snowfall to make travel easier and safer. This is done both by individual households and by governments, institutions, and commercial businesses.
The Monson Railroad was a 2 ft narrow gauge railway, which operated between Monson Junction on the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad and Monson, Maine. The primary purpose of this railroad was to serve several slate mines and finishing houses in Monson. According to the Scientific American of 17 May 1890, it was the smallest railroad in the United States.
The Lake Superior Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Duluth, Minnesota, United States.
A snow emergency is the active response plan when a snow storm severely impacts a city, county or town in the United States or Canada. Schools, universities, government offices, airports and public buildings may close during a snow emergency to prevent injuries during attempted travel; parking restrictions also usually go into effect to allow snowplows to clear the roads and streets effectively. The precise meaning of "snow emergency" varies depending on the issuing municipality. Snow emergencies are a common occurrence during the winter snowfall season in the Northern United States. The general public is alerted to snow emergency status via local broadcast stations, reverse 911 calls, mass text messaging services, public address systems, or lighted signals.
A winter service vehicle (WSV), or snow removal vehicle, is a vehicle specially designed or adapted to clear thoroughfares of ice and snow. Winter service vehicles are usually based on a dump truck chassis, with adaptations allowing them to carry specially designed snow removal equipment. Many authorities also use smaller vehicles on sidewalks, footpaths, and cycleways. Road maintenance agencies and contractors in temperate or polar areas often own several winter service vehicles, using them to keep the roads clear of snow and ice and safe for driving during winter. Airports use winter service vehicles to keep both aircraft surfaces, and runways and taxiways free of snow and ice, which, besides endangering aircraft takeoff and landing, can interfere with the aerodynamics of the craft.
A work train is one or more rail cars intended for internal non-revenue use by the railroad's operator. Work trains serve functions such as track maintenance, maintenance of way, revenue collection, system cleanup and waste removal, heavy duty hauling, and crew member transport.
A flanger is a railroad car that clears the space between the rails, generally of ice and snow. While a wedge plow can remove snow above the surface of the rails, the flanger removes snow and ice from below the surface of the rails where the railway wheel flanges fit. Railway locomotives and cars can be derailed if the flangeway is filled.
The 1910 Rogers Pass Avalanche killed 58 men clearing a railroad line just outside of Revelstoke in Rogers Pass through the Selkirk Mountains in British Columbia on March 4, 1910. It is Canada's worst avalanche disaster.
The International WorkStar is a line of severe duty trucks produced by Navistar, Inc. The WorkStar is the successor to the 7400 and 7600 series trucks produced by International. Starting in 2008 the "thousand series" name was dropped in favor of the WorkStar. This change was reflected in the physical construction of the truck in the form of a new hood and grill along with increased MaxxForce Engine options.
Fisher Engineering is an American manufacturer of snowplows and other professional snow removal equipment, located in Rockland, Maine. Fisher Engineering is a subsidiary of Douglas Dynamics, which also owns Western Products, Blizzard, and TrynEx International, each producing their own snowplow brands.
The wedge plow or Bucker plow was first developed by railroad companies to clear snow in the American West. The wedge plow forces snow to the sides of the tracks and therefore requires a large amount of force due to the compression of snow. The wedge plow is still in use today in combination with the high-maintenance rotary snowplow.
The Snow Train Rolling Stock, located in Railroad Heritage Park in Laramie, Wyoming, consists of five pieces of Union Pacific Railroad rolling stock. The five vehicles, which are a snow plow, locomotive, tender, bunk car, and caboose, form a snow train, a type of train used to clear snow from rail lines. The snow plow was built as a tender and converted to a wedge-shaped plow in 1953. The locomotive was built in 1903 and served in Wyoming from 1947 to 1957; it served as part of snow trains in 1949 during a blizzard. The bunk car was originally built as an automobile car in 1929 and became a bunk car in 1955; after its retirement, it served as a ticket office for the Wyoming Colorado Railroad. The tender was built between 1907 and 1920, and the caboose was built in 1955.
Each winter, the Canadian city of Montreal clears snow off of roads, sidewalks, and other public throughfares to make it easier and safer to travel. Montreal is the snowiest major city in North America and its snow removal operation is among the largest in the world, costing C$179.7 million in 2020. Montreal sees about 210 cm (82.5 in) of snowfall annually, with at least a centimetre of snow on the ground for nearly four months out of the year.
