[PRCo] Snow melter

[Bob Rathke]

Fred,

With a little effort, I think we can make this space heater work.  :-)

Getting back to the snow melter on the Monongahela Wharf: I believe that the 
overall plan was to haul the machine to neighborhoods where there was a lot 
of snow being removed from the streets, melt the snow and then drain the 
water into the storm sewers.

Bob 12/26/08



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Schneider Fred" <fwschneider at comcast.net>
To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 2:34 PM
Subject: [PRCo] Re: Spring Hill snow photos -1961


> The jet snow blower would make one hell of a space heater for an
> apartment.   Of course then you would need a barn fan to clear out
> the carbon monoxide before it would be safe to enter the room and
> then you would need to turn on the heater again.
>
> On Dec 26, 2008, at 2:23 PM, Bob Rathke wrote:
>
>> Ken,
>> The MAD Magazine snow melting machine reminded me of a couple of
>> similar
>> devices in Pittsburgh:
>>
>> - In the 1960's the City of Pittsburgh had a snow melter - probably
>> just a
>> large portable boiler heated by gasoline, and also probably
>> experimental. It
>> was on the Monogahela wharf in winter, and as the City trucks
>> dumped snow on
>> the wharf, front-end loaders put it in the melter which turned the
>> snow to
>> water and it simply ran into the Mon.
>>
>> - At the 1964 Pittsburgh Railroad Fair at the P&LE station, the NYC
>> demonstrated its jet snow blower which was constructed from a
>> surplus jet
>> aircraft engine.  The Fair was held in May, 1964, so there was no
>> snow for
>> the demo; instead, the NYC set up small flags along the track, and
>> then
>> turned on the jet which promptly blew down the flags. A photo I
>> took of this
>> machine is attached. The wooden stairs were construted so that Fair
>> visitors
>> could safely get a good view of the demos.
>>
>> In the 1960's the NYC also experimented with a jet powered RDC. Two
>> surplus
>> jet aircraft engines were mounted on the roof of the RDC which I
>> believe was
>> tested on the NYC in western Ohio.
>>
>> Bob 12/26/08
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Ken and Tracie" <ktjosephson at embarqmail.com>
>> To: <pittsburgh-railways at dementia.org>
>> Sent: Friday, December 26, 2008 10:26 AM
>> Subject: [PRCo] Re: Spring Hill snow photos -1961
>>
>>
>>> Great photos, Bob. Thanks for sharing.
>>>
>>> I have an old MAD Magazine from the early 1960s showing a similar
>>> 1960
>>> Oldsmobile buried in snow and a Ward Cleaver type guy on the
>>> sidewalk,
>>> shoveling snow. It was a satire on proposed snow removal techniques.
>>>
>>> A city truck comes by, using a giant blow torch or flame thrower
>>> to melt
>>> the
>>> snow.  As it passes, it melts the Olds, a fire hydrant, the guy
>>> and his
>>> shovel.
>>>
>>> K.
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> -- Attached file removed by Ecartis and put at URL below --
>> -- Type: image/jpeg
>> -- Size: 452k (463543 bytes)
>> -- URL : http://lists.dementia.org/files/pittsburgh-railways/Picture
>> %20003.jpg
>>
>>
>>
>
>