Bashing through the Snow!!!

The information (including the title of this blog post of mine) about the Wedge Plow was taken from this blogger's site: https://theroadhome.ca/2018/06/18/bashing-through-the-snow-northern-style/ The blogger is Caroline Ross and she posted on June 18, 2018. The Road Home is a blog about history, travel, nature and the expansive joys of everyday life written by Caroline Ross. Caroline is a sea kayaker, history advocate, outdoor enthusiast, creative spirit and collector of new experiences living in Parksville, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. Many of her stories relate to her local area or her travels around British Columbia and beyond. Caroline is endlessly curious about the world around her. She thrives on exploring new places, meeting new people and delving into natural and historical landscapes. Her inquisitiveness inspires her to search out the stories behind what she encounters — to unearth the details, unravel the threads, tease out the meaning — so she can experience life fully, deeply and with heart. The Road Home is Caroline’s vehicle for sharing her stories and experiences with you as we all strive to live more present, informed, passionate lives.

Here is what Caroline wrote: "It looks, from the front, like a bad accident between a cargo ship and a loading ramp. But this mass of metal on display in Nakusp, British Columbia, played an important role in Canadian rail history. Winter-worn residents of rail-side communities might recognize this machine for what it is: a snowplow, or, more accurately, a wedge plow, used to push snow off rail lines in winter. Wedge plows are specially designed to move large volumes of snow from railway tracks in North America. The big lower wedge (ramp-like portion) lifts snow high above track level, while the vertical “prow” directs the white stuff to the sides of the track, away from the front of the train. Rectangular wings on either side of the plow’s body can be adjusted outward to help widen the span of the plowed path and prevent snow from falling back against the train. Wedge plows do not have engines; they must be pushed by one or more locomotives, ideally at speeds high enough to clear solid paths through heavy, wet or frozen accumulations. Plowing deeply covered tracks can sometimes be a long (and loud) process, but it’s a necessary one where annual snowfalls are among the highest. There is a wedge plow in Nakusp, British Columbia Canada — #400648 in the Canadian Pacific line — is one of just 36 such plows constructed by CP’s Montreal-based Angus Shops in the 1920s. The plow served in the CP fleet for decades. One just like it may have bulldozed wintry drifts from the old Nakusp & Slocan Railway (1894-1988), which connected the West Kootenays with the CP trunk line in Revelstoke. Other identical plows undoubtedly carved paths for trains carrying Kootenay ore and timber over Rogers Pass to markets in eastern Canada. In 2016, CP Rail donated the plow (along with a 70s-era caboose) to the Village of Nakusp. The Nakusp Rail Society has since restored the plow (and is working on the caboose), in partnership with the Village of Nakusp, the Arrow Lakes Historical Society and a host of enthusiastic local volunteers." The picture on the front of this post card is a wedge plow that belonged to the Vermont Railway and it was taken on a bright August day in 1973.