The Rutland Railroad's line from Ogdensburg,
NY to Chatham, NY and Bellows Falls, VT ran through the hills and valleys
of Vermont and northern New York where the winters are often long and
harsh. Due to the proximity to large bodies of water, heavy
lake-effect snowfalls often inundated portions of the railroad.
These and other portions of the line were also susceptible to blowing and
drifting snow. In its struggle to keep the railroad open during
winter weather the Rutland relied heavily on the experience and dedication
of its employees (who were sometimes augmented by a small army of recruits
armed with hand shovels) and its small fleet of antiquated, but
well-rnaintained snowplows, spreaders, and flangers.
While the snowplow is commonly thought of as the primary tool in a
railroad's snow fighting arsenal, the flanger was actually utilized more
often than the snowplow in keeping the railways free of ice and
snow. Snowplow trains were typically a non-revenue operation called
as an extra movement with dedicated engines and a full 5-man crew.
On the other hand flangers could be tucked in behind the road engines of a
local or way freight. This meant that the railroad could keep
freight traffic moving without entailing the expense of an extra crew or
tying up much-needed power. Running the flangers on a daily basis
enabled the railroad to keep the line clear of all but the heaviest drifts
and snowfalls.
The Rutland's flangers were unique in design and among the best
operating flangers in the north country. The men on the Rutland used
to say that the flangers rode like baby carriages but did such a good job
because of their weight and moveable wings. Flanger X111 weighed
34-1/2 tons and thus was very effective when ice formed on the top of the
snow. With its wings, a unique design of the Rutland, it could plow
light snow back like a plow thereby avoiding the need to run a plow
extra. During the winter the flangers were used almost everyday on
the way freight between Alburgh and Malone, and Malone and
Ogdensburg. While not utilized as frequently as they were across
northern New York, flangers were employed throughout the rest of the
Rutland system. According to maintenance-of-way equipment
assignments for 1957 compiled by Steve Mumley, the Rutland had flangers
stationed in Ogdensburg and Malone, NY and in Rutland, VT.
Despite the arrival of new steel snow fighting equipment during the
modernization of the railroad in the mid 1950's, the majority of the
Rutland's old, wooden snow fighting equipment remained on the roster, much
of it outliving the Rutland itself. Among the longest-lived of the
Rutland's snow fighting fleet were snowplow X101, which was sold to
Steamtown in the 1970's, and flanger X111, which was acquired by the
Vermont Railway in December, 1963.
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