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Steam and Snow
A very spectacular video taken in brilliant sunshine, featuring the only self propelled steam rotary plough in the world, the Rhaetian Railway's X rot 9213, at work in the Bernina Pass of Switzerland. The video opens with an aerial view of the area near the top of the Bernina Pass, the highest rail crossing of the Swiss Alps, beautiful in a blanket of snow, then moves briefly to a driver's view of the line which has been cleared of snow, and a lineside view of a red electric train passing through a cleared section. Next, the snow clearing 9213, built in 1910, the last steam plough on the Rhaetian Railway, is seen raising steam, with good clear views of the interior and exterior works. 9213 is actually an 0-6-6-0 locomotive with an additional engine for the rotary blades, all fitted with a timber body not unlike a huge steam tram.
Then follows a test run of the steam driven rotary blades giving us an excellent idea of the principle of operation. The unit moves off under its own steam, but soon receives a pair of electric motor coaches to provide most of the forward thrust. Along the line traversing the Bernina Pass, we are shown the rotary's dual uses, with the assistance of other snow plant, removing the snow which accumulates beside the line after the passage of regular flanger ploughs, and clearing deeper snow drifts. Both in a most spectacular fashion. Interspersed with the snow clearing are beautiful views of regular Rhaetian trains in the Bernina Pass. Next, the rotary blades are manually reversed and the guides moved to throw the snow to the opposite side of the line, and the 9213 performs more snow throwing, before taking water from a special facility in this otherwise frozen area, by means of several sections of pipe. This is at the top of the pass, so the rotary proceeds from here without assistance from the electrics.
At Ospizio Bernina, after turning on a turntable in an enclosure known as a cavern, a siding is cleared with 9213 pushed by 3 electric motor coaches. Some snow falls on the adjacent line and the fitted flanger ploughs on the next regular train move this aside in grand fashion. All this plus more:- aerial views, Mortar firing to test for avalanche danger, scenes of avalanche shelters and the beautiful Swiss Alps in the snow. An excellent video of a fascinating subject.
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