Old Truck using a V plow

There was a post on here several weeks ago showing an old film of a truck mounted V plow. It was being used in Upper New York if I remember right. I want to show it to a friend of mine and I can"t find the original posting. The search feature is not very good. I can never find anything using it.

I've probably been watching the same thing. But I don't remember how I found it.
Have you tried youtube, and punched in Walter Snow-Fighter?

That was it!!! I could not remember the Walter name. I found several. My grand sons watch them with me.

Here's a link to the video. Hal
Untitled URL Link

I remember reading, probably in Popular Mechanics, in the sixties, about a revolutionary differential which directed power to the wheel with "grip", rather than to the wheel with "slip". I believe they called it "Torsen" for "torque sensing".
There's a picture of what I assume is the same thing, only considerably earlier, on a website about Walter trucks.

Several decades ago a freight train got stuck and snowed in while going through a cut. It remained there a day to two before a train with a plow could reach it.

They finally pulled the train out backwards which still left the tracks blocked to the height of the train. I figured that they would use a rotary plow to throw the snow from the area but instead they used a Vee plow on the front of a locomotive to clear the tracks.

They got back a fair distance and with the train coupled into one for weight they rammed the snow. I was sure that it derail or the front locomotives would get stuck and the cars behind would do like in the movies and derail.

Nope, the snow went flying and the train never stopped. I was parked beside the highway quite a distance from the tracks but chucks of snow landed just inches away from where I was. I could only imagine explaining to an insurance man about how great chunks of snow thrown by a train had caved in the side of my pickup while it was parked.

Some more slides that I need to scan and post to my Photobucket account.

Have any of you ever seen what a chained up Payloader can do with a Vee Snow Plow on the front? They have the speed and weight to move a lot of snow fast. The articulation lets them wiggle their way out if they do get stuck.

There was a video on here of a 3 engined train getting stuck with a V plow on the front. Dave

The locals had little sense of self preservation.They stood behind, in front and beside the plough as it was working. There had to be some lumps and bruises on the clowns getting tossed about with the ballast in the truck's box.
The roads, buildings, powerlines, transformers etc have changed little in 75 years.

Looked to me like a standard differential when it was spinning out... Had cahins but looked like only on outside dual. Wonder why they didn't load the box up with sand or at least snow for ballast.

Looks like my front yard today.

There are literally hundreds of those old Vee plows scattered over northern NY. I remember them being used in the days before wing plows. Woe be the poor guy who got caught on a narrow road with a Vee plow comin'atcha. You WOULD back up. Today they're just scrap and most of trucks are long gone.

The normal way those old Walters and FWD trucks were used was with a sand spreader in the back, for weight as much as for sanding. A guy I know had a Chevy dump from the 40's with a 4WD conversion, an old municipal truck, with the Vee plow. He spent his winters plowing out private log roads 10 to 20 miles off the main road. He carried 4 55 gallon drums of gasoline in the back! Those days were a little different.

I think that was showing the downside of the competition.

(quoted from post at 18:08:40 02/06/11) Looks like my front yard today.

There are literally hundreds of those old Vee plows scattered over northern NY. I remember them being used in the days before wing plows. Woe be the poor guy who got caught on a narrow road with a Vee plow comin'atcha. You WOULD back up. Today they're just scrap and most of trucks are long gone.

The normal way those old Walters and FWD trucks were used was with a sand spreader in the back, for weight as much as for sanding. A guy I know had a Chevy dump from the 40's with a 4WD conversion, an old municipal truck, with the Vee plow. He spent his winters plowing out private log roads 10 to 20 miles off the main road. He carried 4 55 gallon drums of gasoline in the back! Those days were a little different.

Click to expand...

Many of the old "V" plows are now sitting in front of the town or county highway dept. garages near the highway with the name of the town or county painted on them. As far as weight in the back of the truck,I can remember one or two men back there shoveling the sand out onto the road as the plow did it's thing.

Some of those old Walters had a way to lock the rear differential giving a solid axle. The steering wheels looked to be about 3 feet in diameter. You needed that much 'cause there was no power steering. Up here on the Tug Hill when the snow started plows were pulled off the roads, and went out after. Thats why everything was drifted in. We had plows mounted on most everything big enough to carry one. I've seen pictures of D-9 sized crawlers,lots of Walters, and the Linn logging tractor. A lot of roads were dirt so the cleats were of no concern. Changes started in the late 50's early 60's when more roads were paved and equipment became reliable enough and lights were good enough to operate all night. Old timers will talk about driving the old stuff, but I haven't heard one talk fondly of the experience.