Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

242 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. A SNOW-PLOUGH USED ON THE NORTH-EASTERN RAILWAY. This type is generally employed in Great Britain. The snow cut from the drift face is whirled round in the scoops, and pressed by centrif- ugal force against the casing, from which it can escape only through a shute in the top of the drum. This shute has an adjustable cover, which is turned to suit the direction in which the wheel is revolving. The circum- ferential speed of the wheel sometimes attains fifty miles an hour, and the snow is under such conditions projected with a force suffi- cient to fling it over good-sized trees standing well back from the track. Very important features of the plough are the ice-cutters and the flangers. The first, A ROTARY SNOW-PLOUGH, WITH CAB IN POSITION. naturally stand out which face the snow, and in so doing force their respective partners towards the body of the wheel. In principle each scoop of the wheel closely resembles, on a huge scale, a pencil-sharpener. En- casing the wheel is a drum with a square front or hood. At the bottom the hood projects slightly beyond the face of the wheel, but at the centre of the wheel the knives meet the snow first. THE SCOOP WHEEL.