BR Locomotive snowploughs?

[Midland Mole]

Hello all,

Can anyone help me with some info on when British Rail started fitting the mini-snowploughs on diesel locomotives?

On the derbysulzers.com site I found this picture dated 1962:

http://www.derbysulzers.com/snow.html
Sadly it is pretty blurry but it looks to me like the loco has the mini ploughs attached. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?

Any info is greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[Ash Bridge]

I agree with you, the class 24/25 on the second shot certainly appears to have the same style ploughs as the locomotive on the first picture.

 

[Ploughman]

I would imagine from very soon after the introduction of diesels to regular service.
Buffer beam ploughs had been a feature of winter steam running for years with the first example thought to be from the mid 1800's

 

[Midland Mole]

I agree with you, the class 24/25 on the second shot certainly appears to have the same style ploughs as the locomotive on the first picture.

Shame the picture is not better quality

I would imagine from very soon after the introduction of diesels to regular service.
Buffer beam ploughs had been a feature of winter steam running for years with the first example thought to be from the mid 1800's

You are most likely right. Finding picture evidence of them in the early 60s was not easy, I'm glad I came across this picture.

 

[Helvellyn]

Is there a reason electric locos never got fitted with ploughs? Was its just that diesels would tend to be operating on lesser used lines where they would be needed more?

 

[Bevan Price]

I would imagine from very soon after the introduction of diesels to regular service.
Buffer beam ploughs had been a feature of winter steam running for years with the first example thought to be from the mid 1800's

I think that mini-snow ploughs were fitted in the winter, and often removed in summer. They were probably most common in Scotland, but also found in England & Wales.

 

[randyrippley]

this thread on another forum refers to modification drawings from 1960 to fit miniature snow plows to class 08 shunters, so you have to assume the ploughs were around by then
http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/in...hunter-puzzle-08s-with-miniature-snowploughs/

 

[30907]

Is there a reason electric locos never got fitted with ploughs? Was its just that diesels would tend to be operating on lesser used lines where they would be needed more?

Basically. Where services are frequent enough, there's little need as the trains themselves will do most of the work. And the first generation electrified main lines weren't in areas of high snowfall, with the exception of Woodhead.

 

[Johnuk123]

I think that mini-snow ploughs were fitted in the winter, and often removed in summer. They were probably most common in Scotland, but also found in England & Wales.

Scottish based diesels tended to keep them on all the year at least in the early years.