Winter Development Vehicle

[trainmania100]

Just been reading some Network Rail's website pages, and seen something about a "Winter Development Vehicle"

Seasonal track treatment and weather support fleet - Network Rail

We use our seasonal track treatment machines to help our engineers tackle railway challenges around the clock in all weathers.

www.networkrail.co.uk

The third type of winter de-icing train, the winter development vehicle (WDV), is built to blow hot air around the running rails – specifically around points and crossings – to melt snow and ice that is stopping the points from working. The WDV is also equipped with steam lances to melt the more built-up stubborn ice deposits.

I'm always hearing about MPVs, SITTs, RHTTs and loco hauled / pushed snow ploughs,I know there used to be deicer GLV things in the southeast as well but what of the "WDV" ?

How many WDVs are there on the network? Are they often used? Where are they based? Does anyone have any pictures of these as I put Winter Development Vehicle in YouTube and safe to say it's not something frequently videoed...

Any more information on this would be appreciated, never heard of it before.

 

[DBS92042]

I found these photos on Flickr of what I think is the WDV (neither photos are mine):

Snow Joke

Another disaster of a day that will live long in the “Farce” hall of fame. A rest day for me today and I’d a quiet day planned, what with the weather an’ all, until I heard word that the Network Rail snow clearance train was running from the Railway Technical Centre at Derby to Glasgow Central...

www.flickr.com

57010 at Crewe with 6z28 hauling the Snow and Ice Treatment Train 7095-940141 and Serco 977869 from Carlisle to Derby RTC 12-04-13

Explore harry hudson's 12993 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Hope these help

 

[trainmania100]

I found these photos on Flickr of what I think is the WDV (neither photos are mine):

Snow Joke

Another disaster of a day that will live long in the “Farce” hall of fame. A rest day for me today and I’d a quiet day planned, what with the weather an’ all, until I heard word that the Network Rail snow clearance train was running from the Railway Technical Centre at Derby to Glasgow Central...

www.flickr.com

57010 at Crewe with 6z28 hauling the Snow and Ice Treatment Train 7095-940141 and Serco 977869 from Carlisle to Derby RTC 12-04-13

Explore harry hudson's 12993 photos on Flickr!

www.flickr.com

Hope these help

Thankyou for sharing, I'm guessing it's probably been scrapped now or parked somewhere rusting away, as those pics are 7 years old.
Looks a bit like a railvac. Those pics helped, thank you

 

[DBS92042]

Thankyou for sharing, I'm guessing it's probably been scrapped now or parked somewhere rusting away, as those pics are 7 years old.
Looks a bit like a railvac. Those pics helped, thank you

Some further searching just brought up this from January of this year so it looks like it still is around at the moment

P1131036 "Expecting Snow"

Pictured near Forteviot DRS 66303 on 6Z17 Kilmarnock Barclay Sidings to Perth with Network Rail Snow Blower No.7095940141 along with support coach ADB977869.

www.flickr.com

 

[DarloRich]

Just been reading some Network Rail's website pages, and seen something about a "Winter Development Vehicle"



I'm always hearing about MPVs, SITTs, RHTTs and loco hauled / pushed snow ploughs,I know there used to be deicer GLV things in the southeast as well but what of the "WDV" ?

How many WDVs are there on the network? Are they often used? Where are they based? Does anyone have any pictures of these as I put Winter Development Vehicle in YouTube and safe to say it's not something frequently videoed...

Any more information on this would be appreciated, never heard of it before.

There is one winter development vehicle that lives and works up in Scotland. I want to say Millerhill but i think this is wrong. It is based on a converted MKii coach (977896) for staff accommodation and warming up and a YXA ( i think ) wagon with two modules supporting four high-pressure steam generators, together with lances, piping/hoses and a water tank. The second of the modules has a much larger water tank, an air compressor and floodlights

 

[John Webb]

Not half as odd as the trials with a rail-mounted jet engine carried out sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Not very successful I understand - not only blew the snow away but much of the ballast as well!

 

[Ayrshire Roy]

Not half as odd as the trials with a rail-mounted jet engine carried out sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Not very successful I understand - not only blew the snow away but much of the ballast as well!

They are still in use in North America.
There is a video on YouTube of them using one to get the snow and ice off a snowplow.
It's literally a jet with a movable nozzle on the back of a road rail truck.

 

[pdeaves]

Not half as odd as the trials with a rail-mounted jet engine carried out sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Not very successful I understand - not only blew the snow away but much of the ballast as well!

https://migflug.com/jetflights/jet-engine-powered-snow-blowers/ has some pictures. About 1/3 the way down there is a rail-mounted MIG (I think) jet engine for snow clearance

 

[Defiance149]

There is one winter development vehicle that lives and works up in Scotland. I want to say Millerhill but i think this is wrong.

Its based at Perth CS.

 

[trainmania100]

Many thanks chaps for the information. Nice to see it's still in operation. Probably the only reason I didn't know much about it was because we don't get more than a couple of inches of snow down in South of England !