# West Side Lumber Co. snow plow?



## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

I know, it seems silly to be thinking of 'snow removal' in .......almost June.....but 'shop time' is limited. You know, cutting grass, boating, golf, fixit projects.........etc. I have a couple of pics of the wood blade, water tank on the back plow but need some better detail pics of the frame etc. Anyone know of any drawings, pics on the web? Searches haven't turned up much. Think Snow! Bill


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## jimtyp (Jan 2, 2008)

I'd be interested if you find more detail. 

These are the only two I could find in a google search: 
 pic 1  
 pic 2


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Yep, that's what I have too!


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

BTW, Jim, used to live in Denver. Came back from Upstate New York the end of June. Family decided to go skiiing at A-Basin..I think Jul 1, their last day open! Half way down the slope, there came up a Whiteout. We, and everyone else made it to the Lodge for the next 2 hours or so. So.......snowplows aren't out of the question. Got stuck, too, at the Eisenhower tunnel for 2+ hours on 70 with a massive snow storm in September. This was in the 70's. I know this isn't possible now with Global Warming.


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

We just had 9 inches or so of snow a couple of weeks ago here in West Ne. and yesterday Commerce City which I believe is a part of Denver but a little to the East had 8-12 inches of HAIL. Up here on Monday afternoon, 9 miles West of me they had $40 million est. damage from baseball/softball size hail also we got P sized hail here. We were sweating that storm because they had just finished our new roof Sat. afternoon at 1pm. Oh Boy dodged those bullets, but still alot of weeks left of wind, rain,hail, and tornadoes to suffer through yet!! Regal


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Well My Google found this;










Thought I had the rear view, but it appears corrupted.

John


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## rhyman (Apr 19, 2009)

There are a few good kit photos at http://www.locopainter.com/store/product.php?id=241


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## lincoln pin (Feb 24, 2009)

Mallory Hope Ferrell's book "Westside Pictorial" has scale plans


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

The West Side Snow Plow is parked and rotting slowly away at *The Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine Railroad* located just outside the Southern entrance to Yosemite National Park. I took my kids for a ride behind old West Side #15 on a very cold April day last year. Wouldn't you know it, I happened to take a shot of the backside of the plow. I hope this helps.










Russ Miller


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## up9018 (Jan 4, 2008)

I am considering building one also, but have no luck either finding any kind of drawings for it. I considered buying the ON3 model and scaling it up, but at $80 that will be my last option. 

Chris


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

Here are some photos from the West Side Yahoo Group that were posted last April.
















































Russ


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Excellent pics! Should be enough to do a pretty good job. It's so ugly, it's beautiful! I started the main wood 'blade' using 5/8th's square stock from Lowe's. Got the first upright support bank glued up. I'm using 6 pieces glued up with Gorilla glue. Not sure what would be the best metal to cover the blade. Thin brass sheet, or aluminum flashing? One will look good in front of my Shay.....maybe clearing leaves!


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Comparing the Yahoo pics with your pic, it's apparent it is indeed just rotting away.....what a shame!


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## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

Here are some pics an MLS member(Bubba - Andy Knies) made a few years ago. I have quite a few pics of it in various stages if you're interested.











































Keep us posted!, 

Matt


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

I'd sure like to see more pics, Matt, if you feel like posting them. Good looking model! Bill


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## Matt Vogt (Jan 2, 2008)

Bill, here are some more pics of the model, and prototype detail pics that Andy used. Hope they help.


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Great stuff! Enough data here to build a good model. I was unsure of the frame build-up, the pics of the model are a big help. Thanks all! Bill


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## ddevoto (Jan 22, 2008)

Would you like to see the West Side Snow plow in action? Catenary Video Production of "Slim Gauge Logging in Tuolumne County" has great footage of the Snow Plow clearing track in early spring. The drifts are very deep and it takes repeated ramming with the plow to clear the rails. Notice the guy riding the plow , safety last! The video covers the entire operation of the West Side. If you're a West Side fan you must see this video. I watch this video with my chain saw at my side.

Dan


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## pcentral (Jan 3, 2008)

Bill, 
If you need any specific measurements or detail info let me know. I live about an hour away from where plow #3(I think) sits and have taken tons of pictures and measurements of it to someday model it myself. First I would love to make a CAD drawing of it though! I helped Andy with some details and the prototype pics might of been from me, dunno?! 

Steve


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

I'm guessing even minimal measurements would be helpful, length, width height. Some of the nice to know: size of timbers used, what kind of metal used for the plow, detailed photos of the plow metal (one piece or several) how the metal braces work, size of decking planks under the tank, tank size specific. I guess this is as much historical recording as it is model building. I'm using the' eyeball scale' method. From the pics posted, a few more years and nothing but a memory! This is what I've done thus far, based on all the help above:
[url="


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## pcentral (Jan 3, 2008)

Bill, 
The bottom frame is made of 12" x 12" timbers and is 5' wide with a 6" x 12" capping the back(end sill). The bolsters are 6" x 12" timbers with the rear bolster 60" to the center from the outer edge of the end sill. The front bolster is 105" on center from the rear bolster. The rear deck boards are 2 1/2" by 7' long. I don't seem to have the width of the deck planks but looking at my pictures they appear to be 10" wide. The tank is 8' long and I think 4' wide. The trucks are 4' Carter Brothers swing motion trucks. The tank support timbers are 5" x 9" and are inset from the bottom frame 5" (or 17" from the deck edges. The bottom frame to the long point of the taper is 16' 5". All blade support timbers are 12" x 12" and the rear two horizontal timbers are laminated with 2" x 12" channel iron (see the above pictures in Matt's post). 

This should help you out some. I have to try and find the rest of my notes as I seem to be missing some. I have some detail pics of the plow blade I'll try to get posted as well as measurements. The plow blade is one large sheet of steel with two extra plates on the bottom edge. There are three extensions onto the main blade, one on each side and one on top. 

Steve


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## Cap'nBill (Dec 27, 2008)

Thanks for the data! The blade is still kind of a mystery. I'm using 2 pcs. brass sheet because of the limited size of the K & S stock available at the LHS. Note: to make the blade work out right, one needs a pattern similar to the white paper pattern. I bent this around a 3/4 pc. of bar stock.
[url="


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## WSshay14 (Nov 3, 2015)

Here's something a little larger. Thanks to people that had posted photos of the prototype, as they were helpful in building this model.
BTW this is 7 1/2" gauge, and 2 1/2" Scale
https://www.facebook.com/YMSPRR/pho...1449048862./10152961950899635/?type=3&theater


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry, but all I see is a black box with an X inside it. My computer will not open a photo when I try right-clicking and selecting "Show picture."

Thought you should know,
David Meashey


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## Hugo (Mar 16, 2017)

Hi guys,

Sorry, I know this is an old thread, but I hope to get in contact quick with the people who knew so much of this West Side Logging snow plow.
My plan is to build from scratch the older snow plow of the West Side, the West Side Logging Co 'powderhouse snow plow', the one with the wooden blade. I want to build it in HOn3 to complete my 3-truck Roundhouse Shay locomotive with a work train, also scratch build to the gorgious pictures here on the web, in a snowy mountain layout. But these can be interpreted more freely of course.

My questions for you guys are: 
- are there drawings of this wooden snowplow, I cannot find any on the web; and
- does anybody have measurements and dimensions of this plow as mentioned in this thread for the later plow with the metal blade and water tank?

There seems to be knowledge of this snow plow somewhere, as there are several (larger scale) beautiful examples built!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

From the Netherlands,
Hugo Teerds.


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## pcentral (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Hugo,
I haven't been on here in years so I just saw this. I believe the plow you are asking about is Plow #1. The plow referred to in this thread is Plow #3. I would suggest joining the Wslc group on Yahoo Groups as there are some very knowledgable folks on there and I recall a discussion some years back about Plow #1. Hope this helps!

Steve


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## hunteman (Dec 27, 2007)

*WSL Snow Plow*

I built a 1:20.3 version of Snow Plow #2 using the plans in Ferrell's West Side Pictorial Book. I also purchased the Snow Plow CD set from https://tchistory.org/TCHISTORY. The CD set had several pictures and notes about the WSL Plows. They also have an extensive collection of WSL equipment pictures and notes assembled by Russ Simpson (I think the name is correct). The plan in the West Side Pictorial book was good, but the pictures and notes in the CDs explained several points that were missing or unclear in the drawing.


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## Hugo (Mar 16, 2017)

Thank you very much PCentral and Hunteman! Very useful.
It is indeed snowplow #1 that I was after. I collected many photographs of models of it built from the interwebz and found and purchased a copy of the magazine Sn3 Modeler of fall/winter 1995 from the publisher which has an excellent article with pictures and drawings of this plow in Sn3 scale as built by a modeller in styrene using dimensions of an original old model on display somewhere.
In combination with the pictures I could measure and recalculate all dimensions to HO scale and set out to build one. In wood that is.
At the moment I finished the frame, the upper frame, the blade-posts and supports with the upper platform and the blade itself. I am now working on the riser-blade and its support frames. After that, the only part left to do is the planking on the vertical side of the riser-blade. I will use Westside Lumber trucks in HOn3 as drawn by Russ Simpson and provided by Wiseman Model Services to fit with my Roundhouse 3-truck Shay. I will use link & pin couplers as in the original period of the plow.
After finishing and weathering appropriately I plan to display the combo in a small worktrain with some Russ Simpson kitcars from Wiseman, a scratchbuilt watertank car also in wood and a Westside Lumber caboose number 6 kit. It is very satisfying work to puzzle everthing together and in the right dimensions. I might even try my hands on one of the very cute smith's cars that people built in the larger scales.
When everything is complete I plan to build a small diorama to display the set.
Of course I will post some pictures when the plow is done and when it is placed in its position in the diorama.


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