The pioneer press. (Miller, Hand County, S.D.) 1893-190?, 1897-02-18
THnESHlNC SNOW.
The Big Rotary Snow Piow flakes
its First Trip Over the
West End.
NINE FEET WIDE.
Many People Go to See This Peculiar
Machine, Made Necessary by
Snow BlOckadeS.

had the pleasure of seeing the North
Westerns big rotary snow pillow at
work, and it was a sight worth see
ing. We had often heard Ofthe rOta-
ry 10Y pillow working on other di-
visions of the road, but it had never
been over this end, until Monday
night. 1t went through Miller after
midnight, stopping here to take coal
and work the cuts west OF town. \
number OF citizens remained about
the depot and tracks until three a.
NJ. Tuesday morning, watching this
peculiar machine clear the tracks of
snow. Since then everybody was
anxious to see it on the return trip
east, and the number OF questions
fired at railroad men as to its proba-
bic arrival will make them gray
headed.
But the big machine came back
last night, and as Tuesdays blizzard
had filed the cuts again, Il great
many people had an opportunity to
see it work. The crowd assembled
at the cuts near the mill must have
exceeded a hundred people, all of
whom were greatly pleased at the
sight, besides many more at the
depot. Snow had packed into the
cuts to the depth of twot to three feet,
SO hard, too, that an ordinary buck
ing pillow would haye made little i'm
preston upon it. But when the ro-
tary struck it the snow disappeared
like chaff before a stro2g wind. In
deed, it might vel! be compared
to the work of Il threshing
machine. We will try to give some
idea of the machine itself, to readers
who may perhaps never have an OPP
portunity to see one.
a square steel frame mounted on
trucks, looking somewhat like aboX-
car, or cabOose, comes first. The
front end OF this contains a large fan
wheel, something like a wind mill, the
blades made Of steel. Contrary to
general expectation this wheel did
not extend way out in front, or bore
into the snow, but setin a kind OF re-
cess, with an upright steel plate on
either side. TO run this wheel there
is IL large stationary engine on the
car, that has no other use than to
reyolve the wheel. Following this
comesa large tender containing water
and coal for the rotary's engine, as
it consumes q great deal while at
work in snow. This is pushed by
two large locomotives, behind which
comes IL caboose, where the train
men live. This in brief is the outfit
that is guaranteed to go throug any
snow drift-and we believe it.
Standing at the mill cut, the rota-
~ was seen to walk into the cut west
of the creek, coming slowly across
the bridge, with a full moon shining
right on to it, the big wheel slowly
revolving as Il wind mill in a soft
breeze, then as the cut was reached
and the pressure ofsnow felt, the big
wheel began revolving with lightning
rapidity, the knives cutting snow, as
the locomotives slowly forced them
into the drift, the snow disappearing
INTO the wheel and coming out
through a funnel on top of the frame
work. This snow looked like a white
cloud, shooting into the air some %
feet high, and carried about 80 or6O
feet away from the track. The work
in chopping and disposing of the
snow was lOw-a person could slowly
walk along beside the big pillow and
see it work-that is, of course upon
the south side, thesnow being thrown
to the north. The speed of the train
is regulated by the engineer whoIruns
the rotary engine. He whistles to
the locomotive engineers whether to
! slow up or force him ahead-all ac-
cording to the capacity of his thresh-
ing machine to consume snow.