The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1925-02-18
IMMENSE MACHINE ARRIVES
AND is PUT AT WORK CLEAR
ING SNOW FROM THE WILLOW
CREEK SUMMIT.

The Ford Motor company, which
Bird mine twenty-five miles south
west of this city, is going ahead very
persistently and rapidly with the
work of rehabilitating the property
and new equipment arrives daily to
be used in putting this old famous
producer back among the foremost
mines of the State.
Up on Squaw creek, where the Red
Bird is situated, the Ford company
has constructed q dozen or so new
houses for the use of their employees.
These houses are built facing a
square or plaza, which has been lev
elled up and cleared off, making a
very acceptable and pleasing appear
ance All the buildings are painted
one color. gray.
Last Wednesday the company's
big rotary snow plow arrived and was
taken up to the summit where is was
put at work removing the heavy
drifts of snow which had piled up
there, making the going over the
hill quite difficult in places. This
is about the most severe test the
bic pillow could be put to for the traf--
fic all winter long has packed the
now until Il has become as hard as
ice.
/ The snow pillow is designated "Ro-
Itary No. 1, Ford Motor Company,
Salt Lake City Branch" 1t was built
in the Denver & Rio Grande Western
shops under the personal supervision
of Mr.. Harry Smith who is in charge
of that magnificent plant. Mr.. Smith
lis personally supervising the initial
operations of the rotary. IN a con-
spicuous place on the side OF the E.
quipment is the following inscription
Built by the Denver & Rio Grande
Western. Salt Lake City shops" and
has the safety first emblem of that |
railroad company.
The outfit presents an attractive |
and unique appearance says The |
Mackay Miner and at once gives the |
impression of stability Before the
rotary snow plow was shipped It was
tried out in Parley's canyon near
Salt Lake City, in four to eight feet
of snow and at one place a snow
slide was encountered where the TO-
tary attained a speed of IL miles an !
hour. throwing snow distance of
sixty feet with the blades operating
at a speed of 300 r. p. m. No diff
Guilty whatever was experienced in
negotiating this strip of snow bound
road
In order that the reader may have
a clearer conception of the equip
ment the plant is described in de-
tail as follows: Rotary No. I is
equipped throughout and was built
by the Salt Lake branch of the Ford
Motor company in the Denver & Rio
Grande Western shops for the express
purpose of keeping the highway open
between sMackay, the railroad ship
ping point, and the Ford Motor COM
pany Red Bird mining property on
Squaw creek, which lies about TWEEN
.y-five miles southwest of Challis.
The driving power or the tractive
effort is supplied by a Fordson trac-
tor, equipped with full crawl tracks,
This power unit has capacity of
twenty-five horse power. The rotar =
Is powered by Fordson tractor
on chassis or frame in re- u
-erse position and is connected thru
spur gears to the rotar, or snow cut
ing blades, which are housed in a
teel shield mounted on the front end
# the chassis ahead of the steering
wheels. The tractor motor is quip-
,ed with reversing gears so that the
otar may be operated in either dir
ction at the selection of the opera
or. The rotar power is capable Of
evelopling seventy-five comparative
lorse power at its normal motor
speed of $50 revolutions. The rotar