Missing snow?

[appleexpress]

I noticed that there was snow missing at selected spots on the tracks at Plattling station, as per the screenshot below.

I can understand that the bare spots on the straight track had rolling stock in that position when it snowed thus preventing the snow from falling on those pieces of ground, but the bare spots around the junctions seem a bit odd. Is there a heating system of some sorts used to melt the snow to keep the junctions operational?

Cheers,
Ian

 

[oknotsen]

Short answer: Yes.

Imagine what would happen to a switch with snow and below 0 temperatures. The switches would get frozen in place and effectively are no longer a switch.

Here you find a few versions. Im sure you can find a bunch more with google. I know our local railways (the NS; Nederlandse Spoorwegen) got a cheap system in place and as a result we are doomed if to much snow (read: More then a few cm) is falling.

 

[JCitron]

During the winter months where I live up in northeastern New England, we have a lot of snow and ice. The local railroad company has little gas burners they put on inside the switch machines to heat them up. They are either natural gas or electric to melt the ice and snow out of the points so the switches work as switch as oknosten has pointed out.

John

 

[Bushpounder]

Those are switch heaters. The ones around our facility are propane fed. The propane is housed in large cylinders not far from the switches themselves. I imagine there are other ways to fuel them as well.

Don

 

[JCitron]

See this here:

http://binged.it/Y8x3jH

The little white tanks surrounded by fencing near the tracks contains the propane for the heaters.

 

[appleexpress]

Thanks for all the feedback. This is one side of railroading that I don't really see in South Africa.

Cheers,
Ian