I just picked up an Athearn HO UP Rotary Snowplow on ebay. I bought it because someone went to the trouble of highly detailing and converting it to a DC powered unit. None of the Athearn rotary snowplows I've seen are powered units, they're all dummies intended to be pushed around by other locos - which would make this unit great in a consist. The model is an accurate example of a steam-powered plow marketed by Lima in the late 1940s converted to diesel power. So it has elements of both steam and diesel power. I plan on converting this model to DCC with sound. The question is what did this thing sound like? Did it have a diesel horn or steam whistle and bell? Did it have the whooshing sounds of steam along with the rumble of a diesel engine?
Sound First thing I would do is a Google search for this particular rotary. I am quite sure you will find links with info if it was steam or diesel powered. I have found a lot of info about different rotary units by searching. My interest was the steam power units. I have searched You Tube and found many videos of rotary plows. Rich
As an example, I answered someone in another forum who had about the same question. Below is his response. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THANKS for the input, After a few hours of checking web sites, I decided a two cylinder sound decoder will be installed. But like all things railroad, advancements in power and function improve. Lima built four "super Power" rotaries. These used a double bank of three cylinders taken directly from their Shay. The Athearn rotary looks to be an exact model of the Lima super power. I have rotaries from Athearn and Walthers. The Walthers is what I will use as it "fits" my railroad better, rustic! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- There is a good chance you will find the answer. Just be patient. Rich
I'm not sure whether the Athearn model should sound the same, but you could google for Videos of the SP plows on Donner this past winter. Though the sounds of the 16-710s doing the pushing tend to dominate. Those units are powered by former SP F7Bs and so the engine should be a roots blown 567 sound. Steam for deicing and a steam whistle is provided by the boilers on the b unit. It is a steam whistle not a horn. I'm curious though, are you saying the trailing unit is powered? ie to the wheels? I don't understand why that is desirable. I could understand a small motor to power the rotary itself which could be DCC controlled. Though it wouldn't need all the granularity of a motor controller.
No, My Athearn didn't come with with a tender. The plow itself is powered with dual flywheel motors and it really pulls. It's suppose to be a converted to diesel prototype pulling an F7 B-unit - but it has so much steam influence you can go either way. I picked up a Vanderbuilt oilier for it. I know the SOO line used them, but I'm not sure if UP ever did. I think an F7 B-unit would be the better way to go. One thing I don't like about this model is that it doesn't have any lights. It has a dummy headlight that I'll have to stuff a bulb into somehow. I would also like to install a rotating beacon too. Any ideas on that? As far as sound gos, phoenix sound.com has the exact sound I need for the snow plow - but I'm not going to pay $300 for it.
So, I understand the model is powered, but I guess I just don't understand why. Is there a prototype for a self-propelled rotary?
Well some of the full scale machines did have diesel electric traction motors - just to move them around, not to do the actual snow blowing. I think they were pretty much thrown together with what ever they had on hand to get the job done. Like I said, none of the "in the box" Athearn rotary snowplows I've seen were powered. So someone must have converted the one I have to reflect a later variation. It also has lots of badging on the side and a dummy spotlight on top - none of which I've seen on other models. However, the original Athearn box it came in had no room for a tender. All the Athearn plows I've seen on the net came in a box with the plow and tender in tandem. So I don't really know what to think. Was this an actual model of a diesel electric conversion made by Athearn or was it powered up by the original owner?
