My weather voodoo doll is really working now with two consecutive Mondays receiving more than a foot of snow fall in most places around Central New York. Hopeful I’ll be able to turn this thing off by spring. Starting on Saturday the snow began to fall at a leisurely pace but quick enough to have plows on the move. Here we see an International 7600 with the NYSDOT laying down a layer of salt.
In the gallery below we have an Freightliner M2 with the Town Dewitt, an International 2674 with the Onondaga DOT, and another International 2674 with the Village of East Syracuse. Bonus points if you know the make of plow on the VoES rig.
Come Monday I found myself travelling to the City of Watertown, NY which is something you generally don’t want to do when heavy snow is falling. Surprisingly enough the further north I traveled the weaker the snow became before it eventually fizzled out all together. At one point in Watertown I almost saw the sun! If you’re from the area you’ll understand what a big deal this is for Feburary. I stopped for a quick windshield wiper smack at the world famous Grist Mill in Parish, NY. I’ll admit that I had ulterior motives in my stop as I knew they had these two vintage loaders for parking lot clearing. Sadly they lot had already been plowed.
Arriving in Watertown I noticed some parking lots being cleared by the Jefferson County Highway Department. As soon as the clock struck Noon I ran out the door to grab some shots. The workers were on lunch but had left their rigs behind.
Heading home for the day I passed a NYSDOT Mack clearing route 3 along with a City of Watertown Freightliner 108D.
While I was in town I did happen to catch a glimpse or two of the WDPW very cool dedicated plow rigs. These trucks sport large single tires on their single rear axles along with one very large counter weight. No salting or sanding equipment to be found. The theory behind this design is to avoid trips backs to the salt barn for reloading. Opening snow clogged streets is the number one priority. I may not have been able to grab a shot but Ryan was in town last week and received full access to these rigs. Come back tomorrow for the photos!
