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Build a Basic Snowplow
August 14, 2006
Build a basic snowplow with Alan,
You can build a nice looking and functional basic snowplow
for a locomotive or flat car with a section of PVC pipe and
some .100” thick styrene sheet. Wash all of the parts with
detergent and then sand with 220 grit wet and dry sand
paper. Rinse and allow all of the parts to dry before
starting assembly, use CA glue for all of the joints.
The PVC pipe comes in various diameters and is easy to cut
and drill. I suggest starting out with some in the 2 ½”
diameter and about 3” long. Cut down its length so you have
two “C” shaped pieces. These will become the blades of your
plow. The blades will need to meet at a 90-degree angle at
the center. Cut or sand a 45-degree angle at the ends of
the halves so that the center edge and the outside edge of
each are parallel. Sand the bottoms of the blades to form a
sharp edge. On a level surface glue the two blades together
so that they form a vee.
Cut a mounting deck from the sheet styrene material that
matches the width of your locomotive or flat car. It should
be about 4” long and have a 90-degree angle cut on the
longest centerline. This will form a point that will fit
onto backside of the blade assembly. Drill four holes into
the deck so that it can be secured with screws onto the
locomotive pilot deck or flatcar. In some cases you may
need to drill other holes in the deck to clear bolt heads
that are cast on to the locomotive pilot deck.
Rest the blades on some shims so that the bottoms of the
blades are about 1/8” above the railheads. With the deck
attached to the locomotive or car check that the deck sheet
fits into the “V” of the blade assembly. When you’re
satisfied with the fit, run a bead of CA along the mating
joints. At this point you may want to add some nut and bolt
or rivet detail. Paint with spray primer followed by a top
coat of black or silver.
You can use other diameters of PVC pipe to give you plows
of different sizes to fit almost any large scale need. For
additional information review “Scratchbuilding Locomotive
Detail Parts” DVD.
Alan Olson
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