Union Pacific Railroad designed and built rotary snowplow number 900081 in the Omaha Shop. Weighing 367,400 pounds, it is the heaviest rotary snowplow ever built. As it was pushed forward at four to six miles per hour, its cutting wheel could throw snow far to either side of the track. It is not self propelled and must be pushed by three or four locomotives. Number 900081 is powered by a GM/EMD 16 cylinder, 2,000 horsepower turbocharged diesel engine that drives an electric generator, which provides power to turn the 12-foot rotary blades at up to 150 revolutions per minute. A steam generator heats the cab, prevents the fuel and water pipes from freezing, and can thaw out the cutting wheel if it gets stuck. The plow engineer controls both the plow and the trailing locomotives. The snowplow is 52 feet 2 inches long, 17 feet high, and was last used in Green River, Wyoming, in the mid-1980s. The circular windows in the front of the plow revolve to keep them clear of snow.
