Oldest Rotary Snow Plow to be Named ASME Landmark

The Northern Pacific Rotary Snow Plow No. 2, which was built in 1887 by Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works, will be named an ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in a ceremony next month.

The Northern Pacific Rotary Snow Plow No. 2, which was instrumental in keeping freight and passenger rail systems in operation in the harshest of winters, will be cited for historic significance at a special event in Duluth, Minn., next month.

The currently retired No. 2, featuring a rotary blade that removed snow in the same fashion as the typical home snow blower, will be named a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in a recognition ceremony to be held Apr. 16 at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum, where the plow is on permanent display. The No. 2 is the oldest rotary snow plow in existence.

The Northern Pacific Rotary Snow Plow No. 2 was built in 1887 by Cooke Locomotive & Machine Works of Patterson, N.J. Cooke advanced earlier designs to develop a novel rotational wheel mechanism that could revolve in both directions to throw snow right and left. The unit was pushed by three or four steam locomotives, moving at a speed of 4 to 6 miles per hour.

“Rotary plows proved much more effective against heavy snowfalls than wedge plows and manual labor,” says ASME in a bronze plaque to be presented to the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. “It used a bi-directional rotating wheel with blades that cut into snow and passed it into an impeller.”

No amount of snow was too challenging for the No. 2. It was originally pressed into service to clear deep snow drifts in the Cascade Mountains region. The No. 2 was later sent east to the plow railroads in Minnesota and North Dakota, where it worked until the World War II years.

The Lake Superior Railroad Museum purchased the No. 2 from the Steam Preservation Society, Cadillac, Mich., for $3,750 in February 1975. The museum invested another $10,000 for preparation, loading and transportation.

Herman Viegas, an ASME Fellow and member of ASME’s History and Heritage Committee, will join with officials of the Lake Superior Railroad Museum at the April 16 designation ceremony.

The Northern Pacific Rotary Snow Plow No. 2 joins a roster of more than 250 other ASME engineering landmarks throughout the world — each representing a progressive step in the evolution of mechanical engineering. For more information on the ASME History and Heritage Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmarks Program, visit www.asme.org/about-asme/engineering-history/landmarks.