1935 Walter Snow Fighter PART 2.wmv

Second part to opening roads with Walter Snowfighter circa 1935 in New York's snow belt.

[@paulbourgeois5712]

Truly a beast of a machine... a mechanical battering ram... These communities would have been snowed in for weeks, and isolated, without the help of these massive vehicles... My dad said it would be up to a week before a snow fighter would come thru and open up the roads near Bayfield, Wisconsin, where he lived, right on the shore of Lake Superior, in the 20's and 30's, when he was a kid... Look at that film... that goes back to a time when men were men, and machines were machines...

[@glenmclaughlin5291]

My Dad ,George Drove one of these in the winter of 1953-52 for the Town of Bar Harbor. He and Purse Harding his Walters wingman would work long hours keeping the main roads clear in and out of Bar Harbor and to the Hospital. I remember riding one Saturday off school in middle of the front seat of that 1936 Walters Plow . Dad disliked chains and only used them on the rear. The Walters was all wheel drive with locked rear ends for plow work . It was all noise and engine !....I believe Dad said her top speed was about 40 . Once after all roads were pretty much clear someone wanted the Town cematary main drive clear....Dad pulled up to the gate..and remarked to Purse "Do you remember where and how the road runs so we don't hit any stones ?" They didn't hit any...lol.

[@ROTAXD]

Those old Walters were purpose built for one job...and when they went to work, the job got done come hell or high water ! Not like the "multi purpose" rigs of today which are usually just a 10 wheel dump truck that they hang a plow on come the 1st of November.

[@robsteves573]

Tell you what it's amazing how tough those trucks are! Constant pounding they took and just kept on going. It amazes me how the did so much more with so much less back then. And love the citizens riding in back for weight. Try that today! Lol! Great vid bro, plz keep them coming if you can! Thanks

[@lewspeedwagon6330]

Rob Steves , the driver was as important as the truck..., took knowledge and skill to , "foot Off the gas,hit the clutch", just before the blade impacted the snow... so the engine and drivetrain were spared the shock...

[@prowlamongus]

Great video. My grandfather worked for a highway dept. in upstate NY around that time, and these sights were familiar to him. Nice to see something from the past.

[@LinnTractorNut]

Notice all the snow blew out of the fields on either side and into the cut. Elimniating deep cuts, using snow fence and so much farmlands going back to forests since then are reasons that make this a rare sight today.

[@dave4854]

when I was a kid I can remember almost every able bodied person coming out and shoveling in front of the plow to help it out, back then they had one old Mack, now we have six ten wheelers, a grader, a payloader and backhoe and the people expect the plows out if they think it's going to snow.

[@todlindley8101]

Can only have respect for these guys and the plough designers, first rate effort with relatively low under powered trucks, the Camera Man is just Great ! Nowadays the local council men would take one look at this and go home or on strike !

[@ROTAXD]

Man, those old gals definitely earned their keep back then. Nowadays, even on Tug Hill, if the plows arent out constantly the highway superintendants will catch hell.

[@Rahleyboy]

And I thought we had a lot of snow up in Northern Minnesnowta! Amazing film clip of old-fashioned snow removal. I was amused as to the use of human cargo for additional weight/traction. As a babyboomer,I recall the city had a fleet of Austin-western FWD road graders with "V"plow and wing plow attachments. There were also various Oshkosh snowplows and at least one Walter.

[@mrbobsshow]

That snow has to be 7 or 8 feet deep holy cow!!

[@johnpatterson4272]

Given the year and the (then) technology this machine was revolutionary for its ability. Notice the rather light-pack snow on the surrounding fields, yet the roadways were drifted-in heavy with encrusted snow-pack. The ramming maneuver was obviously an effective practice in the 30s. One of the observers from that time got the idea for an eventual 'snowblower' no doubt which meant less shoveling.

[@davevonmuenster6649]

The machine, the mechanics and the welders? Nice job.

[@TankratRustDust]

Damn, They're breaking up a rolled road that's some tough plowing!

[@marcbach5880]

What a beast!

[@ronsmith6662]

I know this was the middle of the depression so men had a lot of free rime, but there must have been at least 20 people following that plow at some points. I guess if you are snowed in out in the countryside, that would also be classed as entertainment. Great video.

[@williamshaver6796]

the walters truck is a four wheel drive...with outriggers...a v blade that throughs the snow up, path of least resistance & wings on both sides to push back the banks...

[@LarryMarmet]

Yes, this is Tug Hill Plateau area. Yes also on the snow banks creating a "snow fence" effect and collecting the snow.

[@ROTAXD]

I wonder where on the hill this was filmed. We've got a place between Osceola & Redfield...and I remember an ald walters coming through as a little kid (late 70's-early 80's) but for the longest time they've been running Oshkosh.

[@4sl648]

Driver must have been like, "stop climbing in the hole in front of me to show off"

[@TheLittlered1961]

DAMN. That looks like what we call here, Cascade Concrete.

[@rawbacon]

Looks like fun.

[@toodjackson4438]

And now if we have a inch of snow on the roads we are getting called in to plow people are so spoiled today.. I would love to leave the roads like this just once

[@savagenomore]

"I need more traction, everyone jump in the back or on the running boards"...not something you'd hear today...

[@SuperRuss52]

That's an impressive truck I don't know if any today could even compare

[@Sara-L]

oshkosh.

[@ericl2969]

Oh yes, there are even better trucks today. A modern Oshkosh plow truck would make that old Walter look like a toy. However, it seems that there is much less need for dedicated plow trucks in most regions now due to the combination of better roads and fleets of high-speed plows keeping the roads open. Still, Walter trucks were amazing in their day, even almost up until modern times when their production came to an end.

[@insertnamehere313]

Almost 30yrs of plowing snow the only thing I can see he's doing wrong or could change and that's backing up and getting as much speed possible and use that momentum to drive into the snow and pushing it further because anyone who knows plowing knows to keep the momentum going and sometimes getting a run at it will keep you moving a little more.

[@maineman11]

Historical Video.

[@247Countryboy1]

Then: Go untill you break it, and then keep going. Today: break it beyond repair hitting chatter bumps.

[@z978ady]

Never understood why they didn't run two Walter trucks in tandem with the front driver having control over throttle linkage, clutch, and shifting of truck attached in back. That would have added enormous traction and eliminated the jack rabbit start and stops that wrecks the entire drive train, unless of course they were trying to keep the labor party afloat.

[@bogiewheelman71]

The trees done their part, holding snow on the road.

[@screaminjimmy6V53T]

What powered these behemoth trucks? Waukesha, Hall-Scott Gasoline Engines? I like the part when the driver allows the bystanders to stand up in the bed for additional mass/traction

[@247Countryboy1]

Standard Trucks of then through the 60's and 70's compares to today: Then: 2 axle, 4x4 Today: 2 axle, 4 axle, 2x4, sometimes 4x4, 4x6 Then: Box loaded with cement for weight, sometimes up to 50 tons Today;3 tons of salt Then: cruised through 6ft of snow with ease Today: struggle with 2 ft Then: werent no BMW, but got shit done Today: turned into BMWs that try to get shit done but fail

[@thegreenerthemeaner]

I imagine the only survivor out of these films is the truck. And we thought Snowmageedon of 2011 was bad.

[@The_JEB]

I bet a few of em were thinking "fuck you I win" after getting through all of that.

[@MrJlamb10]

Reminds me of many winter days watching the Town of Martinsburg break open the roads.

[@LarryMarmet]

Cat 60 would have been outclassed! RD8 was just being introduced, maybe some competition around 30,000 lbs. But probably not against your fully ballasted biggest Walter, FWD, or Oshkosh back then. They could outweigh and have more horsepower!

[@Sara-L]

Cat 966 would've blasted through that snow without stopping..

[@garvinhooper]

and if they couldn't get thru it and let it set a day or two it would freeze solid saw this a few times way back living in Northern Maine

[@flyinwalenda]

If the road salt wasn't used most of these trucks would still be road-worthy.

[@ernestlmorellsr]

... What a time difference it makes from then to now. . . Now it's complaints to complaints, no patience, not one bit...

[@backwoodsbully9841]

Back when trucks were TRUCKS and men were MEN!!

[@Zethor666]

Sa dosť natrápili s takou technikou...!:-)

[@247Countryboy1]

then: 5 main companies: IH, FWD, Oshkosh, Walters, Allis Chalmers. Made USA Today: too many to list, mostly made in china

[@R.U.1.2.]

Can't QUITE hear the film projector.

[@farmereinar]

wheres their osha safety vests? !!!!!

[@ВасилийВасилий-у5ы]

Класс! Интересно как до двс дороги чистили?

[@tld5500]

If only they could build the roads higher than the fields, the wind would sweep the snow naturally.

[@windowcreek1798]

Where is the TNT?

[@darkwell1581]

That’s not snow that’s ice and six foot deep.

[@MrJlamb10]

Was that taken on the Tug Hill ?

[@axelberry1]

let it snow

[@АлександрМайер-ф5у]

Вот это снега!!!

[@augustreil]

Would seem easier to just drive through the fields ! But then the fences would be wrecked.

[@thegreenerthemeaner]

@247Countryboy1 Lots more main companies than you listed bub. You listed your main companies, so be fair. BTW, Walters became FWD, Oshkosh is the only survivor, the rest as they were are sadly gone. I miss those days of good competition when everyone was the winner and foreign wasn't an issue.

[@ericl2969]

Late reply here, but to clarify for anyone else, Walter and FWD always were separate companies. In fact, FWD was probably the first of the major heavy-duty 4x4 brands. If I'm not mistaken, though FWD and Oshkosh had common ancestry in terms of the people behind the companies, and FWD was first. Oshkosh came along later (still a long time ago).

[@pno1968]

is it a 4x4 truck?? or just 2 wheel drive??

[@LarryMarmet]

4 point 100% positive traction!

[@flagemdown66]

here in south jersey they declare a state of emergency if they see more than two snowflakes... at least we had some actual snow this year... i hope next year is even "worse" (I mean better, but most people around here don't like it)

[@christophergaff6992]

I say gasoline no bull shit epa crap on the truck to slow it down