We’re going through a foggy snow melt now and hoping that we’ve seen the last of the big (plowable) snowstorms. It’s time to give a shout-out to our snow-plowing neighbors who did their usual excellent job in preparing and clearing our snowy roads and driveways during the unusually heavy snowfalls throughout the first half of March.
This image of a International 4900 using her wing plow to trim the road shoulder was taken on March 1:
This image of a Ford 350 clearing our driveway was taken on March 15:
We in New England have to fight the urge to take snowplows for granted, since they go about their jobs so professionally, often in the darkness of night. A little online research reveals that the first snowplow was a horse-drawn vehicle used in 1862 in Milwaukee. These plows were difficult to maneuver and created large piles of snow that blocked sideroads and sidewalks, which is one of the reasons cities constructed underground and elevated railways.
The first motorized snowplow was used in 1913 in New York City, and was followed there and elsewhere with the use of steam shovels, cranes, and snow-loading conveyer belts that transported snow into dump trucks. From that point, equipment evolved to a variety of sophisticated vehicles with highly maneuverable plows and talented drivers. (Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on March 1 and 15, 2023.)