Project Overview
A US Railroad had an innovative idea to replace expensive purpose-built equipment for clearing snow. Rather than millions of dollars spent on a seasonal blower-only machine, a request was made to convert a Vancer CHX35 into a heavy-duty snow-remover in the winter, and a capable hi-rail excavator in milder months.
Starting with a 35-ton excavator, Ceres developed a purpose-built hi-rail machine featuring hydrostatically powered rail wheels, ten-foot snow wings, and a heavy-duty coupler system designed to carry and control a high-capacity railroad snow blower. The ten-foot wings provide a secondary clearing path of up to twenty feet tip-to-tip, helping keep snow away from the track and reducing immediate blow over.
The blower itself was modified to ride on the rail, connect directly to the excavator, and be fully controlled from the operator’s cab.
Unlike dedicated snow equipment, the CHX35 retains the versatility of an excavator, allowing crews to switch between snow removal and other maintenance tasks as needed. Designed specifically for railroad applications, it clears deep drifts, packed snow, switches, and crossings to keep rail traffic moving. In Alaska, the machine has tackled snow more than ten feet deep and continues to perform in some of the harshest winter conditions in North America.
