February 3rd was the first test of the chain driven brush drive system!
There has been great progress made on this car in the last couple months; this fall Saskatoon 200 left the barn under its own power for the first time. This car has been a 25-year restoration project for the society, and now with the drive motors, braking, and now brush system operational, the car is coming close to complete
Saskatoon 200 uses a 40 horsepower Westinghouse 301 DC electric motor (identical to the motors used to power some of our passenger cars) to power the brushes on either end of the car. Which brush is powered is controlled by clutches in the cab, which connect sprockets to the drive shaft, in turn moving the chains. The chains then turn the broom shaft. A separate chain winch holds the broom shafts up above the track. This chain-supported, chain-driven setup is old-fashioned even for streetcars, with most sweepers switching to simpler shaft drives by the 1920s.
The brush shaft is currently running at 325 RPM, which will slow down a bit once the added load of the brushes themselves is added. Even now, not working under load, the brush motor shakes the whole car, and the chain setup is very loud! This car will be a beast to operate, we hope to get it sweeping snow soon!
ERRS is entirely volunteer-run, from research, operations, to restoration. We're always looking for dedicated people to get involved. Sask 200 has 16 brush assemblies that need to be assembled and installed still!
